Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday November 26, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Monday November 26, 2012:

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McGraw-Hill Companies

announced Monday it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its McGraw-Hill Education business to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC

, for a purchase price of $2.5 billion, subject to certain closing adjustments. As part of this transaction, McGraw-Hill will receive $250 million in senior unsecured notes issued by the purchaser at an annual interest rate of 8.5%. The transaction, which is expected to close in late 2012 or early 2013, is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. McGraw-Hill Companies closed at $51.89 Monday, a gain of 0.40% on 2.5% times average volume.

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AvalonBay Communities

along with Equity Residential

announced Monday that the companies entered into an agreement with Lehman Brothers Holdings

to acquire the assets and liabilities of Archstone Enterprise LP (“Archstone”), which consist principally of a portfolio of high quality apartment communities in major markets in the United States, for approximately $16 billion in the aggregate. Under the terms of the Agreement, AvalonBay will acquire approximately 40% of Archstone's assets and liabilities and Equity Residential will acquire approximately 60% of Archstone's assets and liabilities. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2013. AvalonBay Communities closed at $128.95 Monday, but traded 1.3% lower after hours.

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Merit Medical Systems

announced Monday that it has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire Thomas Medical Products from GE Healthcare

in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $167 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. Merit currently anticipates that the proposed transaction will close prior to December 31, 2012. Merit Medical Systems closed at $13.23 Monday and traded slightly higher after-hours.

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Onex Corporation

announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire USI, a leading U.S. provider of insurance brokerage services, for $2.3 billion. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of 2012 subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Onex closed at $40.45 Monday, down $0.32.

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Private equity firm Apollo Global Management

is rumored to be in talks to acquire UK Jewelry retailer Aurum, according to a report from the

late Sunday. A spokesperson for Apollo was not available for comment. Apollo Global Management closed at $15.27 Monday, a loss of $0.06 on lower than average volume.