Wall Street’s main stock indexes were looking for direction with commodity prices edging higher and as investors were mulling the prospect of rising inflation.
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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.4% and the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average appreciated 0.4%.
In M&A news, shares of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. popped 30% as the tire company agreed to be snapped up by peer Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in a deal valued at $2.8 billion. Goodyear jumped 19%. As part of the transaction, Cooper Tire shareholders will receive $41.75 per share in cash with a fixed exchange ratio of 0.907 shares of Goodyear share for each Cooper common stock. Cooper shareholders will get an implied cash and stock consideration of $54.36 per share, representing a 24% premium on Goodyear’s closing share price on Feb. 19.
Kaleyra rose almost 2% after announcing the acquisition of mGage in a cash-and-stock deal worth $215 million. The purchase price includes $195 million in cash and 1.6 million shares of Kaleyra common stock and is expected to close in Q2 2021. Kaleyra forecasts $350 million in revenue for fiscal year 2021, with more than 50 billion transactions being processed globally.
GasLog Partners spiked 18% as the operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers entered into a merger agreement with BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure (GEPIF). GEPIF will buy all of GasLog’s outstanding common stock for $5.80 per share in cash, which translates into a 17% premium to its closing price on Feb. 19. Following the closure of the deal, which is expected in the second quarter of 2021, GasLog shares will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Separately, GasLog posted 4Q adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share, which exceeded analysts’ estimates of $0.28 per share but declined 17% year-over-year. Revenues fell 12% year-over-year to $85 million, but topped the consensus estimates of $80.9 million.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s surged more than 8% as a group of activist investors, which hold a combined 9.5% stake, nominated nine people in an attempt to take control to the retail store chain’s management board, the Wall Street Journal reported. The group, which includes Macellum Advisors GP, Ancora Holdings, Legion Partners Asset Management, and 4010 Capital, believes that the retailer isn’t moving quickly enough to address stagnating sales and declining operating margins.
In earnings news, shares of Discovery Inc. jumped almost 7% as the media company reported 4Q adjusted earnings of $0.76 per diluted share that came in ahead of analysts’ estimates of $0.72. Revenues came in at $2.88 billion, flat year-on-year versus consensus estimates of $2.83 billion. Discovery’s CEO, David Zaslav commented, “We are off to a promising start in 2021 with the successful launch of discovery+. We have now surpassed 11 million total paying direct-to-consumer subscribers globally and are on pace to be at 12 million by the end of the month.”
Matador Resources pushed 8.5% higher after the energy company announced its first dividend payout with a quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share. The quarterly dividend will be paid on March 31, to shareholders of record as of March 24. Matador CEO Joseph Wm. Foran commented, “We are pleased to initiate a quarterly cash dividend policy and announce the payment of Matador’s first cash dividend, which marks another significant step for Matador in returning value to our shareholders and also indicates our confidence in Matador’s financial strength and ability to generate sustained free cash flow going forward.”
