Wall Street's M&A Chatter From May 24: Abercrombie & Fitch, Linde-Praxair, Dow-DuPont

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

Cerberus, American Eagle Working on Joint Bid for Abercrombie & Fitch

The Rumor:

Private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and American Eagle Outfitters AEO are preparing a bid for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF, according to sources as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Express is also involved in the process, which could result in a deal in about a month, the sources said.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Abercrombie & Fitch had hired Perella Weinberg Partners to handle takeover interest.

The Weekly $13.5 Calls traded earlier Wednesday morning, ahead of the Wall Street Journal report.

Abercrombie & Fitch closed at $12.89, up $0.69.

Linde, Praxair Confirm Merger Deal in Principle

The Confirmation:

Praxair, Inc. PX and Linde confirmed they have reached agreement in principle regarding the terms and conditions of a Business Combination Agreement with Linde, under which the companies would combine their businesses in a merger of equals via an all-stock transaction, as per their announcement on December 20, 2016. The agreement is subject to approval by the Board of Directors of Praxair and the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Linde.

Praxair closed at $132.27, up $2.30.

Dan Loeb Pushing for Changes to Dow-DuPont Post-Merger Plan

The Presentation:

Activist investor Dan Loeb is pushing for Dow Chemical Co DOW and E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co DD to make changes to their planned merger and split-up of the combined company, according to a presentation as seen by the Wall Street Journal and reported on Wednesday. The current plan is to combine their businesses and then split them into three public companies: agriculture, materials and specialty products.

Loeb, who took a stake in Dow in 2014, said the current plan doesn't go far enough to break apart Dow. He wants to specialty company to be formed by four units that generate $3.7 billion, including units from the materials company, which could be split off or sold. The smaller business would be moved to the materials business.

Dow and DuPont did not immediately comment on the presentation.

Dow closed at $61.45, up $0.67. DuPont closed at $78.38, up $1.04.