Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Tuesday March 5, 2013

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Tuesday March 5, 2013: Hearing Unconfirmed Market Chatter of Possible Amazon Bid for Yelp The Rumor:
Shares of Yelp YELP spiked higher mid-morning Tuesday on unconfirmed market chatter of a bid from Amazon AMZN. The rumored offer is in the mid-$30s. Spokespersons for Yelp and Amazon were not available for comment. Yelp closed at $23.02 Tuesday, a loss of $0.16 on twice average volume. Report Sohu Could be Taken Private The Rumor:
Sohu.com SOHU shares traded with extremely volaitily late Tuesday on reports the Chinese Internet company could be taken private, according to the South China Morning Post. Initially shares fell to around $40 on reports the company might be deslisted from the Nasdaq. Andrew Left of Citron Research said Sohu shares are worth at least $65. A spokesperson for Sohu's investor relations firm, had no knowledge of the report. Sohu.com closed at $46.84 Tuesday, a gain of 12% on 7 times average volume. Shares of other Chinese Internet stocks also traded higher. Report Verizon Could Acquire Vodafone The Rumor:
Shares of Vodafone VOD traded higher midday on a report from Bloomberg that a merger with VZ was a possibility. Previous talks between the two companies reportedly ran into problems over management and location of the combined company headquarters, according to sources. A more likely deal would involve a Verizon buyout of the Vodafone stake in Verizon's wireless subsidiary. That deal could be valued at $115 billion. Spokespersons for the two companies declined comment on the report. Vodafone Group closed at $26.68 Tuesday, a gain of 5% on 4 times average volume. Report Coach Could Attract PE Firms, International Buyers The Rumor:
Coach COH could be attracting the attention of private equity firms and foreign buyers, including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMUY, according to Bloomberg. On February 27, Deal Reporter reported that the company is for sale. Coach closed at $50.10 Tuesday, a gain of 1.5% on average volume. McGraw-Hill Comments on Progress of Sale of McGraw-Hill Education to Apollo Global Management The Deal:
McGraw-Hill MHP commented Tuesday, on the launching of bank debt financing to support the previously disclosed purchase by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management APO of the McGraw-Hill education business. "We are pleased with the progress that is being made to secure funding, that the sale of McGraw-Hill Education is now an all-cash deal, and that the transaction is expected to close before the end of this month." As part of the transaction, McGraw-Hill will receive an additional $150 million in cash at closing from the investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, in lieu of being issued $250 million in face amount of unsecured notes by a holding company of McGraw-Hill Education. Upon closing, McGraw-Hill will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial (subject to shareholder approval) and will be a high-growth, high-margin company serving the global capital and commodities markets. McGraw-Hill closed at $48.19 Tuesday, a gain of 2% on lower than average volume.