LightReading is reporting that several bidders are interested in 3Com Corporation (NDAQ:COMS), driving the stock up over 3% in today's trading. According to the article, interested parties may include Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT), Juniper Networks (NDAQ:JNPR), and a range of private equity players. The Wall Street Journal reported awhile back that these private equity players were interested in 3Com's assets - players including Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital, and Silver Lake Partners. These parties are not only interested in 3Com itself, but also their majority ownership of Huawei - a strong player in Asia. With all of these parties interested in a piece of 3Com, there is potential for a bidding war, which typically results in high buyout premiums. This makes COMS a stock worth watching closely as this situation unfolds!

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NetGear, Inc. (NTGR)
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO)
Juniper Networks (JNPR)

Genesis Microchip Inc. (NDAQ:GNSS)
Genesis CEO Elias Antoun revealed his recent purchases amounting to 10,000 shares transacted on 11/08/2006, bringing his stake to 17,582.

iCAD Inc. (NDAQ:ICAD)
iCAD CEO Kenneth Ferry disclosed a purchase of 60,000 shares of the company on 11/07/2006; this amount represents his entire stake in the company.

Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. (NDAQ:SUSQ)
Susquehanna Bancshares director Wayne Alter Jr. disclosed a 15,000 share purchase on 11/03/2006, bringing his stake to 50,000 shares.

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)
Press Release
The company announced that it won a contract with the U.S. Airforce through its Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) program competition to produce 141 HH-47 helicopters and four test aircraft in a deal valued at $10 billion. The stock moved up marginally in today's trading on the news.

Capella Education Company (NDAQ:CPLA)
S-1/A Filing by the Company
The online post-secondary education services company's IPO moved 21% higher today after it priced above its range on its first day of trading on the NASDAQ. The companies follows a series of other highly successful online education companies include ITT Educational Services (ESI) and Career Education (CECO).

JB Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NDAQ:JBHT)
8K Watch
JB Hunt moved higher by over 3% today on speculation that the company could be the target of a takeover. The company is currently trading slightly below enterprise value with a PEG ratio of about 0.98. Meanwhile, the stock has traded roughly even on the year.

Friendly Ice Cream Corp. (AMEX:FRN) may find itself in hot water soon after The Lion Fund stepped up its efforts to obtain some seats on the company's board. The fund had requested seats on the board twice now, but has failed to receive any response from the company. As a result, The Lion Fund announced today in a 13D filing with the SEC that they would actively seek spots on the board by soliciting proxies. According to the filing:

"The Reporting Persons prefer to obtain the requested board seats through action by the Issuer's board of directors, but absent such action, the Reporting Persons intend to nominate Mr. Biglari and Dr. Cooley for election at the Issuer's annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2007, in accordance with the Issuer's by-laws providing for such nominations. In such case, the Reporting Persons intend to solicit proxies to be voted in favor of the nominees.

The Reporting Persons are concerned with the current status of the board of directors as all but one of the Issuer's current directors, including the chairman of the board, are defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit in which one of the founders of the Issuer's business and a substantial stockholder, S. Prestley Blake, is the plaintiff. Copies of two court decisions in this litigation, dated May 24, 2006, and August 25, 2006, are attached hereto as Exhibits B and C." (Read More)

Clearly there are problems at Friendly Ice Cream Corp., and The Lion Fund may be the answer. After all, the fund's large ownership stake in the company gives them a very high vested interest in seeing the company turn around. The company's stock is currently trading at $10.24, down almost 2.5% on the news.

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Denny's Corporation (DENN)
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Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) moved up over 8% today after famed activist Bill Ackman said he thought the company was extremely cheap at an investors conference today. He predicted that the company could be worth $36 per share in 18 months and planned to disclose an 11% stake. The head of Perishing Square Capital - an activist hedge fund - also added that he is happy with the company's aggressive repurchasing plan along with its new CEO George Jones. Notably, Ackman also holds an 8% stake in rival Barns and Noble (NYSE:BKS) - a stock on which he made similar comments. Both of these stocks are definitely  worth watching as Ackman accumulates shares.

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Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. (NDAQ:GYRO) may soon find itself in hot water after activist hedge fund Opportunity Partners LP disclosed a 17.58% in the company and announced that it would be nominating three of its own directors to the Board and eliminating the poison pill at the upcoming annual meeting. In a 13D/A filing, Opportunity Partners furnished a letter stating:

"As you know, Full Value Partners L.P. is a major shareholder of Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. and is a member of a group that is Gyrodyne's largest shareholder. Please be advised that Full Value Partners intends to (1) nominate three persons for election as directors at the annual shareholder meeting to be held on December 7, 2006 [Phillip Goldstein, Timothy Brog, and Andrew Dakos] and (2) present a proposal to terminate Gyrodyne's poison pill.

