Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Tuesday August 25, 2015: D.C. Public Service Commission Votes Down Pepco-Excelon Merger The Deal:
The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia voted Tuesday, to deny an application for acquisition of Pepco Holdings, Inc. POM by Exelon Corporation as not being in the public interest. Pepco and Exelon have 30 days to ask the Commission to reconsider its decision. Pepco and Excelon issued a joint statement: "We are disappointed with the Commission's decision and believe it fails to recognize the benefits of the merger to the District of Columbia and its residents and businesses. We continue to believe our proposal is in the public interest and provides direct immediate and long-term benefits to customers, enhances reliability and preserves our role as a community partner. We will review our options with respect to this decision and will respond once that process is complete." The merger application has been approved in Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Only the District of Columbia has denied the application. Pepco closed at $22.51 on Tuesday, down 16.5%. Excelon closed at $30.40, down almost 7%. Syngenta Investor Says Would Tender Shares at CHF 470/Share The Shareholder Comments:
Guillaume Delorme, fund manager for Oddo Asset Management, which holds a 0.16% stake in Syngenta SYT, said Tuesday, 470 Swiss francs per share is a good price and we would tender our shares at this level, according to Reuters. On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Monsanto had increased its offer to acquire Syngenta from CHF 449 per share to CHF 470 per share, according to sources. Syngenta fell 4% Tuesday, closing at $78.09. Encana to Sell Its Haynesville Natural Gas Assets for $850M The Deal:
Encana Corporation ECA announced Monday, that its subsidiary, Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., has reached an agreement to sell its Haynesville natural gas assets in northern Louisiana, to GEP Haynesville, LLC for $850 million in cash. The sale is expected to close in Q4 of 2015. Encana shares rose 2.74% Tuesday, closing at $5.99. Heartland Food Products to Acquire Splenda Brand from Johnson & Johnson The Deal:
Heartland Food Products Group announced Tuesday, it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Splenda low calorie sweetener brand from McNeil Nutritionals, LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. JNJ. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. JNJ fell 2.25% Tuesday, closing at $90.73.