Benzinga's Weekend M&A Chatter

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Friday January 22 through Sunday January 24, 2015

Synutra Board Forms Special Committee to Consider $5.91 Cash/Share Non-Binding Proposal

The Special Committee:
On January 21, 2016, Synutra's (NASDAQ: SYUT) Board formed an independent special committee to consider the non-binding proposal from Chairman and CEO Liang Zhang and his buyer group, to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Synutra not already owned by the buyer group for $5.91 in cash per Share. Synutra received the offer on January 14.

Synutra closed at $4.95 on Friday down 2.37%.

Celgene Rumored to Bid for Dynavax

The Rumor:
Shares of Dynavax (NASDAQ: DVAX) surged higher Friday, on unconfirmed chatter Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) would make a bid for the Berkeley, CA-based biotech company, whose product pipeline includes HEPLISAV-B, a hepatitis B vaccine. Dynavax reported earlier this month, preliminary top results of the phase 3 trial.

"Sources" say Celgene could offer $45 per share in cash and stock. Spokespersons for Celgene and Dynavax did not respond to requests for comment.

Dynavax closed at $25.45 on Friday, up 11%.

Legg Mason Announces Acquisition of Clarion Partners, 83% Stake In Clarion For $585M

The Deal:
Legg Mason Inc., (NYSE: LM) announced Friday that it has agreed to acquire an 83% stake in Clarion Partners for $585 million. Legg Mason will pay for its portion of certain co-investments on a dollar for dollar basis, estimated at $16 million as of December 31, 2015.

The deal is expected to close in Q2 of 2016.

Legg Mason closed at $31.21 on Friday, down 1.76%.

Johnson Controls in Merger Talks With Tyco International

The Rumor:
Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) is in advanced merger talks with Tyco International PLC (NYSE: TYC), according to sources, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. A deal for Tyco could be valued as high as $20 billion, the sources said. Tyco had a market cap of about $13 billion as of the close Friday.

Tyco closed at $30.59 on Friday, up 2%.