Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday May 5, 2016

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday May 5, 2016: Amgen Said to be Among Potential Bidders for Medivation; Sanofi Reiterates Commitment to Deal The Rumor:
Amgen Inc. AMGN is considering joining a growing number of potential buyers for Medivation Inc. MDVN, according to sources as reported by Bloomberg on Thursday. France's Sanofi's SNY $52.50 per share offer was rejected by Medivation and in a letter on Thursday, Sanofi said it may take the offer directly to shareholders and remove members of the board if Sanofi won't engage in negotiations. AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE AZN), Novartis AG NVS and Pfizer Inc. PFE have been reported to be considering offers as well. Amgen declined comment on the report. Medivation closed at $59.22 on Thursday, and traded around $60 after-hours, following the company's Q1 earnings report. Majority Of FCC Commissioners Vote In Favor Of Charter's Purchase Of Time Warner & Bright House Networks The Deal:
A majority of the five-member U.S. Federal Communications Commission has voted to approve Charter Communications Inc CHTR acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc TWC and Bright House networks, which would create the second-largest U.S. broadband provider and third-largest video provider, two sources briefed on the matter said Thursday. TIme Warner Cable closed at $25.92 on Thursday, down 3.5%. Charter Communications closed at $67.46 down 2.37% Vonage to Buy Nexmo for $230 Million In Cash And Stock The Deal:
Vonage Holdings Corp. VG announced Thursday, a deal to acquire privately-held Nexmo, Inc. for $230 million in cash and stock, plus an additional earn-out opportunity of up to $20 million subject to Nexmo hitting some performance targets. $195 million would be paid at close, including $159 million in cash and up $36 million in stock. Vonage closed at $4.11 on Thursday, down 16%. Energy Transfer Equity CEO Says Williams Deal Won't Close Due to Tax Issues The CEO Comments:
Energy Transfer Equity LP ETE CEO Kelcy Warren said Thursday the planned acquisition of Williams Cos Inc WMB cannot be completed due to tax issues. During a conference call, Warren said "Absent a substantial restructuring of this transaction, which Energy Transfer has been very willing and actually desiring to do, absent that, we don't have a deal." Reuters reported on Monday, that ETE was trying to renegotiate its $20 billion deal for Williams Energy Transfer Equity closed at $13.07 on Thursday, up 7%. Williams Cos closed at $20.57, up almost 7%.