Bristol-Myers to Acquire Inhibitex for $2.5 B, Stocks Sideways

Arthi Gupta
09 Jan, 2012
New York City

The U.S. indexes traded sideways. Bristol-Myers agreed to acquire Inhibitex for $2.5 billion. InfoSpace signed an agreement to acquire TaxACT for $287.5 million. After the close, Alcoa is expected to release fourth quarter earnings that are likely to be weaker.

[R]9:35 AM New York – The U.S. indexes traded sideways. Bristol-Myers agreed to acquire Inhibitex for $2.5 billion. InfoSpace signed an agreement to acquire TaxACT for $287.5 million. After the close, Alcoa is expected to release fourth quarter earnings that are likely to be weaker.[/R]

U.S. indexes traded sideways ahead of the start of the earnings season tomorrow and after the close Alcoa is set to release its fourth quarter earnings.

Market sentiment was cautious after German six month debt yield turned negative and deposit with the European Central Bank rose to a record high for the second day in a row.

The benchmark indexes in Europe traded lower ahead of a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel later today and Germany sold short term debt at a lower yield that turned negative.

Leaders of France, Germany and Italy will meet in Rome on January 20 to discuss the euro-zone debt crisis.

Germany placed €3.9 billion of its 6-month treasury bills that will mature on July 11 at a yield of -0.0122% compared to 0.0005% at a similar auction on December 5. The bid-to-cover ratio fell to 1.8 from 3.8.

The major Asian markets traded mixed.

Chinese banks extended 640.5 billion yuan in new loans in December, up from 562.2 billion yuan in November, data from the People''s Bank of China showed today.

Bristol-Myers to Acquire Inhibitex

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the biopharmaceutical company agreed to acquire hepatitis C drug developer Inhibitex, Inc. for $26.00 per share in a cash deal valued at $2.5 billion.

The proposed deal hopes to increase sales in its virology products, while enhancing its broad HCV portfolio with the addition of Inhibitex''s INX-189, a potent NS5B Nucleotide.

B/E Aerospace to Purchase UFC Aerospace

B/E Aerospace, the manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products and distributor of aerospace fasteners and consumables agreed to acquire UFC Aerospace Corp for $400 million in cash. UFC provides complex supply chain management and inventory logistics solutions to aerospace original equipment manufacturers.

InfoSpace to Buy TaxACT

InfoSpace, Inc., the Internet search tools provider signed an agreement to acquire TaxACT, a provider of online tax solutions, for $287.5 million in cash.

Earnings Review

General Motors Company ((GM)), the automaker said its sales in China grew 8.3% in 2011 as the company and its joint ventures sold 2,547,171 vehicles.

Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. ((MMI)) estimated total fourth quarter sales of $3.4 billion, unchanged from last year. The company said the fourth quarter estimates include shipments of about 10.5 million mobile devices, of which about 5.3 million were smartphones.

PriceSmart, Inc. ((PSMT)), the operator of membership warehouse clubs said its net sales for December surged 22.7% to $227.5 million from $185.4 million a year earlier.

The Jean Coutu Group PJC, Inc., the Canadian drugstore chain reported third quarter revenues grew 2.8% to C$700.1 million from C$681.1 million in the same period last year. On a same-store basis, PJC network''s retail sales rose 2.6% from last year.

Net income in the quarter increased 5.9% to C$51.7 million or C$0.23 per share compared to net income of C$48.8 million or C$0.21 per share in the prior-year period.