Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday February 15, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday February 15, 2012: SanDisk Acquires FlashSoft The Deal:
SanDisk SNDK extended its enterprise solid state disk drive solutions portfolio Wednesday with the acquisition of FlashSoft, a provider of innovative caching software products. SanDisk intends to sell FlashSoft's products as standalone software, as well as offer these software products in combination with SanDisk's growing portfolio of SAS, PCIe and SATA enterprise solutions. The FlashSoft acquisition is expected to be neutral to SanDisk's earnings in 2012 and accretive in 2013. Additional details of the acquisition were not released. SanDisk closed at $47.68 Wednesday, a gain of 1.46% on 1.28 times the average daily volume. Kellogg to Acquire Procter & Gamble's Pringles Business The Deal:
Kellogg K announced Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Procter & Gamble's PG Pringles business for $2.695 billion. Pringles is an excellent strategic fit for Kellogg Company. It significantly advances the company's goal of building a global snacks business on par with its global cereal business. Prior to that announcement, Diamond Foods DMND agreed to terminate its proposed purchase of Pringles. Diamond Foods closed at $23.46, a gain of 5.18% for the day on almost twice the average daily volume. Kellogg closed at $52.87 Wednesday, a gain of 5.11% for the day on almost 4 times the average daily volume. Itron Acquires SmartSynch The Deal:
Itron ITRI announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire privately held SmartSynch in a transaction valued at $100 million. The acquisition will bring greater choice to utility customers across the spectrum of smart metering deployments and strengthen Itron's integrated cellular communications offering. The parties expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2012. Itron closed at $40.11 Wednesday, a loss of 1.69% for the day on twice the average daily volume. Renewed Acquisition Rumors for Range Resources The Rumor:
Range Resources RRC is a cheap acquisition target, according to an article on Bloomberg.com. The company is a frequent takeover name. On January 24, Raymond James said Range Resources could be worth as much as $100 per share to a large energy company, such as Royal Dutch Shell RDS. A spokesperson for Range Resources was not available for comment. Range Resources closed at $63.11 Wednesday, a loss of 0.22% for the day on slightly less than average volume. Hearing Mid-American Making Offer for First Solar The Rumor:
Mid-American is rumored to be making an offer to acquire First Solar FSLR, according to sources. The rumored buyout price is $65 per share. On January 24, First Solar was rumored to have hired Goldman Sachs to handle potential offers. A spokesperson for First Solar would not comment on Wednesday's Rumor. First Solar closed at $39.11 Wednesday, a loss of 0.26% for the day on 81% of the average daily volume. Hearing HealthNet Retains Deutsche Bank to Handle Potential Bids The Rumor:
HealthNet HNT has hired Deutsche Bank to handle potential takeover bids, according to sources. A spokesperson for HealthNet could not be reached for comment. HealthNet closed at $38.98 Wednesday, a loss of 0.10% for the day on almost twice the average daily volume. Hearing Oracle to Acquire Netsuite The Rumor:
Oracle ORCL to Acquire Netsuite N, according to an article in dealReporter. On November 4, 2011, Barrington Research stated that Oracle would 'eventually' acquire Netsuite. Representatives of Netsuite and Oracle could not be reached for comment. Netsuite closed at $46.67 Wednesday, a loss of 1.99% for the day on 2.5 times the average daily volume. Hearing Collective Brands Sale Process is Not Going Well The Rumor:
Collective Brands PSS process to find a buyer is not going as well as planned, according to an article in dealReporter. On February 7 it was reported the company had reduced the number of bidders for the company down to 10. That original bidders list was said to have included DSW DSW, PE firm Irving Capital and Leonard Green. A Spokesperson for Collective Brands told Benzinga "We will not comment on the Strategic Review underway at Collective Brands". Collective Brands closed at $17.51 Wednesday, a loss of 4.26% for the day on 2.7 times the average daily volume. Hearing Computer Sciences Corporation Has $7B Bid The Rumor:
Computer Sciences Corporation CSC is rumored to have been presented an offer of $7 billion, according to an article in dealReporter. A Spokesperson for Computer Sciences Corporation would not comment on the rumored bid. Computer Sciences Corporation closed at $32.97 Wednesday, a gain of 1.13% for the day on 1.5 times the average daily volume.