Wall Street's M&A Chatter From April 28-30: Walgreens-Rite Aid, Anthem-Cigna, Fox-Tribune Media, Sarepta

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Friday, April 28, through Sunday, April 30, 2017.

Walgreens Set to Certify FTC Compliance within Days for Rite Aid Deal

The Rumor:

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA is said to likely to certify compliance within days for its merger with Rite Aid Corporation RAD, according to sources as reported by the New York Post on Friday. A month ago, Walgreens had given the FTC 30 days’ notice it was going to certify it had supplied all the information necessary to rule on the deal.

The decision by the FTC is expected within 90 days following the certification.

Rite Aid closed Friday at $4.00, up $0.05.

Appeals Court Affirms Decision to Block Anthem/Cigna Deal

The Court Decision:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday affirmed a decision by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to block the Anthem Inc. ANTM acquisition of Cigna Corp. CI on antitrust issues, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The three-judge panel upheld Judge Jackson's February ruling that the merger would limit competition among large health insurers, rejecting Anthem's argument that the trial court had failed to consider the billions of dollars in cost savings to be generated from the merger.

Anthem said it was reviewing the opinion and will carefully evaluate its options. Cigna said it was continuing to work through the litigation process in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Cigna closed at $156.37, up $0.16. Anthem closed at $177.89, down $0.41.

Feuerstein Speculates about Possible Sanofi Takeover of Sarepta

The Rumor:

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics SRPT rose Friday following a from TheStreet's Adam Feuerstein speculating on a potential acquisition by drug-maker Sanofi SNY. Feuerstein cited the departure of Sarepta CEO Ed Kaye, as well as Sanofi executive Dr. Jean-Paul Kresse, saying he will not to stand for re-election to Sarepta's boards due to a potential conflict of interest.associated with his future endeavors."

Sanofi does have a drug for DMD in its pipeline and Exondys 51 would be a good fit for Sanofi, the article mentioned. Sanofi's Genzyme unit is moving to new headquarters in Cambridge, MA., right around the corner from Sarepta.

Sarepta closed at $36.26, up $1.54.

21st Century Fox, Blackstone Discussing Joint Bid for Tribune Media

The Rumor:

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA is in talks with Blackstone Group LP BX to jointly bid to acquire Tribune Media Co TRCO, according to sources as reported by the Financial Times on Sunday. The offer would be made via a joint venture, the sources said.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. was ready to bid in the high $30's per share for Tribune Media and was aiming to finalize a deal prior to their earnings release in May.

Tribune Media closed at $36.56, down $0.28.