Wyndham rebuffs Choice Hotels; Southwestern surges on M&A talk: 4 big deal reports

Investing.com -- Here is your Pro Recap of 4 hot deal dispatches you may have missed last week: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts declines Choice Hotels’ takeover offer, Southwestern Energy surges on potential Chesapeake Energy acquisition, Jazz Pharmaceuticals explores strategic options, and Novo Nordisk buys a hypertension drug from KBP Biosciences.

InvestingPro subscribers got this news first. Never miss another market-moving headline.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts declines Choice Hotels’ $7.8 billion acquisition offer

After six months of merger discussions, Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) announced on Tuesday that it made an offer to acquire rival Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) for $90 per share in cash and stock - but Wyndham declined the offer.

Choice proposed paying $49.50 in cash and 0.324 shares of Choice common stock for each Wyndham share, implying an approximate equity value of $7.8 billion for Wyndham on a fully diluted basis. When accounting for Wyndham's net debt, the proposed transaction's total value stands at approximately $9.8B.

"Choice's offer is underwhelming, highly conditional, and subject to significant business, regulatory and execution risk," said Stephen Holmes, chairman of the Wyndham board. "Choice has been unwilling or unable to address our concerns."

Choice Hotels International shares closed with nearly an 8% loss this week, while Wyndham Hotels & Resorts gained around 9%.

Southwestern Energy surges 8% on potential Chesapeake Energy acquisition

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) initiated talks with Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) regarding a potential acquisition, per a Tuesday report from Reuters, which cited individuals familiar with the situation.

Following this news, Southwestern Energy shares on Tuesday surged more than 8%.

Should this merger go through, the combined entity would surpass EQT (NYSE:EQT) to become the largest natural gas-focused exploration and production company in the U.S. by market capitalization. Southwestern currently has a market valuation of approximately $12B, including debt.

These discussions are still in their preliminary stages, say sources, and Chesapeake might also consider other potential takeover candidates and could eventually opt for an alternative target.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals explores strategic options

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) is actively exploring various strategic options, including the potential sale of the entire company, according to a late Thursday report from Bloomberg News, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Alongside a potential sale, Jazz Pharma is also considering other strategic moves, including the possibility of dividing or divesting specific parts of the business - and one particular option it is exploring, says the report, is the separation of its cannabinoid unit from its oncology business. In 2021, the company acquired cannabinoid drug company GW Pharmaceuticals for $7.2B in cash and stock.

The current value of the entire company is $8.43B, based on Friday's closing price.

Shares were up 3.4% for the week to $133.55.

Novo Nordisk to buy a hypertension drug for $1.3B

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) announced on Monday its agreement to acquire ocedurenone, a drug designed for uncontrolled hypertension with potential applications in cardiovascular and kidney diseases, from KBP Biosciences for a sum of up to $1.3B, as reported by Reuters.

In a statement, Novo Nordisk emphasized that this acquisition aligns with its strategic goal of expanding beyond its core diabetes focus into the realm of other serious chronic diseases, utilizing novel drug modalities.

The transaction is anticipated to be closed by the end of this year, and Novo Nordisk assured that it will not have any impact on its operating profit outlook for 2023.

***

Get a leg up on the market: Always be the first to know with InvestingPro.