Courtesy of Benzinga.
The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Tuesday March 5, 2013:
Hearing Unconfirmed Market Chatter of Possible Amazon Bid for Yelp
The Rumor:
Shares of Yelp (NYSE: YELP) spiked higher mid-morning Tuesday on unconfirmed market chatter of a bid from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The rumored offer is in the mid-$30s.
Spokespersons for Yelp and Amazon were not available for comment.
Yelp closed at $23.02 Tuesday, a loss of $0.16 on twice average volume.
Report Sohu Could be Taken Private
The Rumor:
Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU) shares traded with extremely volaitily late Tuesday on reports the Chinese Internet company could be taken private, according to the South China Morning Post. Initially shares fell to around $40 on reports the company might be deslisted from the Nasdaq.
Andrew Left of Citron Research said Sohu shares are worth at least $65. A spokesperson for Sohu’s investor relations firm, had no knowledge of the report.
Sohu.com closed at $46.84 Tuesday, a gain of 12% on 7 times average volume. Shares of other Chinese Internet stocks also traded higher.
Report Verizon Could Acquire Vodafone
The Rumor:
Shares of Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD) traded higher midday on a report from Bloomberg that a merger with (NYSE: VZ) was a possibility. Previous talks between the two companies reportedly ran into problems over management and location of the combined company headquarters, according to sources.
A more likely deal would involve a Verizon buyout of the Vodafone stake in Verizon’s wireless subsidiary. That deal could be valued at $115 billion.
Spokespersons for the two companies declined comment on the report.
Vodafone Group closed at $26.68 Tuesday, a gain of 5% on 4 times average volume.
Report Coach Could Attract PE Firms, International Buyers
The Rumor:
Coach (NYSE: COH) could be attracting the attention of private equity firms and foreign buyers, including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (OTC: LVMUY), according to Bloomberg. On February 27, Deal Reporter reported that the company is for sale.
Coach closed at $50.10 Tuesday, a gain of 1.5% on average volume.
McGraw-Hill Comments on Progress of Sale of McGraw-Hill Education to Apollo Global Management
The Deal:
McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) commented Tuesday, on the launching of bank debt financing to support the previously disclosed purchase by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) of the McGraw-Hill education business.
“We are pleased with the progress that is being made to secure funding, that the sale of McGraw-Hill Education is now an all-cash deal, and that the transaction is expected to close before the end of this month.”
As part of the transaction, McGraw-Hill will receive an additional $150 million in cash at closing from the investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, in lieu of being issued $250 million in face amount of unsecured notes by a holding company of McGraw-Hill Education.
Upon closing, McGraw-Hill will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial (subject to shareholder approval) and will be a high-growth, high-margin company serving the global capital and commodities markets.
McGraw-Hill closed at $48.19 Tuesday, a gain of 2% on lower than average volume.
