The Top 10 M&A Spread Opportunities In The Market

According to the latest spreads by Sin Letter, there are currently some huge M&A arbitrage opportunities in the market. However, the bigger the spread, the bigger the risk, and a large spread is often an indication of market skepticism that the deal will ultimately go through.

The largest spread in the market today is the 178 percent spread in the price of Williams Companies Inc WMB which had agreed to a buyout at $43.50 by Energy Transfer Equity LP ETE that was expected to close by the end of June 2016. Clearly the massive spread indicates that the market has its doubts about the deal.

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The nearest potential closing date on the list is the acquisition of Vivint Solar Inc VSLR by Sunedison Inc SUNE for $15.25/share, a deal that was expected to close by the end of March. With Sunedison’s stock now trading below $2.30 and Vivint's spread at 92.3 percent, the market doesn’t seem to have much faith in this deal as well.

In addition to the two deals mentioned above, Staples, Inc. SPLS’s potential buyout of Office Depot Inc ODP, Brookfield Infrastructure’s potential deal for Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC NKA and Halliburton Company HAL's potential acquisition of Baker Hughes Incorporated BHI round out the top five largest M&A spreads in the market today.

Disclosure: the author is long Halliburton.