Merger Arbitrage Mondays – M&A Kicks Into High Gear With Nine New Deals Announced

  • December 23, 2019

Merger activity increased with nine new deals announced and six deals closing. You can find all the active deals listed below in our Merger Arbitrage Tool (MAT) that automatically updates itself during market hours.

There were three new deals announced in the Deals in the Works section.

Deal Statistics:

Total Number of Deals Closed in 2019189
Total Number of Deals Not Completed in 20199
Total Number of Pending Deals
Cash Deals47
Stock Deals22
Stock & Cash Deals5
Special Conditions5
Total Number of Pending Deals79
Aggregate Deal Consideration$1.34 trillion

New Deals:

  1. The acquisition of LogMeIn (LOGM) by Francisco Partners for $4.3 billion or $86.05 per share in cash. We added LOGM as a potential deal to the Deals in the Works section on December 11, 2019, and the price after the news of the potential deal came out was $79.83.
  2. The acquisition of Tallgrass Energy (TGE) by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners for $7.93 billion or $22.45 per share in cash.
  3. The merger of Southwest Georgia Financial Corporation (SGB) with The First Bancshares (FBMS) for $85.22 million in an all stock deal. Under the terms of the agreement, each SGB shareholder will receive 1.00 share of The First Bancshares’s common stock in exchange for each share of SGB common stock.
  4. The merger of MSB Financial (MSBF) by Kearny Financial (KRNY) for $94 million in a cash or stock deal. Under the terms of merger, which was unanimously approved by both Boards of Directors, Millington will merge with and into Kearny, and each outstanding share of Millington common stock will be exchanged for 1.3 shares of KRNY common stock or $18.00 in cash.
  5. The merger of TiVo Corporation (TIVO) with Xperi Corporation (XPER) in an all stock deal. Under the terms of the merger agreement, the shares of TiVo and Xperi stockholders will be converted into the shares of the new parent company based on a fixed exchange ratio of 0.455 Xperi share per existing TiVo share.
  6. The merger of Telaria (TLRA) with the Rubicon Project (RUBI) in an all stock deal.  Under the terms of the merger agreement, each share of Telaria common stock issued and outstanding as of the effective time of the Merger will be converted into the right to receive 1.082 shares of Rubicon Project common stock less any applicable withholding taxes.
  7. The merger of FSB Bancorp (FSBC) and Evans Bancorp (EVBN) for $34.7 million in an all stock deal. Under the terms of the merger agreement, FSB stockholders will have the right to receive at their election either 0.4394 shares of Evans common stock or $17.80 in cash for each share of FSB common stock, subject to possible adjustment and 50/50 proration.
  8. The acquisition of Care.com (CRCM) by IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC) for $500 million or $15.00 per share in cash.
  9. The merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) and Peugeot S.A.Groupe PSA. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders will receive 1.742 shares of the new combined company for each share of Groupe PSA, while FCA shareholders will have 1 share of the new combined company for each share of FCA. Since this merger will create a new company, we are not adding this deal to our Merger Arbitrage Tool

Deal Updates:

  1. On December 17, 2019, Condor Hospitality Trust (CDOR) and NexPoint Hospitality Trust agreed to close the Merger on January 31, 2020, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain remaining closing conditions.
  2. On December 17, 2019, Shareholders of Ra Pharmaceuticals (RARXapproved the company’s merger with UCB at a special meeting of shareholders.
  3. December 17, 2019: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission publicly announced that it has authorized a legal action to block the Merger of Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) with Illumina (ILMN) and on December 18, 2019, Pacific Biosciences of California received written notice from Illumina pursuant to which Illumina exercised its right to extend the End Time to March 31, 2020. As a result of this extension, Illumina is obligated to make cash payments to the Company of $6 million on or before each of January 2, 2020, and March 2, 2020, and a cash payment to the Company of $22 million on or before February 3, 2020.
  4. On December 18, 2019, Carolina Trust BancShares (CARTannounced the receipt of required shareholder approval to consummate its previously announced merger with Carolina Financial Corporation (CARO).
  5. December 18, 2019: According to Reuters, Nvidia (NVDA) is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies (MLNX).
  6. On December 18, 2019, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has granted early termination of the required waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act with respect to the acquisition of The Medicines Company (MDCO) by Novartis AG (NVS).
  7. On December 19, 2019, Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) announced that its shareholders have approved the acquisition of Achillion by Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN).
  8. On December 19, 2019, Natura & Co Holding and Avon Products (AVP) announce that they have received all regulatory approvals required to complete Natura & Co’s acquisition of Avon Products, paving the way for the closing of the transaction expected on January 3, 2020.
  9. On December 20, 2019, Anixter International (AXE) announced that it will hold a special meeting of its stockholders on February 4, 2020.
  10. December 20, 2019: According to Reuters, testimony ended on Friday in a lawsuit by a group of states led by New York and California seeking to block the merger of Sprint (S) and T-Mobile US (TMUS), moving the trial a step closer to having a U.S. judge rule on whether the deal violates federal antitrust laws.

Closed Deals:

  1. The acquisition of Vitamin Shoppe (VSI) by Liberty Tax on December 16, 2019. It took 130 days for this deal to be completed.
  2. The acquisition of Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) by Roche Holding (RHHBY) on December 17, 2019. It took 295 days for this deal to be completed.
  3. The acquisition of OHA Investment Corporation (OHAI) by Portman Ridge Finance Corporation (PTMN) on December 18, 2019. It took 139 days for this deal to be completed.
  4. The acquisition of Presidio (PSDO) by BC Partners on December 19, 2019. It took 127 days for this deal to be completed.
  5. The acquisition of Arotech Corporation (ARTX) by Greenbriar Equity Group on December 19, 2019. It took 87 days for this deal to be completed.
  6. The acquisition of Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) by Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) on December 20, 2019. It took 158 days for this deal to be completed.

Top 10 deals with largest spreads:

SymbolAnnounced
Date
Acquiring
Company
Closing
Price
Last
Price
Closing
Date
ProfitAnnualized
Profit
PACB11/01/2018Illumina, Inc. (ILMN)$8.00$5.2903/31/202051.23%188.87%
S04/29/2018T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS)$7.94$5.3901/31/202047.28%442.45%
ABDC08/13/2019Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. (N/A)$11.02$9.1212/31/201920.83%950.52%
GNW10/23/2016China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (N/A)$5.43$4.5212/31/201920.13%918.56%
FIT11/01/2019Google LLC (N/A)$7.35$6.5406/30/202012.39%23.79%
MLNX03/11/2019NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)$125.00$116.0203/31/20207.74%28.54%
SORL11/29/2019Ruili International Inc. (N/A)$4.72$4.4806/30/20205.36%10.29%
MSBF12/18/2019Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY)$18.27$17.3506/30/20205.27%10.13%
AMTD11/25/2019The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW)$52.15$50.1512/31/20203.98%3.89%
AGN06/25/2019AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)$197.63$190.303/31/20203.85%14.19%

List of all pending deals:

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

Disclaimer: I hold long positions in Sprint (S), Mellanox Technologies (MLNX) and Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB). 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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