Wall Street's M&A Chatter From June 8: Cabelas, SciClone Pharma, Microsoft-Hexadite, Athenahealth-Praxify

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday, June 8, 2017.

DISH Network, Amazon Could Expand Partnership, Explore Possible Merger

The Rumor:

Days after the pair integrated Alexa exclusively into DISH boxes, a person familiar with the situation told Benzinga Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and DISH Network Corp DISH are considering extending their partnership or potentially merging sometime in the next few months.

DISH and Amazon both declined to comment.

DISH closed at $63.97 and was trading up about 2.4 percent in Friday's pre-market session.

Microsoft Acquired Hexadite for $100M

The Deal:

Microsoft Corporation MSFT announced it has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity company Hexadite. Terms of the agreement were not been disclosed, but the purchase price is being reported as $100 million, according to TechCrunch.

Microsoft closed at $71.95, down $0.44.

Athenahealth Announces Agreement to Acquire Praxify Technologies for up to ~$63M in Cash

The Deal:

Athenahealth, Inc. ATHN announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Praxify Technologies, Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of up to approximately $63 million in cash. Praxify is focused on reinventing how doctors work with health data to drive productivity, portability, and improved decision support.

Athenahealth closed at $141.02, up $1.94.

Smithfield Foods Parent WH Group Looking to Buy US, European Beef, Poultry Assets

The Rumor:

Smithfield Foods owner WH Group Ltd is seeking to acquire U.S. and European beef and poultry assets, according to a report from Reuters. Smithfield CEO Ken Sullivan, in an interview, said he's potentially interested in diversifying into other meats to broaden the company's product portfolio into meats other than pork, though no deals are pending.

WH Group's IR director Luis Chein said the company is looking for beef and poultry acquisitions in the United States and Europe, but would not name specific assets.

Tyson shares spiked as high as $61.57 on the report. Pilgrim's Pride rose to $25.21 and Sanderson Farms hit a high of $128.68.

Cabela's Acquisition Not Triggering FTC Concerns

The Rumor:

Shares Cabelas Inc CAB spiked higher as Capitol Forum reported that the FTC review of the acquisition of the company is not triggering major concerns. Cabela's has agreed to be acquired by Bass Pro Shops for $61.50 per share in cash.

Cabela's shareholders will vote on the deal on July 11 and if approved is expected to close in Q3 of 2017.

Cabela's shares closed at $56.42, up $1.49.

SciClone Pharma to be Acquired by GL Capital for $11.18/Share Cash

The Deal:

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. SCLN is being acquired by a consortium consisting led by GL Capital Management for $11.18 per share in cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $605 million and is expected to close this calendar year, is subject to approval by SciClone stockholders.

SciClone Pharma closed at $10.90, up $0.80.