Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday October 22, 2015

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday October 22, 2015:

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SFX Entertainment, Inc.'s

Special Committee of the Board of Directors announced Thursday, that it has received preliminary indications of interests from parties interested in acquiring the Company, including Chairman and CEO Robert F.X. Sillerman, whose preliminary bid was reported in a 13D filing. The committee is evaluating the indications of interests and is in the interested parties. SFX Entertainment closed at $1.00, up more than 11%.

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Graham Holdings

subsidiary Kaplan, Inc., has agreed to acquire SmartPros, Ltd.

, for approximately $16.9 million in cash or $3.57 per share. The transaction is expected to close by year-end. SmartPros closed at $3.52 Thursday, up 38%.

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Lexmark International

is exploring strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company, according to sources as reported by the

on Thursday. Lexmark is said to be working with Goldman Sachs on the process. Lexmark International closed at $32.88 Thursday, up almost 6%.

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Interval Leisure Group Inc. is reportedly in talks to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s

vacation-ownership business, according to a source as reported by the

on Thursday. The deal could be valued $1 billion to $1.5 billion and could be announced as early as next week. Starwood closed at $66.99 Thursday, up almost 3%.