ABN Amro (NYSE:ABN) shares moved up $2.49, or 5.44%, to $48.28 today after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Royal Bank of Scotland officially made a bid for the company. Up until now, the merger talks surrounding the company included only Barclays with mere speculation that there could be others in the mix. The Royal Bank of Scotland is supposedly teaming up with Fortis and Banco Santander Central Hispano to buy ABN and carve it up. It has been widely speculated that other suitors would be willing to pay more than Barclays - especially in the event of a breakup bid.

While ABN management may not be too enthusiastic about these additional bids, a bidding war is certainly in the best interest of shareholders as evidenced by today's jump. We know that one activist investor, The Children's Investment Fund, already announced that it would support the consideration of the RBoS consortium saying: "As ABN Amro shareholders, we believe that the fiduciary duties of the supervisory and management boards require that the Royal Bank of Scotland consortium is allowed to proceed immediately with due diligence on a basis equivalent to Barclays for there to be a fair and transparent process which maximizes shareholder value". Clearly the situation makes ABN a stock worth watching!

Related Companies
1st Source Corporation (SRCE)
ING Groep (ING)

Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:MNST) shares rose over 3% today after the company announced that Sal Iannuzzi would replace William Pastore as Chairman and CEO of the company in the second management shakeup in six months. The CEO switched has led to speculation that Monster may be interested in putting itself back on the block, especially given Iannuzzi's past roles in high profile deals.

Many analysts believe that if the company did put itself up for sale, it could potentially be a target for Yahoo! or eBay who are looking to take market share from Google in areas outside of search. The company could also be a target for newspaper chains or private online recruiting companies like CareerBuilder.com. Given the company's strong market position, solid financial performance, and large number of potential bidders, many analysts are predicting that the company could see more than $60 per share or almost 20x projected 2007 EBITDA. While no deal is certain, there is definitely a possibility for M&A in what has become a strange story on Wall Street. This makes MNST a stock worth watching!

Related Companies
Omnicom Group, Inc. (OMC)
Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG)
Korn/Ferry International (KFY)

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) board members may face some opposition at the company's next annual meeting after Carl Icahn filed a proxy statement soliciting shareholder votes to elect him to the Motorola board of directors. In his letter to shareholders, Icahn commented that his experience tells him that Motorola's problems reflect not only operational failures, but also symptoms of a passive and reactive board. The move comes after the company's surprise fourth-quarter drop in earnings for its Mobile Devices segment and recently announced expectations for disappointing results through 2007.

Shares did not rally on the news, however, since Icahn added that buy-backs and other transactions that might have looked appropriate earlier need to take a "back seat". It was his recommendations to unlock value through such transactions that helped move the stock significantly during his past announcements. In the end, it may be best for the company to concern itself with improving its operational performance before exploring any strategic options, despite the fact that it may take some time. Meanwhile, this is definitely a stock to watch as the situation unfolds!

Related Companies
Arris Group, Inc. (ARRS)
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
C-COR Incorporated (CCBL)

Google Inc. (NDAQ:GOOG) announced Friday that it has agreed to buy online-advertising company DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 billion in cash, capping takeover talks that reportedly featured interest from other companies including Microsoft. The acquisition will help Google boost its efforts to sell more graphics-based display ads - a market pioneered by the venture-funded DoubleClick.

Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) shares jumped on Friday after a greatly improved 2007 earnings forecast hit the markets as well as the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders over its handling of the recalled Vioxx. There were also rumors that a Texas judge is poised to throw out a key Vioxx case, which could derail another 1,000 Vioxx cases filed in Texas courts.

eBay Inc. (NDAQ:EBAY) is expected to report higher sales and a surge in profit on Wednesday, fueled by growth in its PayPal division and improving selling prices of items sold on its website. Sales are projected to climb 22% to $1.7 billion while profits are expected to come in at 30 cents per share - the higher end of eBay's guidance.

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD) shares added 2.2% after the company said it expects earnings of 62 cents for Q1, including a one cent gain from foreign currency translation. This tops analyst estimates of 57 cents.

Apple, Inc. (NDAQ:AAPL) shares fell over 2% after the comany said it would delay the release of Leapard, the next upgrade of its Mac operating system, until October.

