Benzinga’s M&A Chatter for Friday Friday February 1, 2013

Benzinga’s M&A Chatter for Friday Friday February 1, 2013

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Friday February 1, 2013:

Splunk, NetApp May be Acquisition Targets for IBM

The Report:
Splunk (NASDAQ: SPLK) and NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) are potential takeover targets, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Spokespersons for IBM and Splunk declined comment on the Bloomberg report. A spokesperson for NetApp was not available for comment.

Splunk closed at $ 33.90 Friday, a gain of almost 3% on 1.5 times average volume. NetApp closed at $ 36.25 Friday, a gain of $ 0.25 on lower than average volume.

Analyst Note Discusses Possible Netflx Interest in AMC Networks

The Rumor:
A note from Albert Fried says AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX) could be a takeover target of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). Fried says the bid could be $ 80 per share.

An AMC spokesperson declined comment on the note. A Netflix spokesperson was not available.

AMC Networks closed at $ 58.55 Friday, a gain of almost 3% on 1.5 times average volume.

Hearing Unconfirmed Takeover Chatter in Universal Display

The Rumor:
Shares Universal Display (NASDAQ: PANL) spiked higher midday on Friday, on takeover chatter from an unconfirmed source.

A spokesperson for Universal Display was not available for comment.

Universal Display closed at $ 30.67 Friday, a gain of 10% on twice average volume.

Report Clearwire had Discussions with AT&T, MetroPCS, T-Mobile and China Mobile on Possible Deals

The Filing:
Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) reported in a filing Friday, that it had discussions on possible deals with eight companies over the past two years, in addition to the most recent offers from Sprint (NYSE: S) and DISH (NASDAQ: DISH), Clearwire reportedly had discussions with AT&T (NYSE: T), MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS), Deutsche Telecom’s T-Mobile (OTC: DTEGY) and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL), according to Bloomberg.

Sprint agreed on December 17, 2012, to buy the remainder of Clearwire it did not already own for $ 2.97 per share. Dish countered that with an offer of $ 3.30 per share on Janaury 8, 2013.

Clearwire closed at $ 3.19 Friday, a gain of $ 0.01 on lower than average volume.

Hearing Renewed Takeover Chatter in Life Technologies

The Rumor:
Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) may have several potential buyers, including Thermo Fisher (NYSE: TMO), GE (NYSE: GE) and Danaher (NYSE: DHR), according to Deal Reporter. Life Technologies announced on January 18, it had retained Deutsche Bank and Moelis & Company to assist in its annual strategic review. Macquarie said on Janaury 30, they think Thermo Fisher will buy LIFE for $ 80 per share.

Life Technologies closed at $ 65.24 Friday, a gain of $ 0.55 on average volume.

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