Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) jumped nearly 10% on Wednesday amid speculation that the company will spin off some of its assets in an effort to boost their stock price. The rumors took off after the company announced that it would consider creating a Master Limited Partnership - or MLP - for some of its exploration and production assets. Many analysts believe that a spin off has the potential to unlock significant value and raised their price targets for the company.

Spin offs not only provide the parent company with excess cash, but the new entity also provides a great opportunity as spin offs generally outperform the overall market during their first year. The excess cash at the parent company can then be used for share buybacks, special dividends, or other methods to unlock shareholder value. While no definitive announcement has been made, this is definitely a stock worth watching as any spin off could mean significant share appreciation for PXD shareholders!

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Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP) reneged on its plans to sell $250 million in convertible bonds less than a day after it proposed the sale. The book retailer announced that it would "re-evaluate this and other financing alternatives" after a large shareholders supposedly raised objections because it would hurt existing shareholders. However, sources close to the situation say that the real reason is that more convertible debt could jeopardize a possible sale of the company.

Speculation of a sale come as the company unveiled a restructuring plan after reporting disappointing numbers for the year. As part of the plan, the company said it intends to sell or franchise most of its overseas stores and expedite teh closing of many Waldenbooks outlets throughout the U.S. Many analysts see this move to unload under performing businesses as a preliminary step ahead of a possible sale of the company. In fact, some investors have already been pushing for a sale of the company to its closest rival, Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS), after Bill Ackman's Pershing Square took big positions in both companies. While Barnes & Noble executives have dismissed these rumors, Ackman still holds a 12% stake in the company as of April 4th. Meanwhile, there has also been speculation that the private equity firms have been eyeing the company. Today's developments definitely give more merit to these rumors, however whether or not they are true remains to be seen. Regardless, this is definitely a stock to watch!

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Flow International Corporation (NDAQ:FLOW) shares moved up $0.26, or 2.39%, to $11.16 today after Daniel Loeb's Third Point disclosed a 13.6% stake in the company and expressed its disappointment with the company's board of directors. In particular, Loeb was concerned with the company's lack of response to his February 2nd call to retain, and publicly disclose, a well-recognized investment bank to assist the company in putting itself up for sale.

Several members of the company's board and management flew to New York to meet with Third Point; however, very little has been done since. Mr. Loeb is now demanding that the company retain a publicly identified and well recognized investment bank, with a clear mandate to explore strategic alternatives including a sale of the company. Further, the hedge fund insisted that the company comply with best practices in corporate governance by repealing its poison pill and de-staggering the election of its board. Finally, Loeb warned the company not to make the same mistake other have made by under-estimating his resolve in this matter - we know that Loeb is not at all adverse to replacing members of the board via a proxy fight. This makes FLOW a stock worth watching as any sale of the company would likely come at a healthy premium to the current market price!

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Regent Communications, Inc. (NDAQ:RGCI) shares rose marginally after Riley Investment Management disclosed a 6.5% stake in the company and sent a letter to the company's board demanding that Regent put itself up for sale. Riley reasoned that the valuation of the company's shares has been hurt by negative public sentiment to the terrestrial radio broadcasting market while the expenses of being a public company has been an excessive burden to the company given their size. Consequently, the hedge fund recommended that the company put itself up for sale, suggesting that a financial buyer could pay around $4.50 per share while a strategic buyer could pay as much as $6.00 per share - a 100% premium to the current market price. Given the company's recent slide and poor earnings, this alternative would seem to be in the best interest of shareholders. This makes RGCI a stock worth watching!

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DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX) shareholders urged the company to sell its unprofitable Chrysler unit and focus on its Mercedes Car Group and other operations at the company's annual meeting yesterday. The company had already said that it was considering all strategic options for Chrysler in February, after the unit posted a $1.5 billion loss in 2006. Since then, the DC said they would cut 13,000 jobs and reduce capacity by 400,000 units as part of a "recovery and transformation plan" to bring the unit back to profitability by 2008. However, this plan drew criticism from shareholders who said the feasibility of a sustainable business model for Chrysler remains unclear.

DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche did confirm Wednesday, however, that the company was in talks with "potential partners" over the future of its business. While he did not go into specifics, he did note that these potential partners showed a claer interest in the company. Private equity firms Cerberus, Blackstone, and Centerbridge are also rumored to be interested in acquiring a stake in Chrysler as the first round of bids was expected to be submitted last week. However, labor representatives on both sides of the ocean will likely oppose such a deal due to fears over further job cuts and the loss of employee benefits. If a sale does take place, many analysts peg the value of Chrysler at $5 billion to $9 billion, depending on the terms of the deal. Combined, these factors make DCX a stock worth watching!

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YouBet.com, Inc. (NDAQ:UBET) shares moved up $0.04, or 1.27% to $3.20 today after New World Opportunity Partners disclosed a 9.3% stake in the company in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC. The hedge fund also said that it has discussed YouBet.com's business operations, future plans and board makeup with its management and directors. While we do not know the nature of these discussions at this point, New World did express interest in nominating its own director to replace Jay Pritzker depending on share price and industry conditions. The hedge fund also said it mat propose changes to UBET's capitalization, ownership structure, or operations. The company's stock has fallen from a 52-week high of $5.47 in May 2006 to a low of $2.32 before rebounding to its current levels. Still off 14%, the stock could well be the target of some restructuring moves in order to reduce costs and enhance profitability. This makes UBET a stock worth watching, particularly if New World decides to pursue board seats!

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Idaho General Mines Inc. (AMEX:GMO) shares rose nearly 10% during the past two days after Coghill Capital Management disclosed a 27.42% stake in the company and brought some possible business combination transactions to management's attention. The hedge fund also delivered a letter to the company's board that discusses the importance of good corporation governance and asked the company to develop a plan which will enable the it to achieve the highest quartile of corporate governance within the next six months. While no further details were given, the idea of possible business transactions is certainly something worth noting as the typical buyout premiums have hit approximately 4.6x target sales. Moreover, with a 27% stake in the company, Coghill certainly has the power to influence the company's decisions significantly! Combined, these factors make GMO a stock worth following.

Comcast Corporation (NDAQ:CMCSA) agreed to acquire cable-television provider Patriot Media for $482 million in a deal that would give Comcast cover in the central New Jersey area. The privately held company has 81,000 video subscribers in several NJ counties and the acquisition brings Comcasts total number of subscribers to around 24.2 million. Interestingly, the deal also comes only a day after Comcast and Insight Communications Co. announced plans to divide up Insight - a midsize cable operator that jointly serves about 1.3 million subscribers in the Midwest. That deal is valued at around $6.2 billion, including the assumption of debt. Earlier this year, there was also an attempt by the Dolan family to take Cablevision private at $30/share in a deal valued at around $8.9 billion; however, the company's board rejected the offer as being too low.

These recent moves indicate a further push towards cable industry consolidation as larger operators try to expand their customer base. Acquisitions make sense for these large operators since they are able to utilize economies of scale to lower costs and improve the profitability of smaller acquisitions. Moreover, there is constant competition for these networks to keep growing in order to remain competitive with their peers. And the M&A trend will only grow stronger as cable industry multiples remain near all-time lows.

So, what are some other cable names to look out for? Here's our shortlist of possible future deals in this industry:

• Cablevision Systems (CVC) - There was already an attempted takeover of this company, so we know it is an attractive target. Many analysts believe that this it the next big cable buyout, whether by private equity or a public merger.
  
• RCN Corporation (RCNI) - Shares have dropped almost 15% so far this year, if they head lower it could become a target.
• Knology (KNOL) - This is a strong company with a good presence in several southern US markets.

For other potential buyout targets, check out the Google Finance Broadcasting & Cable TV Sector Listing. While mega-deals like Cablevision may be a distant target, it is likely that we will continue to see at least some consolidation among smaller providers while multiples remain at low levels. These stocks are definitely worth keeping an eye on!

The NYSE Group Inc. (NYSE:NYX) will take its biggest step Wednesday toward becoming a truly global financial player when it closes a deal to create the first trans-Atlantic stock market. The New York Stock Exchange consummates its $11 billion takeover of Paris-based exchange operator Euronext NV at ceremonies in the U.S. and Europe. The combination into NYSE Euronext forms the world's biggest stock market, and ushers in a new era for financial markets where securities can be traded on two continents up to 12 hours a day. It will be a crowning achievement for John Thain, the former president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. who became chief executive of the now 215-year-old NYSE in 2004.

