Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday March 25, 2015

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday March 25, 2015:

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H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group, Inc.

announced Wednesday, that they have entered into a merger agreement, under which Kraft shareholders will own a 49% stake in The Kraft Heinz Company, and current Heinz shareholders will own 51% on a fully diluted basis. Kraft shareholders will receive stock in The Kraft Heinz Company and a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share. The special dividend payment of approximately $10 billion is being fully funded by an equity contribution by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital. The deal is expected to close in H2 of 2015. Kraft shares closed Wednesday at $83.17, a gain of 35%.

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Shares of Continental Resources, Inc.

rose Wednesday on unconfirmed market chatter of a potential $52 per share bid from Exxon Mobil Corporation

. Both companies were recently mention as potential buyers of all or parts of Whiting Petroleum Corp.

. Spokespersons for Continental Resources and Exxon Mobil both declined comment on the rumor. Continental Resources shares gained 5% Wednesday, closing at $40.98.

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Apple

has acquired FoundationDB, according to a report from

. Terms were not disclosed. Apple shares lost 2.5% Wednesday, closing at $123.88.