The Special Situation Report #24: 7/3 Roundup

Summary of the Week in Special Situations

Jul 03, 2022

My latest report (covering PacBio) went out on Thursday morning. To those of you in the United States, I hope you get to spend some time in the sun with family and friends this weekend. Have a great July 4th.

Update on Developing M&A

Strategic Alternatives & Ongoing Situations

Ceragon Networks (CRNT) received an unsolicited takeover proposal from Aviat Networks (AVNW) for $2.80 per share (Press Release, Presentation)
Greybug Vision (GRAY) announced review of strategic alternatives (Press Release)
Hemisphere Media (HMTV) disclosed it received 2 offers above $7 / share during its go-shop period (Merger Proxy)
Kohl's (KSS) terminated deal talks with Franchise Group (FRG) and ended its formal strategic review process (Filing)
Rapid Micro Biosystems (RPID) received an unsolicited takeover proposal for $5 per share (Filing)
Spirit (SAVE) again delayed its shareholder vote on Frontier (ULCC) merger (Filing)
U.S. Global Investors (GROW) rejected an unsolicited proposal from Echo Lake Capital and Deerhaven Capital (Press Release)

Rumors

2U (TWOU) gained on a report of a $15 / share buyout offer from India’s Byju’s (Barron’s)
Cushman & Wakefield (CWK), Newmark (NMRK) denied merger rumors (NY Post)
Gulfport (GPOR) and Encino are reportedly weighing a merger (Bloomberg)
Robinhood (HOOD) 7.6% shareholder Sam Bankman-Fried denied active takeover discussions (Reuters)
Toronto-Dominion (TD) is reportedly weighing a takeover of Cowen (COWN) (Bloomberg)
WideOpenWest (WOW) reportedly subject of interest from Global Infrastructure Partners (Seeking Alpha)

Update on Shareholder Activism

Aerojet Rocketdyne’s (AJRD) CEO defeated its Chairman in proxy battle (Press Release)
Catalyst Biosciences (CBIO) announced it intends to distribute cash to shareholders (Filing)
Societal CDMO (SCTL) activist Railroad Ranch Capital intends to engage in discussions with the board regarding shareholder value (Filing)
Toshiba’s (TOSYY) board gained two directors from activist funds in historic shift (Reuters)

Update on Other Special Situations

Spin-Offs

Encompass Health (EHC) completed the spin-off of Enhabit (EHAB) (Press Release)
Novartis (NVS) leans toward a spinoff of its $25 billion generics arm (Bloomberg)

Other

Huntsman (HUN) is in talks to sell textiles unit to SK Capital (Bloomberg)
Playtika (PLTK) Joffre Capital takes ~26% stake in secondary deal with Chinese investment group (Filing)
Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY) may shelve sale of infant nutrition unit (Yahoo)
Siemens (SIEGY) bought a stake in Volkswagen’s (VWAGY) Electrify America, valuing the EV-charging network at $2.45 billion (Reuters)
TreeHouse Foods (THS) in talks to sell meal-prep unit to Investindustrial (Yahoo)
Walgreens (WBA) terminated the sale of its Boots U.K. chain (Press Release)

Announced M&A

Target / Acquirer – Transaction Enterprise Value

Healthcare

Epizyme (EPZM) / Ipsen (IPSEY) – $250mm (Press Release)

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