Notable Mergers and Acquisitions of the Day 01/24: RKT/SSCC, NVS/GXDX, GE, HTGC

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RockTenn (NYSE: RKT) announced on Sunday that it has agreed to acquire Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (NYSE: SSCC) for $3.5 billion in cash and stock.

The packaging manufacturer will buy Smurfit-Stone for $35 per share, representing a 27 percent premium over the closing price of the stock on Friday of $27.52.

According to the terms of the deal, the boards of both companies have agreed to the half-stock, half-cash deal. RockTenn will pay $17.50 in cash and Smurfit-Stone shareholders will receive 0.30605 shares of RockTenn for each share they own.

After the closing of the deal, RockTenn shareholders will own roughly 56 percent of the combined company, with Smurfit-Stone shareholders owning the rest. The companies said that the combined entity will see annual sales of more than $9 billion.

RockTenn will assume $700 million in debt and $1.1 billion in pension liabilities from Smurfit-Stone. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011.

RockTenn's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, James A. Rubright said, “RockTenn’s acquisition of Smurfit-Stone is another major step in our transformation of RockTenn to be the most respected company in our business with a laser focus on exceeding our customers’ expectations and creating long term shareholder value."
Genoptix, Inc. (Nasdaq: GXDX) agreed to be acquired by Novartis (NYSE: NVS) for $25.00 per share in cash, or a total equity value of approximately $470 million.

The deal represents a premium of 27% over the closing price of $19.76 on January 21, 2011.

The transaction is expected to close within the first half of 2011.

Barclays Capital was Genoptix's financial advisor.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) will sell its GE Money Pte Ltd. unit to Standard Chartered in Singapore for about $662 million to $701 million, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal on Monday citing people familiar with the matter.

Standard Chartered will look to use the acquisition to expand its consumer banking operations in the city-state of Singapore.

"It provides opportunities for us to tap the mass affluent market and expand our market share in Singapore," Standard Chartered spokeswoman Gabriel Kwan said, who declined to comment on the size of the deal as it is not official yet.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter according to a statement from Standard Chartered.

GE Money Singapore President Rahul Gupta said, "The opportunity to become part of Standard Chartered's established and growing presence is a good outcome for GE Money's business, employees and customers in Singapore."
Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (Nasdaq: HTGC) announced that InforLogix has completed the sale of all of its shares on January 18, 2011, to Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE: SWK) in a transaction valued at approximately $61.2 million prior to transaction fees, closing costs, and working capital adjustments.

An $8 - $8.5 million gain will be recognized in Q111.