Courtesy of Benzinga.
The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Monday November 5, 2012:
Hearing Landry’s Close to Acquiring Del Frisco’s
The Rumor:
Privately held Landry’s is “very close” to acquiring Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, according to sources speaking to Benzinga.
Landry’s had purchased Morton’s Steakhouse for $116.6 million and McCormick & Schmick’s for 131.6 million over the past year.
Del Frisco’s went public on July 27 at $13 per share.
Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group closed at $15.30 Monday, a gain of 5.81% on twice average volume.
Hearing BASF to Take Stake in Monsanto
The Rumor:
Germany’s BASF (OTC: BASFY) is reportedly prepared to take a stake in Monsanto (NYSE: MON), according to sources. Monsanto is said to have hired an adviser to handle the negotiations.
Spokespersons for Monsanto and BASF declined comment on the report.
Monsanto closed at $88.05 Monday, a gain of 2.54% on higher than average volume.
Stifel Financial to Acquire KBW in Cash & Stock Deal Worth $17.50/Share
The Deal:
Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) and KBW (NYSE: KBW) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, KBW shareholders will receive $17.50 per share, comprised of $10.00 per share in cash and $7.50 per share in Stifel common stock. Holders of certain restricted KBW shares will also receive $17.50 in Stifel common stock.
KBW closed at $17.47 Monday, a gain of 7.18% on 33 times average volume.
Advance Auto Parts Responds to Rumor of Blackstone Hiring
The Rumor:
A spokesperson for Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) told Benzinga on Monday the company had no comment on CNBC’s report of November 1 that the auto parts retailer had hired Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) as an adviser to explore a possible sale.
Advance Auto Parts closed at $80.79 Monday, a gain of 1.03% on lower than average volume.
Brocade Acquires Vyatta
The Deal:
Brocade Communications (NASDAQ: BRCD) announced Monday that it will acquire privately held Vyatta in an all-cash transaction. Vyatta is based in Belmont, CA and is a networking industry innovator through its software-based network operating system that is highly relevant for multiple applications in network virtualization, software-defined networking (SDN) and private/public cloud computing platforms. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the calendar year.
Brocade Communications closed at $5.58 Monday, a gain of 0.90% on higher than average volume.
Zillow Acquires Mortech in Cash & Stock Deal
The Deal:
Zillow (NASDAQ: Z) has entered into an agreement to acquire Mortech, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based software and services company which provides a product and pricing engine (PPE), lock desk, and prospect and lead management solutions to the mortgage industry, for approximately $12 million in cash and 150,000 shares of restricted stock. Thousands of lenders, bankers, credit unions and smaller community lenders use Mortech’s tools. This acquisition will accelerate the development of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace and will allow Zillow to deliver valuable marketing and productivity solutions to mortgage professionals to help them manage their business.
Zillow closed at $34.37 Monday, a loss of 5.26% on 3 times average volume. Shares fell another 22% after-hours on disappointing earnings and lowered guidance.
