Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday January 4, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday January 4, 2012:

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IBM

announced Wednesday a definitive agreement to acquire Green Hat, a leader in software quality and testing solutions for the cloud and other environments. Financial terms were not disclosed. IBM shares fell 0.40% Wednesday, on 70% of the average daily volume, closing at $185.55.

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MeadWestvaco Corporation

announced Wednesday that it is expanding its capabilities in targeted packaging end-markets with the acquisition of Polytop Corporation, an innovative leader in the design and manufacturing of dispensing closures. The acquisition was completed on December 30. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Polytop's offices and manufacturing facilities, located in Slatersville, Rhode Island, will remain in full operation and become an important part of MWV's primary plastic operations and global manufacturing platform. The Polytop management team will remain in place and all 180 Polytop employees will become MWV employees. MeadWestvaco shares fell almost 1% Wednesday, on 78% of the average daily volume, closing at $30.13.

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RealPage

announced Wednesday the acquisition of substantially all of the operating assets of Vigilan for approximately $5.0 million. A provider of assisted living software-as-a-service, Vigilan products allow assisted living communities to monitor and schedule detailed care, manage labor costs, provide accurate billing as well as compliance tools through its comprehensive 50-state compliance module. Founded in February 2003, Vigilan is based in Wilsonville, Oregon. Vigilan serves approximately 340 senior living communities contributing to RealPage's senior living customer base. Vigilan is expected to exit 2011 with an annual on demand revenue run-rate of $2.3 million. RealPage shares fell 1.75% Wednesday, on 88% of the average daily volume, closing at $25.33.

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Netflix

to be acquired for $100 per share. It was a huge day for Netflix, with shares closing over the $80 mark for the first time since November 16. The company reported today that customers streamed more than 2 billion hours of video during the 4th quarter. But that was only part of the story. There was very heavy buying in the March 100 NFLX call. Recent chatter has the $100 level as a possible takeover point for the online video service, with Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Verizon and others being mentioned as possible buyers. Verizon did deny an interest in a buying a service like Netflix after-hours. Also after-hours, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster said Netflix could be a possible acquisition for Yahoo

. Shares of Netflix traded Wednesday in a range of $71.81 to $80.97 on 1.75 times average daily volume, closing at $80.45, a gain of 11.5% for the day.

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Siemens

to acquire Illumina

for $44.50 per share. Rumors on Illumina appear about once per month. A spokesperson for Illumina would not comment on the rumor. Illumina shares fell almost 1% Wednesday, on 1.75 times the average daily volume. Shares traded in a range of $31.11 to $32.77 and closed at $31.73.

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Joy Global

is seeking a buyer in the $120 per share range. The company is rumored to have Goldman Sachs working on soliciting bids. Another takeover name that pops up from time to time. The last rumor appeared on November 16, with Komatsu the rumored buyer at $103.50. A company spokesperson would not comment on the speculation. Joy Global shares rose 2.77% Wednesday, on slightly more than the average daily volume. Shares traded in a range of $75.25 to $79.00 and closed at $78.16.