Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday January 6, 2016

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday January 6, 2016: Shire Deal Depends on Baxalta Spinoff Maintaining Tax-Free Status The Rumor:
Shire's SHPG potential $32 billion deal to acquire Baxalta BXLT depends on whether the spinoff from Baxter BAX would keep its tax-free status, if a large cash payment is made as part of the deal, according to sources as reported by Financial Times on Wednesday. Progress has been made in the negotiations the sources said, but Shire wants assurances that Baxalta's tax-free status would not be jeopardized by a cash payment. Shire is said to be offering as much as $48.00 per share for Baxalta, with up to 40% to be cash. Baxalta closed at $39.30 on Wednesday, down 5.32%. Lamar in Advanced Talks to Acquire Clear Channel Outdoor Assets The Rumor:
Lamar Advertising Co LAMR is in advanced talks to acquire billboard assets from Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc CCO, according to sources as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. A deal to acquire the assets in Cleveland, Des Moines, Memphis, Reno and Seattle, could be valued at $450 million, the sources said. Clear Channel Outdoor is also said to be in talks with other potential buyers to sell as much as $400 million in billboard assets in other markets. Clear Channel Outdoor closed at $5.89 on Wednesday, up 5.56%. Detwiler Fenton Sees AppliedMicro as Takeover Candidate The Analyst Comments:
Detwiler Fenton, in a note Wednesday, said AppliedMicro AMCC could be a takeover target for Apple AAPL, Google GOOGL, Amazon AMZN or Microsoft MSFT. Detwilier said an AMCC acquisition could possibly supplement the ARM efforts of the acquiring company. Qualcomm QCOM and Cavium CAVM were also mentioned as potential buyers. AppliedMicro closed at $6.10 on Wednesday, down 1.45%.