Wall Street Hubbub 8/04: Goldman To Spin-Off Prop Trading; Barnes & Noble (BKS) Exploring a Sale; Loads of Takeover Talk

Today the Wall Street rumor mill is in high gear, with deal chatter galore. Below is a rundown of the latest talk:

• In a potential move to get ahead of the curve of coming changes from the Volcker Rule, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is said to be considering spinning-off a significant portion of its prop-trading operations, according to reports from CNBC Kate Kelly.
  
  
• Shares of Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) rocketed 19 percent after the company announced plans to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale to its founder and top shareholder Leonard Riggio. Rival Borders Group Inc. (NYSE: BGP) rose 3% on speculation that one possible deal could include the merger of the two struggling brick-and-mortar book sellers. Goldman sees only a 30% probability of a sale at $21.50, but said their LBO model suggests that a deal at a 20% premium would not earn a compelling return.
  
  
• Small regional airlines Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: RJET) and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Nasdaq: PNCL) rose today after ExpressJet (NYSE: XJT) was acquired at a 106% premium by SkyWest (Nasdaq: SKYW).
  
  
• First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) is moving higher on rumors Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) could be interested in acquiring the company. Shares are up 3.2 percent.
  
  
• Others in the takeover rumor mill today were: EnCana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) +1.9 percent, Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) +2 percent, Pactiv Corp. (NYSE: PTV) +1 percent, Pride International Inc. (NYSE: PDE) +3.4 percent.

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