Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Tuesday March 13, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Tuesday March 13, 2012:

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An affiliate of Apollo Global Management

and Great Wolf Resorts

announced Tuesday that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Apollo, a leading global asset manager, will acquire Great Wolf, North America's largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, for approximately $703 million, including the assumption of the Company's outstanding debt. Through a cash tender offer that is expected to commence today, Apollo will make an offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Great Wolf common stock for $5.00 per share. This offer represents a premium of 72.9% over the six-month average of Great Wolf's share price ending on March 12, 2012, a premium of 50.4% over the ninety-day average of Great Wolf's share price ending on March 12, 2012, and a 19.3% premium over Great Wolf's closing stock price on March 12, 2012. Great Wolf Resorts closed at $5.32 Tuesday, a gain of 27% on 81 times the average daily volume.

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TBC Corporation and Midas

announced Tuesday that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which TBC will acquire Midas through a cash tender offer at $11.50 per share. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $310 million, including the assumption of approximately $137 million in debt and pension liabilities. The $11.50 per share offer price represents a 75 percent premium over Midas' closing price of $6.58 on August 11, 2011, when Midas announced it would conduct a strategic review process, and a 28 percent premium over the closing share price as of Monday, March 12, 2012. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. In addition, Midas Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Feldman has signed a tender and voting agreement in support of the offer. Midas closed at $11.44 Tuesday, a gain of 27.25% on about 221 times the average daily volume.

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Dell

announced Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SonicWALL for $1.2 billion. SonicWALL's industry-leading Next-Generation Firewalls and Unified Threat Management Firewalls complement Dell's security solutions portfolio, enabling it to offer customers a broader range of enterprise offerings. Dell closed at $17.23 Tuesday, a gain of 1.59% on less than the average daily volume.

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Benihana

, operator of the nation's largest chain of Japanese theme and sushi restaurants, announced Tuesday that its Board of Directors is exploring strategic alternatives available to the Company, including a possible sale, in order to maximize shareholder value. The Company stated that no decision has been made to engage in a transaction or transactions resulting from the Board's exploration of strategic alternatives, and there can be no assurance that any transaction will occur or, if undertaken, the terms or timing thereof. The Company also announced that it has engaged Jefferies & Co. as its financial advisor in connection with a possible sale of the Company. Benihana closed at $11.85 Tuesday, a gain of 2.69% on twice the average daily volume, but traded over $12.00 after-hours.

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GlaxoSmithKline

is rumored to be making an offer to acquire Dendreon

, according to sources. The rumored offer is between $17 and $19 per share. GlaxoSmithKline has been mentioned most recently as a potential buyer of Human Genome Sciences

. A GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson would not comment on the rumor. A Dendreon spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Dendreon closed at $11.18 Tuesday, a gain of 0.22% on average volume.

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Thoma Bravo may bid for Brocade Communications

, according to a note from FBN Securities. Thoma Bravo was one of several private equity firms that were considered to be in the running for a Brocade takeover. The FBN note says that today's announced sale of Thoma Bravo investment SonicWALL to Dell, frees up enough capital to cover a Brocade deal. Benzinga spoke to a Brocade spokesperson and to Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Orlando Bravo. Neither would comment on the rumor. Brocade Communications closed at $5.78 Tuesday, a gain of 1.76% on slightly less than average volume.

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AT&T

is rumored to be making an offer of $85 per share to acquire Rackspace Hosting

. Dell

was mentioned as a possible buyer of the Texas-based hosting company, earlier this year. Spokespersons for both AT&T and Rackspace were contacted by Benzinga, but neither would comment of the rumored bid. Rackspace Hosting closed at $54.98 Tuesday, a gain of 3.74% on 1.3 times the average daily volume.

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Siemens

is rumored to be buying Infinera

for $10.50 per share. A representative of Infinera had no comment for Benzinga. A Siemens spokesperson was not available for comment. Infinera closed at $7.82 Tuesday, a gain of 3.99% on average volume.

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Talbots

is entering its second round of bidding in search of a buyer, according to

. Private equity firms Golden Gate, TPG and Sycamore Partners were previously mentioned to be on the list of buyers in the running to acquire Talbots. A representative of Talbots was not available for comment, but the company had stated previously they would not provide interim updates during the bidding process. Talbots closed at $3.15 Tuesday, a gain of 0.96% on average volume.