>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: PERY +3.3%, JRJC +2.8%, OZRK+0.5%

M&A news: MRO +2.3% (to sell certain non-core assets for $950 mln)

Select EU financial related names showing continued strength: SAN +2.1%,ING +1.8%, BCS +1.5%, CS +1.2%, DB +0.6%

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: BHP +3.9%, RIO +3.8%, BBL+3.4%, MTL +3.1%, VALE +2.5%, FCX +2.2%

Select oil/gas related names showing strength: REXX +11.2%, LEI +5.3%, HLX+4.7%, SDRL +3.9%, CHK +3.6%, RIG +1.6%, PBR +1%, STO +0.8%

Other news: EGLE +14.3% (Goldentree Asset Management disclosed active 18.6% stake in 13D), ARNA +10.3% (reports favorable results from Phase 1b multiple-ascending dose clinical trial of APD371), SUNE +7% (continued volatility in pre-mkt action), NMR +4.6% (confirms strategic changes in EMEA and the Americas), CEL +3% (announces Israeli Antitrust & Ministry of Communications oppose Golan Telecom purchase), VRX +1% (completes amendment to its credit facility to extend the deadline for filing its 10-K to May 31)

Analyst comments: FOLD +8.1% (target raised to $15 at Chardan Capital Markets; feels co could be bought for >$22.50/share), CPXX +6% (initiated with a Buy at Needham), P +3.2% (initiated with a Buy at Citigroup), MT+2.8% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman; added to Conviction Buy List), YNDX +2.5% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), N +2.4% (initiated with an Overweight at Mitsubishi UFJ), GLW +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers
Gapping up: MNKD +7.9%, SUNE +5%, SDRL +4.9%, JRJC +4.9%, NMR +4.6%, BHP +3.7%, MTL +3.1%, MTL +3.1%, RIO+3%, PBR +2.7%, SAN +2.6%, CHK +2.2%, GLW +2.1%, VALE +2%, BCS +1.8%, ING +1.8%, VOD +1.5%, RIG +1.5%,IAG +1.4%, STO +1.3%, FCX +1.1%, DB +1%, CS +0.9%, MRO +0.7%, VRX +0.5%, OZRK +0.5%

Gapping down: JNPR -9.8%, AA -3.5%, SRC -2.6%, FAST -2.4%, REXR -2.1%, ERIC -1.5%, CSCO -1.4%, STM -1.2%

>>> Premier Foods could get further interest from Nissin, other rivals less like

MergerMarket

Premier Foods could get further interest from Nissin, other rivals less likely

* Nissin would like to increase stake from 19.9% — company spokesperson
* Nissin-Premier commercial partnership unlikely to proceed if McCormick bid prevails
* Premier’s pension scheme means McCormick unlikely to face other rivals

As merger talks with McCormick & Company [NYSE:MKC] continue, Nissin Foods Holdings [TYO:2897] could be interested in further increasing its stake in Premier Foods [LON:PFD], a Nissin spokesperson and an independent sector advisor said.

The spokesperson declined to comment on whether such an increase would amount to a rival bid, but he said Nissin would try to strengthen its tie-up relations by acquiring additional Premier Foods shares, on top of the 19.9% it currently holds.

A stake increase would come as Premier Foods shares lag the 63p per share Nissin paid exiting Premier Foods shareholder Warburg Pincus for a 17.3% stake last month. As this news service reported, Nissin’s current stake in Premier Foods is unlikely to be considered a frustrating action, but stands in the way of an eventual squeeze-out by McCormick, which would require 90% approval. Further stakebuilding by Nissin to 25%, however, could thwart a scheme of arrangement between Premier Foods and McCormick, which would require the consent of 75% of Premier shareholders.

It is not clear whether an increase in shares would be a prelude to a full bid. Premier could see Nissin as a potential “white knight” amid ongoing negotiations with McCormick, suggested the Nissin spokesperson and a second independent sector advisor. The Nissin-Premier tie-up, promoted in a presentation to shareholders last week, gives Premier Foods CEO Gavin Darby a growth opportunity to fall back on in case negotiations with McCormick fall through, the second advisor added.

Nissin has also signed a commercial partnership with Premier, conditional on the company no longer being under an offer period. This arrangement appears to be a prelude to Nissin taking a larger stake in the company, said the first advisor.

Nissin has a history of being a white knight in a hostile bid. Its largest acquisition was made in 2006 when it interrupted Steel Partners' [NYSE:SPLP] hostile bid for Myojo Foods as a white knight. Nissin offered JPY 870 per share, well above the JPY 700 offered by Steel Partners, as reported.

