Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday March 17, 2014

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Monday March 17, 2014:

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Vodafone (NASDAQ:

) announced Monday it has agreed to acquire Spanish cable operator Ono, for a total consideration equivalent to €7.2 billion. Ono shareholders reportedly approved plans last week for an IPO. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2014. Vodafone closed Monday at $7.58, a gain of 3%.

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Hastings Entertainment (NASDAQ:

) announced Monday that it has entered a Merger Agreement with wholly-owned subsidiaries of Joel Weinshanker. Under the agreement, upon completion of the merger, each share of Hastings Entertainment will be converted into the right to receive a cash payment of $3.00 per share. Hastings Entertainment closed Monday at $2.98, a gain of 56%.

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Matthews International (NASDAQ:

) announced Monday that the Company has agreed to acquire global brand development company Schawk (NYSE:

) for $11.80 per share in cash and 0.20582 shares of Matthews' common stock. Based on the closing price of Matthews' stock on March 14, 2014, the total value of the deal is $20 per share or approximately $577 million. The deal is expected to close in the quarter ending September 30, 2014. Schawk closed Monday at $19.94, a gain of 35%.