General Mills (GIS) Surges on Takeover Speculation Following CEO Change
(Updated - May 4, 2017 11:04 AM EDT)
Today's upside in General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is being driven by takeover speculation after the company announced yesterday that long-time CEO Ken Powell is being replaced. Powell will remain Chairman for a transition period until his retirement, expected within the next year.
The rumors are of the chat room variety, with nothing appearing imminent.
Shares are up 3.55%
UPDATE: The below report, which was based on an internet chat room rumor, was apparently the driving factor of the stock today.
10:24:25 AM (MT Newswires) -- General Mills (GIS) has reportedly agreed to be acquired by private equity firm 3G Capital in an all cash transaction, according to sources. The value of the deal is expected to exceed $49 billion, and an announcement is expected prior to or during the weekend, the sources said.
As we said earlier, this was a chat room variety rumor, maybe aided by comments from Kraft Heinz's call that they are still looking at deals, although they expanded their scope to include 'consumer goods', which is not necessarily good for food stocks like GIS.
As expected, CNBC's David Faber is saying there is no truth to the earlier report.