The purpose of this letter is to respond to the material developments set forth in Gyrodyne's recent press release, specifically that Gyrodyne (1) has expanded the size of the board and (2) intends to acquire ten buildings in the Port Jefferson Professional Park in Port Jefferson Station, New York. We believe these actions are  nconsistent with Mr. Maroney's public statement of April 21, 2006:

'Our goal is to put the maximum amount of cash or marketable securities in the hands of our shareholders in a tax-efficient manner.  Any offer will be measured against our corporate strategy as outlined at the December 2005 shareholders meeting.  That strategy includes the repositioning of the Company through conversion to a REIT, and the disposition and redeployment of assets to achieve one or more shareholder liquidity events in a reasonable period of time.'" (Read More)

To date, there have been no significant shareholder liquidity events, which was probably one of the reasons Opportunity Partners was involved in the company (given their history). With the company expanding the size of the Board and acquiring ten new buildings, they are increasing their cash burn and obviously not "redeploying their assets" to acheive a shareholder liquidity event. If the hedge fund is successful in taking over the Board and eliminating the poison pill, it could mean that this goal to "put the maximum amount of cash or marketable securities in the hands of shareholders" may actually get implemented. This makes GYRO a stock definitely worth watching.

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American Real Estate Partners LP (ACP)
J.W. Mays, Inc. (MAYS)
Fairchild Corporation (FA)

Dow Jones News and Reuters are reporting today that Carl Icahn received a go-ahead from antitrust officials to go ahead with his purchase an additional $200 million worth of shares of Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA), bringing his stake to 16% from 5%. Lear's stock is down from over $60 per share in 2004 to its current levels around $25 per share. Although undervalued as an asset play, the company is strugging with declining margins and a weak backlog. If Icahn can help the company successfully execute its restructuring, it could add a lot of value to this stock and help it return to its prior highs. This is definitely one worth watching.

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Visteon Corporation (VC)
Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI)
Alcoa, Inc. (AA)

Double-Take Software, Inc. (NDAQ:DBTK)
S-1/A Filing by the Company
Double-Take Software announced today that it plans to price its IPO at $9 to $11 per share with 7.5 million shares being sold. These shares are to be listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol DBTK. The software company represents yet another much awaited IPO in this year's frenzy.

Scottish Power plc (NYSE:SPI)
6K Filing by the Company
Today, the Board of Scottish Power confirmed that it has received an approach, which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company. The bid is assumed to be from Spanish rival Iberdrola. Industry sources are speculating that Iberdrola would make an offer at 800p a share, valuing Scottish Power at £12 billion. There are also other parties that may be interested in the company, but have yet to make firm bids. The company's stock rose 14% on the news to close at $58.37.

Station Casinos (NYSE:STN)
Watch List
Station Casinos moved higher by almost 8% today as rumors of a possible buyout flooded the market. The entire sector has been seeing upside lately after the LBO of Harrah's Entertainment not long ago by private equity groups.

Brink's Company (NYSE:BCO)
13D/A Filing by Steel Partners
Steel Partners revealed today that they increased their stake in Brinks by 110,000 shares, bringing their total position from 5.7% to 8%. There was no change to the fund's "Purpose of Transaction", which remains for investment purposes.

FX Energy, Inc (NDAQ:FXEN)
13D Filing by James Chalmers
James Chalmers expressed his interest in executing plans brought up by another majority investor Barton J. Cohen. Choen insisted that the Board of Directors be replaced in order to institute his ideas to cut administrative expenses, revise its compensation policies, strengthen financial management and improve investor relations. He said he "was not seeking an overall change in leadership of the Company, but sought to encourage management to lead the Company in making the changes necessary to maximize all stakeholders' value in a timely fashion."

NetManage, Inc. (NDAQ:NETM)
13D/A Filing by Riley Investments
Riley Investments announced today that it would raise its previous cash offer for NetManage to $5.50 per share from its previously rejected offer of $5.25. The fund also announced that it would extend the response date to November 20, 2006. The stock moved up 8% on the news to $5.25.

Midas, Inc. (NYSE:MDS)
13D Filing by RGM Capital, LLC
RGM revealed today that it had accumulated a 5.11% stake in the company. Although the disclosure is fairly standard, it is worth noting that the fund focuses on value investments in small cap companies. MDS is currently trading below enterprise value with margins that beat their industry and earnings that are continuing to recover.

Moscow CableCom Corp. (NDAQ:MOCC)
13D/A Filing by Renova Media Enterprises Ltd.
Renova revealed today that it is interested in acquiring MOCC at $10.80 in an all-cash offer. The Board is currently reviewing the offer with independent financial advisors; however, it is worth noting that Renova already holds a 43% stake in the company with a 61% share of its capital on a diluted basis. The stock is currently trading at $11 as some may be speculating a higher offer in the future.

Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS)
13D Filing by Sun Capital Securities
Sun Capital Securities revealed today that it has accumulated a 5.2% stake in Nautilus, Inc. Although the fund did not disclose any unusual plans, there was a bit of speculation today since Sun is fresh off its dealings with TALK, after it withdrew its $9/share bid for the company. Nautilus is up 5% today after it announced its quarterly results where it dropped underperforming units to boost the company's earnings.