Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Tuesday August 18, 2015

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Tuesday August 18, 2015:

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Shares of Energy Focus

rose briefly Tuesday on unconfirmed market chatter that it was a potential takeover target of Acuity Brands

. Spokespersons for Energy Focus and Acuity were not available for comment. Energy Focus closed at $15.31 on Tuesday, a loss of 6%.

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BB&T Corporation

and National Penn Bancshares, Inc.

announced Tuesday, an agreement under which BB&T will acquire National Penn in a cash and stock transaction for total consideration valued at approximately $1.8 billion. National Penn stockholders can receive 0.3206 of a share of BB&T common stock or $13.00 in cash for each share of National Penn common stock. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2016. National Penn Bancshares closed at $12.75 Tuesday, a gain of almost 17%.

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Investor Martin D. Sass of MD Sass told Benzinga on Tuesday in an email, he would support Shire plc

bidding "up to a maximum of $50 per share for Baxalta Incorporated

if it's necessary in order to get a friendly deal done", but no higher. Sass said a Baxalta poison pill makes it highly problematical for Shire to pursue a hostile takeover. He added that Shire remains attractive as a standalone company. Sass owns stakes in both Shire and Baxalta. On August 5, Shire announced a proposal to acquire Baxalta in an all-stock deal valued at $45.23 per share. Shire's Board said the offer " significantly undervalues Baxalta and its attractive prospects for growth and value creation." Baxalta shares fell 1% Tuesday, closing at $39.92.

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Motorola Solutions Inc.

is in advanced talks to acquire U.K. communication services provider Airwave Solutions Ltd., according to souces as reported by

on Tuesday. A deal for the company, controlled by Macquarie Group Ltd., could bring $1.6 billion, said the source, who indicated talks were still ongoing. Motorola shares rose $0.50 Tuesday, closing at $65.77.

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Seagate Technology plc

and Dot Hill Systems Corp.

announced Monday, that a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Seagate will commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Dot Hill in an all-cash transaction valued at $9.75 per share, for a total of approximately $694 million on a fully-diluted equity value basis. The transaction is expected to close during Q4 of 2015 Dot Hill Systems shares closed at $5.18 Tuesday, and traded at $9.73 after-hours.