Monthly M&A Insider - Mergermarket

Expected deals
Situation Target company Sector Potential bidder
company
Expected deal Heartland
Payment
Systems Inc
Expected deal bebe stores,
inc.
Expected deal Axsys
Technologies,
Inc
Expected deal Major Drilling
Group
International
Inc
Expected deal Wabash
National Corp
Financial
Services
Bank of America
Corporation;
JPMorgan Chase
& Co.; or Fifth
Third Bancorp
Consumer Undisclosed
bidder
Industrials &
Chemicals
Energy,
Mining &
Utilities
Industrials &
Chemicals
Undisclosed
bidder
Layne
Christensen
Company; or
Boart Longyear
Limited
Undisclosed
bidder
Financial
adviser to
bidder (B);
target (T);
seller (S)
Advising
target: Bank
of Nova
Scotia;
TD Bank
Financial
Group
Seller company Market
cap/ est.
value
($m)
Comments
North America
800 Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY), the
electronic payment processing company based in
Princeton, New Jersey, could find itself seeking a
buyer, an industry source and analyst said. Heartland,
which announced a security breach earlier this year,
also could emerge from the crisis in fair condition if
an FTC investigation finds that it maintained proper
security practices, the industry source noted. Big
players like JPMorgan, Bank of America and Fifth
Third could target Heartland because they would
want its merchant contracts and transaction volume,
the analyst said.
460 Bebe Stores, the women’s apparel retailer, is
currently seen as a prime take-private candidate
following its recent executive management shakeup,
industry sources say. The Brisbane, California-based
company, with a market cap of USD 460m, could see
a take-private deal as a way to conduct its necessary
restructuring away from the glare of the public
markets, these people said.
409 Axsys Technologies, Inc. (AXYS), a global leader in
the design and development of high-performance
surveillance cameras, imaging systems and related
motion control technologies, announced that it is
evaluating the possible sale of the company.
240 Major Drilling Group International (TSE:MDI), the
Moncton, New Brunswick-based drilling services
company, could be an attractive target down the
road, said several analysts. The company’s low share
price alone makes it extremely attractive, but it also
consistently generates significant revenues, the
first analyst said. Major is one of the largest drilling
services companies in the sector, which also makes
it an ideal takeout candidate, the same analyst said.
Two of the analysts covering the company said that
it would be attractive to its competitors like listed
Sydney, Australia-based Boart Longyear and listed
Mission Woods, Kansas-based Layne Christensen. It
would also be attractive to financial buyers and larger
mining companies looking to penetrate the services
side of operations.
129 Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC) provided
an update on the status of its delayed Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2008. On March 16, 2009, the Company filed a
notification of late filing indicating that it was unable
to complete and file the Form 10-K by its original
due date because it was continuing to assess its
financial position and liquidity requirements in light of
recent and ongoing economic conditions that have
negatively impacted the Company’s operating results
and caused instability in the capital markets. The
company is reviewing strategic alternatives.
Monthly M&A report – 20