Bunge, Corn Products break bread; Allied, Republic compact firms; 'The Fourth' supports Bud sale

By Aaron Hochman-Zimmerman

New York, June 23 - A busy day in dealtown saw a $4.4 billion deal to have Bunge Ltd. and Corn Products International Inc. sit down to share a meal, but it was Corn Products which took the biggest slice of dessert as its shares were up 18.3%.

But in another transaction, shares on both sides slid lower as Allied Waste Industries Inc. joined forces with Republic Services Inc.

Credence Systems Corp. made out better in trading than its merger-of-equals partner LTX Corp.

Also in technology, the deal between Mentor Graphics Corp. and Cadence Design Systems Inc.

was compared to the as-of-yet abortive combination of Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Ever the loose cannon of the family, August Busch IV came out in support of Anheuser-Busch's take over by InBev NV over the weekend, but the rest of the family may not give him their full support this time.

In telecoms, shares of BCE Inc. improved on the first full day of trading after its privatization was allowed by the Canadian Supreme Court.

Elsewhere in telecoms, Fisher Communications Inc. netted a 9.57% gain after it announced it rejected a $43 to $45 per share buyout offer.

Also, in finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co. had its hunting rifle out for another bank and rumors held that JP was carrying a tag for SunTrust Banks Inc.

Meanwhile, the mixed day saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended just lower by 0.33, or 0.00%, at 11,842.36, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 20.35, or 0.85%, to finish at 2,385.74.

The S&P 500 managed again of 0.07, or 0.01%, to close at 1,318.00.

Dining together

Bunge Ltd. and Corn Products International announced that the two have a $4.8 billion deal in the oven.

As a part of the deal, Bunge will absorb $414 million of Corn Products' debt.

Corn Products shareholders will receive $56 worth of Bunge shares for every Corn Products share held.

"Combining with Corn Products provides a unique opportunity for Bunge to establish an integrated, global presence in the corn value chain, which is highly complementary to our existing operations," said Alberto Weisser, Bunge's chairman and chief executive officer in a statement.

Shares of Bunge (NYSE: BG) sank $11.47, or 9.39%, to finish the day at $110.70.

Shares of Corn Products (NYSE: CPO) soared by $7.85, or 18.30%, to close the session at $50.75.

JPMorgan looks into Sun Trust

The always wandering eyes of JPMorgan may be fixed on Sun Trust this time, an equity analyst said.

"Rumors seem to be gaining some steam," he remarked.

Share prices were not gaining any steam as shares of JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) slid $0.99, or 2.61%, to $36.87 and Sun Trust (NYSE: STI) dropped $1.33, or 3.57%, to $35.94.

Still, "Sun Trust said they won't be raising new capital," he said. "Sounds like they are chatting."

Credence jams with LTX

Credence Systems generated an all-stock merger of equals with fellow technology firm LTX, but LTX took the business end from investors.

Shares of LTX (Nasdaw: LTXX) sank by $0.46, or 16.37%, to $2.35.

When the dust settles from the calculation of the exchange ratio, Credence holders will own 50.02% of the new entity and LTX holders will own 49.98%.

After the integration period the companies expect a savings of $25 million per year.

Lavi Lev, president and chief executive officer of Credence, will become executive chairman and David Tacelli, chief executive officer and president of LTX, will become chief executive officer and president.

"The technical and business challenges faced by our customers continue to intensify as time to market shrinks and margins are pressured by demands for new features at lower prices," Tacelli said in a joint statement.

"From a business perspective, the merger broadens our customer base and provides a strong opportunity for growth," Lev said in the statement.

Shares of Credence (Nasdaq: CMOS) were rising by $0.02, or 1.60%, to $1.27.

The deal is expected to close in September of this year.

Allied, Republic make bigger pile

Allied Waste and Republic Services announced that they will combine their waste and environmental services companies into one, worth approximately $12 billion.

The new entity, 13 million customers strong, will benefit from $150 million per year in synergies, a press release said.