Shares of some of the largest health insurers rose Tuesday after the government announced higher-than-expected payment increases for companies that operate private Medicare plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Monday that preliminary payments to companies that run Medicare Advantage programs will rise 3.5% for 2008. The payment boost, made to insurers for each Medicare participant they cover, is less than last year's 3.9% update, but above Wall Street estimates of a 2% to 3% increase.

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM), stock rose $2.11, or 3.6% to $61.16 Tuesday on the NYSE. In after-hours trading, shares rose another $0.16 to $61.32. Competitor Wellcare Health Plans Inc., which makes a quarter of its revenue from Medicare Advantage, rose $1.93, or 2.2%, to $88.77. Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose $0.88 to close at $54.61, while shares of Aetna Inc. were up $0.64 to $44.83, both on the NYSE. Shares of Coventry Health Care Inc. rose $1.10 to close at $58.04 on the NYSE.

The best monthly sales performance ever for Toyota and gains by fellow Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan helped the industry in March top last year's best month for U.S. sales despite declines by GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler. Toyota's U.S. sales jumped nearly 12% in March compared with a year ago, boosted by record hybrid sales and strong overall car sales. The overall rise in U.S. sales came despite GM and DaimlerChrysler's sales falling about 4% each, and Ford posting a 9% drop.  

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (NYSE:MI) plans to spin off its data processing arm into a stand-alone publicly traded company in a $4.25 billion deal involving a New York private equity firm, M&I said Tuesday. Warburg Pincus, a New York City global private equity firm will invest $625 million to purchase 25% equity in Metavante Corp. M&I shareholders will own the remaining 75% of Brown Deer-based Metavante. The deal is tax-free. M&I shareholders will receive one share of M&I stock and one share of Metavante Corp. stock for every three shares of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. stock held. Shares of M&I jumped $3.97, or nearly 9% to close at $49.83, after the Wall Street Journal reported that a $4 billion spinoff was in the works Tuesday morning.

Google (NDAQ:GOOG) shares rose Tuesday after the Web search company said that it will start selling and choosing some ads broadcast to EchoStar Communications Corp.'s 13.1 million satellite TV subscribers. Google shares gained $14.07, or 3.1%, to close at $472.60 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. During the past year, the stock has traded between $360.57 and $513. Mitchell also noted that OpenTV is EchoStar's largest technology provider, and that the company also has a relationship with Google, since its founder joined Google last year as head of television technology. EchoStar shares gained $0.50 to close at $44.04 on the Nasdaq. The Rentrak Corp., which sells business intelligence software for tracking entertainment sales data, could benefit from the contract because it can give advertisers real-time measurement data that is better than conventional statistical sampling processes. The company has 42 million set-top boxes across the country. Rentrak shares gained $0.37, or 2.4%, to close at $15.82 on the Nasdaq. Additionally, shares of OpenTV Corp., which may be another beneficiary of the deal, gained $0.09 or 3.6%, to close at $2.61 on the Nasdaq. The shares have ranged from $2.27 to $4.18 over the past year. OpenTV provides software for cable and satellite television.

Pozen (NDAQ:POZN), which is developing Trexima with GlaxoSmithKline PLC, said that Trexima worked better than drugs sumatriptan or naproxen sodium when used alone. The results were also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Shares of Pozen rose $1.08, or 7.6%, to $15.30 in extended trading, after rising $0.24, or 2%, to finish at $14.22 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

FSI International, Inc. (NDAQ:FSII) shares have moved up over 7% since late last week when Chapman Capital disclosed a 6.5% stake in the company and expressed his increasing concern over the apparent divergence between ownership and management of the company in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC. Specifically, Mr. Chapman was appalled that in approximately 75% of the fiscal quarters comprising FY2000 through FY2006 the company had reported net losses while CEO Benno Mitchell received millions of dollars in compensation. The hedge fund manager was also concerned by the fact that the CEO ran the company from the comfort of his own home. This concern was heightened when Mr. Mitchell's wife answered the telephone at Mr. Mitchell's primary place of conducting business! Since then, no telephone calls have been returned as the company continues to avoid contact with its shareholders. Consequently, the hedge fund said that they plan to solicit interest in acquiring the company by prospective strategic buyers and plan the recruitment of alternative management and corporate governors for the company. If there is significant interest in the company by other players in the semi-conductor industry, FSII shareholders could see significant upside as cost cutting could greatly enhance the profitability of this company. This makes FSII a stock worth watching!

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