November 19th Merger Arbitrage Activity

Early yesterday morning, Celgene (CELG) announced that it will buy Pharmion (PHRM) for approximately $72 per share in cash and stock in a $2.9 billion deal that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

United Rentals (URI) issued a release stating that they are suing Cerberus over their merger agreement that fell apart last week. Cerberus is attempting to walk away from the deal, and United Rentals wants to force the merger to close.

Harrah's (HET) announced that they have recieved regulatory approval in Illinois for their buyout that is expected to close by the end of the year. They still need approvals from several other states.

WesBanco (WSBC) and Oak Hill Financial (OAKF) announced that their shareholders had approved the merger of Oak Hill into WesBanco, and that they has recieved all required regulatory approvals. The merger is expected to close on November 30.

A&P (GAP) and Pathmark (PTMK) filed a notice with the SEC stating that they expect to close their merger in early December, and that A&P had signed an agreement with the FTC regarding the required sale of certain assets in relation to the merger.

Disclosure: none