Benzinga'a M&A Chatter for Wednesday April 18, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday April 18, 2012:

:

WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone, a competitive provider of residential and commercial high-speed Internet, cable television and telephone services which is controlled by Avista Capital Partners, and Knology

, today jointly announced a definitive merger agreement under which a subsidiary of WOW! will acquire Knology in an all-cash transaction. Knology is a leading provider of interactive communications and entertainment services in ten markets in the southeastern United States and three markets in the midwestern United States. Under the terms of the agreement, WOW! will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Knology for $19.75 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 34% over Knology's average closing share price during the 3-month period prior to media reports on Knology's sales process. The total transaction value is approximately $1.5 billion. The Board of Directors of Knology, acting on the unanimous recommendation of a Transaction Committee of the Board, unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close after receipt of approval by Knology's stockholders and satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions. Knology closed at $19.40 Wednesday, a gain of 7.48% on 49 times the average daily volume.

:SXC Health Solutions Corp.

and Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc.

announced Wednesday that their Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which SXC and Catalyst will combine in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $4.4 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Catalyst shareholders will receive $28.00 in cash and 0.6606 shares of SXC stock for each Catalyst share, which implies a purchase price of $81.02 per Catalyst share and a premium of approximately 28% based on the closing stock prices of SXC and Catalyst on April 17, 2012. SXC Health Solutions closed at $89.36 Wednesday, a gain of 11.33% on 33 times the average daily volume. Catalyst Health Solutions closed at $85.23 Wednesday, a gain of 34.14% on 43 times the average daily volume.

:

Roche (

) released the following statement based on preliminary estimates indicating the re-election of the incumbent directors of Illumina, Inc.

at the Illumina annual meeting: In view of the apparent re-election of the incumbent directors of Illumina, Roche has decided not to extend its $51.00 cash tender offer for all of the shares of Illumina. The offer will expire at 6:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 20, 2012. Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche said: “We continue to hold Illumina and its management in very high regard but, with access only to public information about Illumina's business and prospects, we do not believe that a price above Roche's offer for Illumina of $51.00 per share would be in the interest of Roche's shareholders.” Schwan continued: “We have throughout this process desired to engage in a constructive dialogue with Illumina's management, listen to its views of value and prospects, and offer a fair and adequate price to Illumina's shareholders. But in the absence of such discussions, our duty to be disciplined with the assets of Roche's shareholders has led to this decision. Roche will continue to consider options and opportunities to develop further its portfolio of businesses in order to expand its diagnostics leadership position.” Illumina closed at $44.51 Wednesday, a gain of 1.16% on 8 times the average daily volume.

:

Anglo American (

) has made a $95.75 per share offer to acquire Cliff's Natural Resources

, according to sources. Cliff's was the subject of chatter in February, with BHP Billiton

and Rio Tinto

the rumored buyers. A spokesperson for Anglo American would not comment on the rumor. A Cliff's spokesperson was not available for comment. Cliff's Natural Resources closed at $70.10 Wednesday, a loss of 0.38% on less than average volume.

:

Fusion-IO

has been the subject of frequent takeover chatter recently. On Wednesday, Cisco Systems

was the rumored buyer for $45 per share. A spokesperson for Fusion-IO would not comment on the rumor. A Cisco spokesperson was not available for comment. Fusion-IO closed at $27.98 Wednesday, a gain of 0.90% on half the average daily volume.

:

Origin Agritech

was rumored Wednesday to be taken private by its Chairman Dr. Gengchen Han. On Monday it was reported that Han had taken a 19% stake in MIPS. A spokesperson for Origin Agritech was not available for comment. Origin Agritech closed at $2.13 Wednesday, a gain of 5.97% on 9 times the average daily volume.

:

MIPS Technologies

was rumored to be a takeover target once again on Wednesday. Advanced Micro Devices

and Google

were the rumored buyers on Monday. A spokesperson for MIPS Technologies was not available for comment. MIPS Technologies closed at $7.20 Wednesday, a gain of 3.30% on 3 times the average daily volume.