Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday September 7, 2016

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday September 7, 2016:

GW Pharma Said to Hire Morgan Stanley to Handle Takeover Interest

The Rumor:
GW Pharmaceuticals Plc GWPH is said to have hired Morgan Stanley as an advisor to assist the developer of marijuana-based pain killers in handling expressions of interest from potential buyers, according to sources as reported by Reuters on Wednesday. Large pharmaceutical companies are interested GW's key drug, Epidolex, used to treat Epilepsy.

GW Pharma declined comment on the report, while Morgan Stanley did not respond to a request for comment.

GW Pharmaceuticals closed Wednesday at $104.03, up 23.55%.

NetSuite Received Letter from T. Rowe Price Concerning Company's Pending Acquisition By Oracle

The Shareholder Letter:
On September 6, 2016, NetSuite Inc. N received a letter from T. Rowe Price Associates regarding NetSuite's pending acquisition by Oracle Corporation ORCL. T. Rowe Price, owner of approximately 14.5 million shares of NetSuites’s common stock, said they were not persuaded by Netsuite's arguments in support of the Oracle offer price.

NetSuite’s Board of Directors met to discuss the letter and unanimously reaffirmed its recommendation that stockholders accept Oracle’s offer and tender their shares.

NetSuite closed at $109.29 on Wednesday, up $0.33.

Major Bayer Investor Opposes Bid for Monsanto

The Investor Comments:
A Top-30 Bayer BAYRY investor said the current offer and terms to acquire Monsanto MON were far too generous, according to a report from Reuters on Wednesday. The unnamed investor, said Bayer would be overpaying for Monsanto at $127.50 per share, though the offer was far lower than the up to $145 per share mentioned by analysts. Other Bayer investors have also expressed opposition to the $65 billion plus deal.

Monsanto closed at $106.57 on Wednesday, up $0.50.

Liberty Media to Acquire Formula One in Deal With Equity Value of $4.4B

The Deal:
Liberty Media Corporation LMCA and CVC Capital Partners announced Wednesday, that Liberty Media has agreed to acquire global motorsports business Formula One, from a consortium of sellers led by CVC. The transaction has an enterprise value for Formula One of $8.0 billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion.

Selling stockholders will receive $1.1 billion in cash, 138 million newly issued shares of LMCK LMCK and a $351 million exchangeable debt instrument to be issued by Formula One and exchangeable into shares of LMCK.

Liberty Media closed at $21.77 on Wednesday, down $0.01.