Where there’s smoke, there’s often fire. According to the latest rumors on Wall Street, Yahoo! (YHOO), Baker Hughes (BHI) and Relypsa (RLYP) could be the next big-name buyouts.
Yahoo! (YHOO)
The fact that YHOO is in the market for a buyer might be the worst-kept secret on Wall Street. However, within the past few weeks, details have emerged that could lay the groundwork for a viable YHOO buyout in the near future.
According to Reuters, Bank of America (BAC) could provide the necessary financing for Verizon (VZ) to step in and acquire YHOO’s core Internet business. Citing “sources familiar with the matter,” the report said that VZ hired the same BAC bankers that had previously been advising YHOO on the potential divestiture of its massive stake in Alibaba (BABA).
VZ hasn’t been very secretive about its interest in YHOO. But if the company now has financing in place for a deal, an announcement could be imminent.
Last week, major BABA stakeholder SoftBank announced that it would be divesting $7.9 billion in BABA stock. Part of the massive sale will take place via the issuance of $5 billion in mandatory exchangeable trust securities convertible into BABA shares in three years. This framework could also serve as a blueprint for how YHOO can deal with its BABA stake and clear the path for a VZ buyout.
Baker Hughes (BHI)
Halliburton (HAL) recently dropped its bid to acquire BHI (and paid a $3.5 billion breakup fee to boot!), but that doesn’t mean that BHI is off the selling block. The cancellation of the HAL deal now means that BHI is back on the market. There have already been all kinds of rumors about other potential buyers.
Back in April, JPMorgan analyst Sean Meakim said that a merger between BHI and National-Oilwell Varco (NOV) could be “the best route to value creation over the next cycle.”
Barclays analyst J. David Anderson is one of many speculating that BHI could be “the missing piece” for General Electric (GE).
Jim Cramer even said recently that he wouldn’t be surprised if BHI draws buyout interest from integrated oil companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX).
Relypsa (RLYP)
RLYP shares have been extremely volatile so far in 2016 amid on-again, off-again buyout rumors. Back in April, the stock surged more than 67% in a single day on reports that RLYP was in talks to review buyout offers. Unfortunately for shareholders, no deal was ever announced.
Later in April, RLYP stock again surged more than 22% in a single day on market rumors that AstraZeneca (AZN) and/or other larger pharma companies were interested in a buyout.
The latest double-digit move in this saga came a few weeks ago when the FDA rejected AZN’s hyperkalemia drug ZS-9. The market believes that the rejection now makes RLYP’s Veltassa a more appealing buyout target.
Last week, a new report by Mizuho analyst Irina Rivkind added fuel to the RLYP buyout rumor fire. Mizuho raised its price target for RLYP from $12 to $20 following the news from the FDA and the strong possibility of a buyout.
Disclosure: As of this writing, Wayne Duggan had no positions in any of the stocks mentioned.
More From InvestorPlace:
