Wall Street's M&A Chatter From July 14-16: Dominion Diamond, Unilever-Hormel-Reckitt, H&E Equipment-Neff, Mobileye-Intel

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Friday, July 14, through Sunday, July 16, 2017.

Washington Cos. in Advanced Talks with Dominion Diamond

The Rumor:

Dominion Diamond Corp DDC is in advanced, friendly talks with the Washington Companies regarding a sweetened cash offer, over and above the current $13.50 bid, according to sources as reported by Reuters on Friday. The talks are centered around working out a price for a deal, which could be announced in the coming weeks, the sources said.

Dominion responded to the reports, reiterating that its Board of Directors had formed a Special Committee to review strategic alternatives focused on maximizing shareholder value and said it has not made any decisions at this time.

Dominion Diamond closed at $13.48, up 72 cents.

H&E Equipment Services to Acquire Neff for $21.07/Share in Cash

The Deal:

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. HEES and Neff Corp NEFF announced Friday that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which H&E Equipment Services will acquire Neff for $21.07 in cash per share of Neff common stock, for a total enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion, including approximately $690 million of net debt. The transaction is expected to close in the late Q3 or early Q4 of 2017.

Neff closed at $20.80, up $1.10.

Mobileye Reports Receives Acceptable Tax Ruling from Israel Tax Authority Ruling Regarding Acquisition by Intel

The Tax Ruling:

Mobileye NV MBLY announced Friday that the Israel Tax Authority has issued an acceptable tax ruling with respect to the tax treatment of its potential acquisition by Intel Corporation INTC pursuant to the purchase agreement dated March 12, 2017. As a result of receipt of the tax ruling and the adoption of certain shareholder resolutions at the general meeting of Mobileye shareholders in June, the minimum number of Mobileye shares that must be validly tendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the tender offer has been lowered from 95 percent to 67 percent.

The transaction is expected to close during Q3 of 2017.

Mobileye closed at $63.33, up 28 cents.

Unilever, Hormel Compete to Acquire Reckitt Food Division

The Rumor:

Unilever UN UL is competing with Hormel Foods Corp HRL to acquire the food unit of Reckitt Benckiser RBGPF, according to a report from the UK Sunday Times. Sources say the deal for the owner of French's mustard, is likely to be valued at more than $2.9 billion.

Unilever closed at $15.90, up 61 cents, while Hormel rose 12 cents to close at $32.83.