Merger Arbitrage Mondays – March 6, 2017

Merger activity declined last week with one new deal announced and ten deals closing. You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool that automatically updates itself during market hours.

We got some positive feedback from subscribers who tried out the new Merger Arbitrage News for Active Deals feature and are working on an enhancement that we feel will make it even more useful. In the meantime, we just finished building another feature that had been requested for some time now and you can check out the beta version of this feature in our new Deals in the Works section. As described on that page,

Our intent with this section of the website is to present potential deals that appear to be in the pipeline. These potential deals are ones where i) the company has indicated that it is “seeking strategic alternatives”, ii) there has been an unsolicited bid for a company as mentioned in a press release by the company or iii) news about the deal has been published by a leading news organization like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, Reuters and The Associated Press. As best as possible we will try to avoid baseless rumors. 

We would love to hear from you about these new features and if you have any suggestions about improving them.

Deal Statistics:

New Deals:

1. The acquisition of Silver Bay Realty Trust (SBY) by Tricon Capital Group for $1.4 billion or $21.50 per share in cash. (add sec filing)

Deal Updates:

1. On February 27, 2017, Fortress (FIG) declared a base quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per Class A share for the fourth quarter of 2016. This dividend is payable on March 21, 2017 to holders of record of Class A shares on March 15, 2017. In connection with the proposed Merger, the company said that they have contractually agreed that they will not pay dividends for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2017 in any amount greater than $0.09 per share, and that they will not pay any dividends with respect to periods ending after that while the Merger Agreement remains in effect. Fortress Class A shareholders should therefore not anticipate receiving a dividend with respect to the quarterly periods ended June 30, 2017 or September 30, 2017, even if the Merger has not yet been consummated at the time of the customary dividend payment dates for such periods.
2. On February 27, 2017, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said he didn’t expect the agency to have a role in reviewing AT&T (T)’s $85 billion takeover of Time Warner (TWX).
3. On February 28, 2017, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (LSCC) announced that its shareholders have approved the adoption of the agreement and plan of merger.
4. On March 3, 2017, The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States said that it will extend its scrutiny of a $2.2 billion takeover by South Africa’s Sibanye Gold of the only U.S. miner of platinum and palladium, Stillwater Mining (SWC). The committee, which examines deals for potential U.S. national security concerns, extended the deadline for its review from February 28 to no later than April 14, 2017 which the company said was part of the normal process.
5. On March 3, 2017, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH.TO) and Allied World Assurance Company Holdings (AWH) announced that they have agreed to extend to March 10, 2017 the deadline by which Fairfax has the option to increase the cash consideration, and correspondingly reduce the “Fixed Value Stock Consideration” under the terms of the previously announced definitive merger agreement. In connection with the transaction, Allied World will hold a Special Shareholder Meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2017.
6. On March 3, 2017, Multi Packaging Solutions (MPSX) invited its shareholders to attend a special general meeting of shareholders of Multi Packaging Solutions to be held on April 5, 2017.

Closed Deals:

1. The acquisition of EarthLink Holdings (ELNK) by Windstream Holdings (WIN) on February 27, 2017. It took 112 days for this deal to be completed.
2. The acquisition of Spectra Energy (SE) by Enbridge (ENB) on February 27, 2017. It took 174 days for this deal to be completed.
3. The acquisition of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals (CLCD) by Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) on February 28, 2017. It took 41 days for this deal to be completed.
4. The acquisition of CLARCOR (CLC) by Parker-Hannifin Corporation (PH) on February 28, 2017. It took 89 days for this deal to be completed.
5. The acquisition of Lionbridge Technologies (LIOX) by an affiliate of H.I.G.Capital on February 28, 2017. It took 78 days for this deal to be completed.
6. The acquisition of Qunar Cayman Islands Limited (QUNR) by Ocean Management Holdings Limited and Ocean Management Merger Sub Limited on February 28, 2017. It took 132 days for this deal to be completed.
7. The acquisition of Bats Global Markets (BATS) by CBOE Holdings (CBOE) on February 28, 2017. It took 155 days for this deal to be completed.
8. The acquisition of WaferGen Bio-systems (WGBS) by Takara Bio USA Holdings on February 28, 2017. It took 291 days for this deal to be completed.
9. The acquisition of Equity One (EQY) by Regency Centers Corporation (REG) on March 1, 2017. It took 107 days for this deal to be completed.
10. The acquisition of Carolina Bank Holdings (CLBH) by First Bancorp (FBNC) on March 3, 2017. It took 254 days for this deal to be completed.

Top 10 deals with largest spreads:

List of all pending deals:

The list of all pending deals is only available to InsideArbitrage Premium and Plus members.

Disclaimer: I hold positions in WhiteWave Foods (WWAV), Rite Aid (RAD), Syngenta (SYT), Valspar (VAL), Trina Solar (TSL) and Fortress Investment Group (FIG). Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.

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