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Big day for takeovers
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February 22, 1999: 1:12 p.m. ET
Aerospace, energy, Internet firms all set deals; telecom firm in hostile bid
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NEW YORK (CNN) - Merger activity intensified Monday as Internet, aerospace, security and energy companies all announced a series of deals.
Trading in Telecom Italia shares was suspended briefly Monday after Olivetti's $58 billion hostile bid drove the stock above its 10 percent limit and sent reverberations around the Italian telecom sector.
But analysts said the audacious attempt by the smaller Italian company to snap up the former state-owned telecom group through a 10 euro per share takeover bid looks doomed to fail. Initial reaction to the deal pushed Telecom's shares to their 10 percent upper limit in Milan, leading to the suspension.
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Internet retailer Beyond.com said Monday it is buying its privately-held competitor BuyDirect for stock valued at about $133.7 million.
Under the agreement, which combines two of the biggest software merchants on the Web, Beyond.com (BYND) will issue 5.4 million of its shares for San Francisco-based BuyDirect. The deal is Beyond.com's first major acquisition since going public last year.
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United Technologies Corp. agreed to acquire fellow aerospace component maker Sundstrand Corp. for $4.3 billion in cash and stock, the companies said Monday.
Under terms of the deal, Sundstrand (SNS) holders will receive $70 a share -- $35 cash and 0.279 share of United Technologies (UTX), which would be valued at $35 a share based on Friday's closing stock prices.
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Consolidation dominated the natural gas sector Monday, as two pairs of energy companies revealed plans to link up.
Dominion Resources Inc. (D) said it would buy Pittsburgh's Consolidated Natural Gas Co (CNG). for $6.3 billion in stock, creating what it said would be the United States' fourth largest electric and natural gas utility.
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The bidding in the natural gas industry was explosive Monday. After two multibillion-dollar deals were announced, Southwest Gas Corp. said it got a $970 million takeover bid from Southern Union Co. after agreeing to be bought by Oneok Inc. in a deal valuing its stock at about $864 million.
Southwest Gas (SWX), based in Las Vegas, serves about 1 million customers in Arizona, Nevada and California. Southern Union (SUG), based in Austin, Texas, has nearly 1 million gas customers in Texas and Missouri and also markets propane gas.
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Sweden's Securitas AB said Monday it will buy Pinkerton's Inc., the U.S. security giant that guards everything from the Olympics to the Oscars, for about $384 million in stock, creating the world's largest full-service security firm.
Under the deal, Westlake Village, Calif.-based Pinkerton's will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Securitas. The Stockholm-based company plans to pay $29 for each of Pinkerton's (PKT) 12.2 million outstanding shares and 2.3 million options.
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