Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday March 3, 2014

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Monday March 3, 2014:

:

Shares of Lorillard

surged higher Monday on a report from

that Reynolds American

was considering a bid for the company, whose brands include Newport, Kent and e-cigarette brand Blu. According to sources, Lorillard has hired Lazard as an adivisor on a potential deal, which reportedly would be valued at more than $20 billion. Lorillard's market cap at the close of trade Monday was $19.42 billion. A Spokesperson for Reynolds American declined comment on the report, a Lorilard spokesperson was not available. Lorillard closed Monday at $53.61, a gain of 9%. Reynolds American closed at $53.29, a gain of almost 5%.

:

Caesars Acquisition Company

announced Monday that Caesars Growth Partners will acquire Bally's Las Vegas, The Cromwell, The Quad Resort & Casino and Harrah's New Orleans from Caesars Entertainment Corporation

for $2.2 billion. The purchase price includes assumed debt of $185 million and committed project capital expenditures of $223 million, resulting in cash consideration of approximately $1.8 billion. The deal is expected to close in Q2 2014. Caesars Entertainment closed Monday at $25.59, a loss of 1.5%.

:

Shares of Loral Space & Communications

spiked higher Monday on a report from

that the company had hired Perella Weinberg Partners to assist the company on a possible sale, according to sources. Potential buyers reportedly include Carlyle Group

, KKR

, Apax Partners, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. A spokesperson for Loral, which owns a majority stake in Canada's Telesat Holdings, was not available for comment. Orbitz Worldwide closed Monday at $9.66, a gain of 1.5%.

:

Minerals Technologies

announced Monday that it has increased its cash offer for AMCOL International

to $45.00 per share. The transaction is expected to close in the H1 2014. AMCOL International closed Monday at $46.35, a gain of 4.5%.