Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Tuesday December 27, 2011

Here are the M&A deals and chatter for Tuesday December 27, 2011: Ventas to Acquire Cogdell Spencer The Deal: Ventas, Inc. VTR and Cogdell Spencer CSA announced Tuesday that the Boards of Directors of both companies have approved a definitive agreement under which Ventas will acquire Cogdell and its 72 high quality medical office buildings in an all-cash transaction. At closing, Ventas's investment, including its share of debt, is expected to approximate $760 million to $770 million, before anticipated transaction expenses. Under the terms of the agreement, holders of shares of Cogdell common stock and units of limited partnership interests in Cogdell's operating partnership, Cogdell Spencer LP, will receive consideration of $4.25 per share, representing a premium of 8% to Cogdell's closing price on December 23, 2011 and 13% to the average closing price of Cogdell common stock over the past 30 days. Shares of Cogdell Spencer traded in a range of $4.20 to $4.31 Tuesday on 28 times the average daily volume and closed at $4.26, a gain of 8.67% for the day. Westmoreland Coal To Acquire Kemmerer Mine From Chevron The Deal: Westmoreland Coal Company WLB announced today that it has agreed to purchase Chevron Mining's CVX Kemmerer mine in the Hams Fork Region of southwestern Wyoming for $179 million plus approximately $14 million in working capital. It is anticipated that the purchase price will be funded through a combination of cash consideration of approximately $74 million, plus the assumption of approximately $118.0 million in certain liabilities, including post retirement medical, pension, black lung, and asset retirement obligation liabilities. Over the last five years, Kemmerer has produced, on average, 4.7 million tons of high-quality sub-bituminous coal for sale to the adjacent Naughton power station, as well as various industrial customers located in the proximate geographic region. The transaction includes approximately 118 million tons of coal reserves as of December 31, 2011, enough for 20 years of production; a skilled and stable workforce; recently installed state-of-the-art coal preparation and loadout facilities; strong customer commitments; and an expansive fleet of well maintained mining equipment. Additionally, substantially all of Kemmerer's projected production for 2012 through 2016 is committed and priced under existing sales contracts. Shares of Westmoreland Coal traded in a range of $12.26 to $13.36 Tuesday on 86% of the average daily volume and closed at $12.93, a gain of 4.53% for the day. Microsoft, Google to Acquire Twitter The Rumor: Microsoft MSFT or Google GOOG to acquire Twitter for as much as $15 billion. Corum Group's Nat Burgess, interviewed on CNBC, said Microsoft and Google have only one choice to compete in social media against Facebook. That would be an acquisition of Twitter. LG, SK, Samsung to Acquire Research in Motion The Rumor: Samsung (SSNLF), LG Electronics or SK to acquire Research in Motion RIMM. Corum Group's Nat Burgess, interviewed on CNBC, said one of the three companies could be a buyer to obtain RIMM's patent portfolio. Shares of Research in Motion traded Tuesday in a range of $13.90 to $15.00 on 21% more than the average daily volume and closed at $14.87, a gain of 6.86% for the day. Silverlake Partners, Golden Gate Capital, Carlyle Group to Acquire EMC The Rumor: According to Corum Group's Nat Burgess, interviewed on CNBC, Silverlake Partners, Golden Gate Capital and Carlyle Group could have an interest in acquiring EMC EMC based on valuation. Shares of EMC traded Tuesday in a range of $21.61 to $21.88 on 80% of than the average daily volume and closed at $21.64, a loss of less than 1% for the day. Microsoft to Acquire Barnes and Noble The Rumor: Corum Group's Nat Burgess, interviewed on CNBC, said Microsoft MSFT could acquire Barnes & Noble BKS to gain a foothold in retail and compete against Amazon. Shares of Barnes and Noble traded Tuesday in a range of $14.40 to $14.69 on about half the average daily volume and closed at $14.14, a loss of $0.01 for the day.