News Summary (HELE, LULU, MA)

Shares of Helen of Troy Ltd HELE advanced about 10% after the company announced its plans to purchase Kaz Inc for $260 million in cash. The companies are expecting the deal to close by 2010 end. Richard Katzman, Chairman of Kaz Inc said, "After 84 years and three generations, the Katzman family is very pleased that Kaz will continue to operate as a vibrant part of the Helen of Troy organization. They have built an outstanding company that shares the same entrepreneurial culture and core values that have been essential to our success. I believe the combination of these two market leaders will be very powerful." Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc LULU surged about 14% after the company reported around two-fold y/y rise in its Q3 profit. The company's earnings came in at $0.36 per share, up from $0.20 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The firm's revenue increased to $175.8 million from $122.9 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings at $0.25 per share, on $159.6 million in revenue. LULU projects its Q4 earnings of $0.46 per share to $0.48 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.41 per share. MasterCard Inc MA announced that it bought the Travelex's prepaid card program management assets for $458 million. The deal is likely to close in the first half of 2011. MA shares are up about 1%. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.