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Published February 29, 2008 at 5:51 PM
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The majority of stocks involved in pending deals Friday were sucked into the vortex of the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 315.79 point decline to 12,266.39. The Dow tumbled on ongoing economic concerns exacerbated by disappointing quarterly earnings results from American International Group Inc. and Dell Inc. and a continued hike in oil prices.
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- Rubber and plastics maker Myers Industries Inc. [MYE] sunk 16.01% to close at $12.17 per share despite a 70% fourth-quarter earnings gain. Myers results were boosted by a $26.8 million gain from a nonrefundable payment of $35 million from Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for extending the closing date of its $790 million, or $22.50 per share acquisition from Dec. 15 to April 30. Investors may have pulled back due in part to rising oil prices that have impacted the company's fourth-quarter resin costs.
- Countrywide Financial Corp. [CFC] fell 4.97% to close at $6.31 per share. The stock fell following a CNBC report late Thursday that the mortgage lender has booked two different large events at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Fla., after having cancelled a ski junket in Colorado. Investors looked to be unhappy with tales of big spending spa trips as foreclosures continue to pour in. This news comes as Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo prepares to testify on March 7 before a congressional committee to examine the connection between executive pay and the mortgage crisis. The pending $4 billion acquisition of Countrywide by Bank of America Corp. faced opposition earlier this month from of a major union and activists.
- Not all was glum as the week came to a close. 3Com Corp. [COMS] shares skyrocketed 13.06% to close at $3.29 per share. Bain Capital LLC and Chinese telecom equipment maker, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., withdrew their $2.2 billion bid for 3Com earlier this month after it failed to win approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. 3Com said Friday that it would continue to work with its suitors to construct alternatives to address the committee's concerns, which sparked bullish behavior among shareholders.
- And while major bond insurers continue to face uncertainty regarding future losses and credit ratings, one, Assured Guaranty Ltd. [AGO], finished up 12.60% to $25.65 as billionaire investor Wilbur Ross of WL Ross & Co. LLC has agreed to make a $1 billion investment in one of the more stable of the monolines to help grow its reinsurance business.
- Michael Rudnick
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