Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Wednesday July 23, 2014

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday July 23, 2014: Gas Natural Tells Algonquin the Company is 'Not for Sale' The Deal:
Algonquin Power & Utilities AQUNF announced Wednesday, that it sent a letter to the Gas Natural EGAS Board of Directors, urging shareholders to insist on a sale of the company. Algonquin said, over the past seven months, the company has sent three letters and reached out numerous times, to discuss a potential acquisition of Gas Natural, by subsidiary Liberty Utilities. Liberty's most recent offer to Gas Natural was $13.00 per share on May 7, 2014. Gas Natural's response was that the company is "Not for Sale" and refused to discuss the proposed transaction. Gas Natural shares closed Wednesday at $12.68, a gain of almost 2%. Talisman Confirms Approach by Repsol The Deal:
Shares of Talisman Energy TLM spiked higher Wednesday, ahead of a press release confirming they have been approached by Spain's Repsol REPYY, "with regards to various transactions." Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Repsol might explore a bid for the Canadian oil and gas company. Repsol also confirmed Wednesday, that the two companies had discussed potential transactions and that Talisman was among potential buyout targets. Talisman Energy closed Wednesday at $11.17, a gain of more than 13%. Yahoo Shares Surge on Forbes Report on Potential Takeover The Rumor:
Shares of Yahoo YHOO spiked higher Wednesday, on a report from Forbes, that it could be a takeover target for Alibaba BABA or Softbank SFTBY. The article's author, Eric Jackson, who is long Yahoo, said a large shareholder was preparing a presentation mentioning why such an acquisition would be attractive. Yahoo shares closed Wednesday at $34.71, a gain of more than 3%. Ariad Shares Move on Fake Twitter Post The Rumor:
Shares of Ariad Pharmaceuticals ARIA surged higher Wednesday, apparently on a fake Twitter account, claiming to be a Deutsche Bank trader. The fake tweets mentioned Shire SHPG would be announcing a deal with Ariad on Thursday. Benzinga's requests for a comment from Ariad were not immediately answered. Ariad Pharmaceuticals closed Wednesday at $5.88, a gain of 15%. Ariad rose another 7% after-hours.