Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday March 8, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday March 8, 2012:

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Heckmann Corporation

announced Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement with CIVC Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, to acquire Thermo Fluids. Thermo Fluids is a route-based environmental services and waste recycling solutions company that focuses primarily on the collection and recycling of used motor oil. TFI is the largest seller of commercial fuel oil from recovered UMO in the Western United States. This strategic acquisition expands Heckmann's total environmental solutions offering and diversifies the Company's operations by revenue, geography and customer base. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Heckmann's earnings in 2012 and close early in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Heckmann closed at $5.29 Thursday, a loss of 0.94% on just under the average daily volume.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

announced Thursday the acquisition of Wischmeyer Benefit Partners in Dallas, Texas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Mark Wischmeyer and his associates will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of John Neumaier, South Central Regional Executive Vice President of Gallagher's employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations. Arthur J. Gallagher closed at $34.91 Thursday, a gain of 1.28% on just under the average daily volume.

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A report from B Riley says Vermillion

could get as much as $8 per share as a takeover candidate, partly on the value of their OVA1 ovarian tumor triage test. A Vermillion spokesperson was not available for comment. Vermillion closed at $2.07 Thursday, a loss of 3.27% on 7 times the average daily volume.

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A Bernstein note says Astrazeneca

could offer as much as $4.5 billion for Amylin Pharmaceuticals

. A spokesperson for Amylin was not available for comment. Amylin closed at $15.77 Thursday, a loss of 2.47% on almost 3 times the average daily volume.