"By combining the strengths of two great companies and integrating executives from both teams, Republic will enhance its leadership position in the U.S. environmental services industry, building on both companies' foundations of profitable growth," said James O'Connor, chairman and chief executive officer of Republic.

"Together, we are positioned for greater success than either company could achieve on its own," said John Zillmer, chairman and chief executive officer of Allied.

Shares of Allied (NYSE: AW) lost $0.27, or 1.99%, $13.29.

Shares of Republic (NYSE: RSG) fell $0.21, or 0.67%, to $30.98.

Go fish

Fisher Communications (Nasdaq: FSCI) announced that in April its board received an offer for all of the company's outstanding common shares at a cash price between $43.00 and $45.00 per share, according to a press release.

The board rejected the offer and watched its stock jump $3.05, or 9.57%, to $34.91.

BCE wins in court, fights for financing

The hammer dropped in Canadian Supreme Court on Friday and fell on the bondholders of BCE who had their case to prevent the merger tossed like last year's mobile phone models.

The unanimous decision was not accompanied by a statement or rationale, but one is expected soon, a market source said.

BCE likely left the hearing feeling good about its chances of being taken private, but the question of financing still remains.

"With this decision by the Supreme Court and the confirmation of regulatory approvals, we are now in a good position to complete the transaction," said Richard Currie, BCE's chairman.

"We expect all parties to the transaction will honor their commitments," he said.

Negotiations continue over financing with some expecting a scene similar to the one created over the financing of the privatization of Clear Channel Communications Inc.

Many believe that the BCE deal is a safer bet for the banks, led by Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, and will have an easier time with the financing, but the talks ground nearly to a halt while the case was in trial, a source said.

Still, the banks pushed for better terms over the weekend, the source said.

Shares of BCE (NYSE: BCE) jumped $1.94, or 5.69%, to $36.04.

Fourth wiser than uncle Andrew?

Anheuser-Busch's original 'get off my lawn' response to the $65 per share offer from Belgium's InBev softened significantly over the weekend.

August Busch IV wrote the board to express his support for the takeover.

No final decision has come from the family, but the Busch house may be divided.

Andrew Busch, an uncle of August Busch IV, said in a statement that he would like to see Anheuser-Busch "remain a strong company headquartered in St. Louis," according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Some have suggested that Anheuser-Busch may try to fend off InBev by buying the remained of Mexico's Grupo Modelo, which would make Anheuser-Busch too expensive for InBev.

However, Modelo's chief executive officer Carlos Fernandez is more inclined to buy back what Anheuser-Busch holds than sell what they do not, a market source said.

Shares of Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) were better by $0.23, or 0.38%, to end at $60.90.

Cadence still behind Mentor

Some in the technology industry are concerned that Cadence will not be able to keep up with Mentor, a market source said.

Cadence's offer $14 per share offer only went public last week after two months of failed private negotiations.

Some expected Cadence to target smaller prey such as Magma Design Automation Inc., the source said.

Still, the merger of the two may get even stickier if Synopsis Inc. joins the fur ball with its own bid for Mentor, the source said.

The fight may end up as a quasi-replay of the Yahoo!-Microsoft punch-drunk slugfest, the source said.

Shares of Cadence (Nasdaq: CDNS) gave up $0.17, or 1.57%, to $10.64.

Shares of Mentor (Nasdaq: MENT) added $0.16, or 1.05%, to $15.45.

Shares of Synopsis (Nasdaq: SNPS) lost $0.10, or 0.41%, to $24.45.

Yahoo! to shake up boardroom?

Not to be outdone at being Yahoo! and Microsoft, Yahoo! and Microsoft may start up the ruckus again if there is a management change at Yahoo!, according to a market source.

Speculation of a shakeup includes president Susan Decker taking on the additional role of chief executive officer, giving Jerry Yang the title of chairman.

Yahoo! has also recently seen a parade of junior management headed for the door with brown boxes in hand.

Shares of Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) dropped $0.54, or 2.46%, to close at $21.45.

Shares of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) gave back $0.26, to 0.92%, to end at $27.97.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.