Merger activity increased last week with five new deals announced, seven pending deals closing and one pending deal failing. It has been a tough couple of weeks for arbitrageurs with two deals failing and a big decline in Akorn’s (AKRX) stock. You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool (MAT) that automatically updates itself during market hours.
We added a new feature to the MAT to display a spread history chart for all active mergers and discussed it in this post last Friday. A spread history chart for Monsanto (MON) is shown below.
The acquisition of Rosetta Genomics (ROSG) by Genoptix for $2.35 million or $0.425 per share in cash. The $0.425 per share price is estimated because the companies indicated that “this purchase price equates to an amount that is preliminarily estimated to be $0.40 – $0.45”. This is the second time the companies are trying to merge. As we reported two weeks ago, they called off the merger when Rosetta Genomics was unable to get shareholder approval for the deal. The deal terms have changed and we are adding this as a new deal.
The acquisition of Express Scripts Holding Company (ESRX) by Cigna Corporation (CI) for $67 billion in a cash plus stock deal. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, the transaction consideration will consist of $48.75 in cash and 0.2434 shares of stock of the combined company per Express Scripts share.
March 7, 2018: According to The Wall Street Journal, CVS Health (CVS) sold $40 billion of bonds on Tuesday to help pay for its acquisition of health insurer Aetna (AET) months before it needs the money, seeking to get ahead of an expected rise in interest rates and a flood of borrowing across the economy.
March 9, 2018: According to Reuters, the U.S. Justice Department and AT&T (T) on Friday presented starkly different futures for online video if the wireless and pay-TV giant is allowed to buy Time Warner (TWX), as they laid out their cases for a blockbuster antitrust trial.
On March 9, 2018, DST Systems (DST) announced Consent Solicitation, Solicitation of Approvals of the Termination Agreement and Tender Offer.
Disclaimer: I hold positions in Rite Aid (RAD) and Southcross Energy Partners (SXE). 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.