The potential acquirer also has access to financing, the Nissin spokesperson said. The company can borrow freely from its lead main bank, Mizuho, as well as from Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, he added. At the end of March 2015, it had JPY 94.4bn in cash and deposits while it had JPY 3.9bn in short-term borrowing and JPY 9.5bn in long-term borrowing.

The Nissin-Premier partnership would give Nissin a better position in Europe and a range of new products to sell through its own regional channels, said the spokesperson and the second advisor. Nissin has footholds in Germany and Hungary and distribution networks in Spain and France, but still lacks a UK presence, said the spokesperson. Nissin already has a strong presence in Asia and North America, and expansion in Europe fits its global strategy, noted an independent sector analyst.

However, as McCormick is a global company with an established East Asian presence and could already overlap with Nissin, it would be unlikely that Nissin would seek a similar partnership with Premier under McCormick control, said the second advisor.

Beyond Nissin, other rival bids for Premier are unlikely, said a second sector advisor. Given the size of Premier’s pension scheme, a private equity bidder for the company would be unlikely, said the second advisor, a minority shareholder, and an independent pensions consultant.

A rival bid — even from an industry peer — would be unlikely, as Premier’s eclectic range of brands would be unlikely to fit any single bidder’s current needs, the second advisor said. Moreover, Premier’s pension scheme is liable to frighten off all but the most far-sighted offerors, the second advisor added.

Nissin and Premier had been talking about various business and capital tie-up possibilities, including an acquisition, for some time before McCormick’s initial 52p/share approach in February, said the Nissin spokesperson. Upon McCormick’s second approach, at 60p/share in March, the commercial partnership was reached in a matter of days, said the spokesperson, and Nissin simultaneously bought a 17.3% stake from Warburg Pincus.

Premier Foods did not respond to a request for comment..

>>> Gartner said worldwide PC shipments declined 9.6% in Q1 of 2016 (43.77)

Gartner said worldwide PC shipments declined 9.6% in Q1 of 2016
Worldwide PC shipments totaled 64.8 million units in the first quarter of 2016, a 9.6 percent decline from the first quarter of 2015, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. This was the sixth consecutive quarter of PC shipment declines, and the first time since 2007 that shipment volume fell below 65 million units.

(MS) Vivendi / Mediaset : 'Chi va piano, va sano'

After months of press speculation, Vivendi and Mediaset have unveiled their partnership. The benefits look immediate for Mediaset, perhaps more remote for Vivendi. The deal also has wider implications for the rest of the European free- and pay-TV landscape.

Vivendi and Mediaset unveil a "binding strategic and industrial agreement", which will lead to: i) the development of various initiatives for the production and distribution of audiovisual content; and ii) the creation of a
global OTT delivery platform. The online properties of the two groups in France, Italy, Spain and Germany will converge into a single project. The new project also forecasts expansion in countries where the two groups are not
present.

The proposed deal is cemented by a share swap. As part of the deal (closing expected on 30th September 2016), Vivendi will receive 41.3m shares in Mediaset (3.5%) at €3.23ps, with Mediaset receiving 7.4m Vivendi shares at €18.65ps. Mediaset will transfer 100% of Mediaset Premium (and €120m of net cash) in exchange for 40.5m Vivendi shares (2.96%), valuing Mediaset Premium at €755m. Vivendi and Mediaset have committed themselves to a three-year lock-up agreement on the respective listed shares. Vivendi cannot acquire further shares in Mediaset in the first year, and cannot grow its stake beyond 5% in the second and third year. No board members have been
appointed yet. The agreement between Mediaset and Vivendi is subject to the necessary reviews of the relevant Antitrust authorities, which we expect to be light.

Fundamentally, a positive for Mediaset ... The fact that Mediaset is crystallizing value around a margin/returns dilutive business and in exchange receives a decent liquid stake in Vivendi is good news. Our 2016/17 EPS increases 59/4% as: i) Mediaset Premium losses in 2015 were bigger than expected (€114m vs MSe on €90m); ii) Underlying cost inflation is more constrained (+€10m versus MSe on +€20m) than expected; and iii) This points to better than expected profits in the remaining free-TV operations where ad trends are also pacing slightly better than expected.

...although terms perhaps not as good as expected: i) There is a ~€200m
cash leakage as Mediaset has to first buy Telefonica's 11% stake in Mediaset
Premium and will deconsolidate €120m of cash; ii) The value of Mediaset
Premium of €755m is €150m short of our expectations; iii) Mediaset share
count increases 3.5%; and iv) The existing lock-up that prevents Vivendi from
getting a >5% stake in Mediaset until 2019 will likely remove any M&A
premium that may have been baked into the share price for now. Our SOTP is
updated for the deal, but our €3.7 PT is unchanged. Our 2016 EPS is up 59%
(very low base and benefit of deconsolidation of losses) but our outer years
forecast are more modest, which explains why our base €3.7 PT is unchanged.