Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Monday April 8, 2013

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Monday April 8, 2013:

GE to Acquire Lufkin Industries for $88.50/Share in Cash

The Deal:
GE (NYSE: GE) and Lufkin Industries (NASDAQ: LUFK) announced Monday an agreement whereby GE will acquire Lufkin for approximately $3.3 billion or $88.50 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2013, subject to Lufkin shareholder approval and regulatory approvals.

Lufkin Industries closed at $87.96 Monday, a gain of 37% on 22 times average volume.

Merz Pharma Group Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Obagi Medical Products for $22/Share in Cash

The Offer Withdrawal:
Merz Pharma Group announced Monday that it has withdrawn its non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Obagi Medical Products (NASDAQ: OMPI) for $22 per share in cash. The decision to withdraw the proposal follows the recent announcement that Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) increased its offer to acquire Obagi from $19.75 to $24.00 per share in cash.

Obagi Medical Products closed at $23.98 Monday, a loss of 5.5% on 5.5 times average volume.

MidOcean Partners And PSP Investments Withdraw $18.25/Share Bid for EDAC Technologies

The Offer Withdrawal:
EDAC Technologies (NASDAQ: EDAC) announced Monday that on April 7, 2013, MidOcean Associates SPC, an affiliate of MidOcean Partners, and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, or PSP, informed EDAC that they were withdrawing their previously-announced unsolicited proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of EDAC common stock at $18.25 per share.

The board of directors of EDAC continues to unanimously recommend that EDAC's shareholders accept the offer by GB Aero Engine Merger Sub Inc. to acquire the outstanding shares of common stock of EDAC at $17.75 per share.

EDAC Technologies closed at $17.73 Monday, a loss of 4% on 6 times average volume.

Apollo Global Management, Leonard Green & Partners Considering LBO of JC Penney as Ron Johnson is Outsted as CEO

The Rumor:
Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) and Leonard Green & Partners are considering an LBO of JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), according to the Denver Post.

Spokespersons for JC Penney and Apollo declined comment on the report. A spokesperosn for Leonard Green was not available for comment.

After the close, CNBC reported and JC Penney confirmed that Ron Johnson was out as CEO. He was replaced by Mike Ullman.

JC Penney closed at $15.87 Monday, traded as high as $17.88 after-hours and eventually traded down 11%.

Report Warren Buffett May Buy Suntech Power Holdings

The Rumor:
Shares of Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) traded higher on Monday on a report Warren Buffett may be interested in buying the company, which filed for bankruptcy last month.

A spokesperson for Suntech Power was not available for comment.

Suntech Power closed at $0.48 Monday, a gain of 15.5% on higher than average volume.