Wall Street's M&A Chatter From March 23: Citrix, Dow-Dupont, TripAdvisor

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday, March 23, 2017.

Priceline Said to Bid Up to $52/Share for TripAdvisor

The Rumor:

Shares of TripAdvisor Inc TRIP rose on unconfirmed market chatter of a potential offer from Priceline PCLN of $52 per share. "Sources" say the TripAdvisor Board is meeting this weekend to discuss the offer.

Priceline has been collaborating with TripAdvisor on hotel listings since 2015. Rumors about a possible tie-up between the two companies have been circulating as long as that arrangement has been in place.

Priceline is the largest shareholder in CTrip.com and it acquired Kayak in 2012 for $1 billion in cash and stock.

TripAdvisor closed at $42.52, up $1.12.

FiercePharma Says Sanofi Near $1B+ Deal for Flexion

The Rumor:

Sanofi SNY is in talks to acquire Flexion Therapeutics FLXN, according to a source as reported by FiercePharma. The source said Flexion’s board has accepted Sanofi’s non-binding offersaid to be in the “mid-30s” per share.

Sanofi declined comment on the rumor, while a Flexion spokesman would not comment on market speculation or rumors.

Flexion closed at $26.25, up $6.57. Shares traded as high as $28.20.

EU Approval Expected Next Week on Chemchina-Syngenta, Dow-Dupont Deals

The Rumor:

EU antitrust regulators are expected to approve the Dow Chemical DOW-DuPont DD merger and ChemChina's acquisition of Syngenta SYT next week, according to sources as reported by Reuters. An announcement of the joint approvals could happen on Monday or Tuesday, the sources said.

Dow Chemical closed at $63.83, up $1.04. Dupont closed at $80.56, up $1.58. Syngenta rose $0.86 to close at $88.06.

Citrix Sees Out Microsoft as Potential Buyer

The Rumor:

Microsoft MSFT is said to be one of multiple tech companies being approached by Citrix Systems CTXS, according to sources as reported by the south Florida Business Journal.

Last week, Bloomberg reported Citrix hired Goldman Sachs to field offers from potential buyers, according to sources. Private equity firms were said to be among the potential buyers, though a premium for the stock would be difficult, sources said.

Citrix Systems closed at $83.39, up $1.19. Shares traded as high as $84.14.