Vivendi close to buying U.S. Filter-WSJ
NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - France's Vivendi SA is close to an agreement to buy U.S. Filter Corp (NYSE:USF - news), the nation's biggest water firm, in a deal valued at about $6 billion, the Wall Street Journal said in its Monday issue.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the newspaper reported that agreement, which would likely be for cash, could be announced as early as Monday.
The French conglomerate has not had a significant presence in the United States and the move to buy the Palm Desert, California-based water treatment company would give Vivendi a foothold there, the newspaper reported.
A merger could also benefit from the expected wave of privatisations in the global water-supply business, the newspaper said.
Rumours of a merger circulated through the markets last week, with option calls on U.S. Filter drawing strong interest last Wednesday. Implied volatility jumped up to 76 percent on March 17 from its average of about 49 percent during the past month.
The New York Stock Exchange asked the company to issue a public statement indicating whether there were any corporate developments that could explain the company's unusual stock activity.
U.S. Filter's stock closed up 2- at 30-9/16 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
A U.S. Filter spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Vivendi close to buying U.S. Filter-WSJ
NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - France's Vivendi SA is close to an agreement to buy U.S. Filter Corp (NYSE:USF - news), the nation's biggest water firm, in a deal valued at about $6 billion, the Wall Street Journal said in its Monday issue.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the newspaper reported that agreement, which would likely be for cash, could be announced as early as Monday.
The French conglomerate has not had a significant presence in the United States and the move to buy the Palm Desert, California-based water treatment company would give Vivendi a foothold there, the newspaper reported.
A merger could also benefit from the expected wave of privatisations in the global water-supply business, the newspaper said.
Rumours of a merger circulated through the markets last week, with option calls on U.S. Filter drawing strong interest last Wednesday. Implied volatility jumped up to 76 percent on March 17 from its average of about 49 percent during the past month.
The New York Stock Exchange asked the company to issue a public statement indicating whether there were any corporate developments that could explain the company's unusual stock activity.
U.S. Filter's stock closed up 2- at 30-9/16 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
A U.S. Filter spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Vivendi close to buying U.S. Filter-WSJ
NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - France's Vivendi SA is close to an agreement to buy U.S. Filter Corp (NYSE:USF - news), the nation's biggest water firm, in a deal valued at about $6 billion, the Wall Street Journal said in its Monday issue.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the newspaper reported that agreement, which would likely be for cash, could be announced as early as Monday.
The French conglomerate has not had a significant presence in the United States and the move to buy the Palm Desert, California-based water treatment company would give Vivendi a foothold there, the newspaper reported.
A merger could also benefit from the expected wave of privatisations in the global water-supply business, the newspaper said.
Rumours of a merger circulated through the markets last week, with option calls on U.S. Filter drawing strong interest last Wednesday. Implied volatility jumped up to 76 percent on March 17 from its average of about 49 percent during the past month.
The New York Stock Exchange asked the company to issue a public statement indicating whether there were any corporate developments that could explain the company's unusual stock activity.
U.S. Filter's stock closed up 2- at 30-9/16 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
A U.S. Filter spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
|
