Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday December 30, 2013

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Monday December 30, 2013:Cooper Tire Terminates Merger Agreement with Apollo TyresThe Termination:
Cooper Tire & Rubber (NYSE: CTB) announced Monday it has terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres. Apollo announced on June 12 it was acquiring Cooper Tire for $35.00 per share in cash. The deal was approved by Cooper shareholders on September 30. But the deal ran into months of problems, as Apollo attempted get the purchase price reduced.Roy Armes, Cooper's President, Chairman and CEO said: “While the strategic rationale for a business combination with Apollo is compelling, it is clear that the merger agreement both companies signed on June 12 will not be consummated by Apollo and we have been notified that financing for the transaction is no longer available. The right thing for Cooper now is to focus on continuing to build our business.”While Armes said Cooper is continuing to pursue legal action against Apollo, he stated "our focus will be squarely on our business and moving it forward".Cooper Tire closed Monday at $24.20, a gain of more than 5%.Hearing Interest in New York Times Coming Out of ChinaThe Rumor:
Shares of The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) surged higher Monday, on a report from China Times that a businessman Chen Guangbiao has expressed interest in acquiring the iconic newspaper publisher.A spokesperson for The New York Times reiterated comments by Chairman, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr that The New York Times is not for sale, though not responding to this particular rumor.The New York Times closed Monday at $16.09, a gain of almost 4.5%.PTC Acquires ThingWorx for $112MThe Deal:
PTC (NYSE: PTC) announced Monday it has acquired Internet of Things company ThingWorx, for approximately $112 million, plus a possible earn-out of up to $18 million.PTC closed Monday at $34,39, and gained another 2% after-hours.