Comverge (NDAQ:COMV) shares jumped over 16% on their first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The maker of software and related technology is tapping into the so-called "Cleantech" sector aimed at reducing the world's carbon footprint by making electricity transmission grids smarter.

General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) rose 0.6% after the company's first quarter results came in line with analysts' expectations, while it also reaffirmed its earnings guidance for 2007.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NDAQ:SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NDAQ:XMSR) advanced slightly after the Justice Department said it had requested more information on their planned merger.

Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE:DOW) shares moved up $1.23, or 2.73%, to $46.32 today after the company announced that it had fired two longtime executives, including the company's former finance chief, who it said were involved in unauthorized discussions with third parties about the potential acquisition of the company. Dow said it learned of the misconduct on Tuesday and its board was informed on Wednesday. The news comes after rumors of a $50 billion leveraged buyout surfaced in a British tabloid newspaper, the Sunday Express in London, earlier this week. While the company immediately discounted the report and voiced its opposition to a buyout, shares still rallied up 7% on Monday and a further nearly 3% today. Clearly, this event makes the story more interesting and the possibility of something happening behind the scenes more likely. However, given Dow's resistance to any buyout, it is not likely that any deal will be closed for quite some time. So, while this may be a stock to watch, it may be too early to take any action.

Related Companies
Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK)
Albemarle Corporation (ALB)
Eastman Chemical Company (EMN)

MedImmune Inc. (NDAQ:MEDI) shares moved up $4.75, or 12.55%, to $42.59 after the company announced that they hired Goldman Sachs to explore strategic alternatives. The company noted that indications of interest by major pharmaceutical companies, coupled with recent expressions by certain stockholders of dissatisfaction with the company's short-term stock price performance, have led to the board to authorize management to gather information regarding a possible strategic interest in acquiring the company. This dissatisfaction was expressed by 1.2% holder Carl Icahn who holds almost 2.8 million shares in the company. The move again demonstrates the increasing power that activist shareholders can have in unlocking value within a company! Investors should also watch MEDI closely as any buyout would likely come at a healthy premium!

Related Companies
Genentech, Inc. (DNA)
Amgen, Inc. (AMGN)
Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)

Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ:NDAQ) is reportedly seeking a deal with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange after its unsuccessful cross-border deal with the London Stock Exchange fell through. A PHLX acquisition would give the NDAQ a strong presence in the rapidly expanding options business. A Wall Street Journal story reported on April 11th that the exchanges have been in talks for months and though no merger news is expected immediately, a deal could be just several week away, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, the CBOT vs. CME vs. ICE buyout battle continues to wage while the NYSE and Euronext merger appears to be all but locked up. Clearly, there is a lot of action going on now amongst the exchanges, which makes them a sector worth keeping a close eye on!

Related Companies
NYSE Group, Inc. (NYX)
CBOT Holdings, Inc. (CBOT)
Chicago Merchantile Exchange Holdings (CME)

AVP Inc. (OTC:AVPI) shares moved up $0.06, or 4.8%, to $1.30 today after Diker Management disclosed a 15.8% stake in the company and expressed its concerns over AVP's proposed below-market-price sale of the company. AVP agreed to be acquired by Shamrock Holdings for $1.23 per share, which is significantly below the intrinsic value of the company and a staggering 18% below the prior day's closing price of $1.50! This is almost unheard of in the world of M&A where buyouts typically come at substantial premiums to both the current market prices and 20-day moving averages.

Diker insisted that AVP's future prospects appear very bright. The company's 2006 Form 10KSB said that its revenues grew 38% in 2006 while its gross profit expanded by 80%. Net loss decreased significantly from an $8.96 million loss to nearly breaking even with a $0.34 million loss. Excluding one-time expenses such as the administrative costs while raising money and a redesign of the company's logo, AVP would have been significantly profitable in 2006. The hedge fund said that it expects the company to report strong positive net income of $3 to $4 million in 2007 and substantially higher numbers in 2008. They support this notion by pointing to (1) signed or renewed sponsorship agreements with McDonald's, Hilton, Shick, Nature Valley, and Banana Boat, (2) a schedule of at least 18 events for 2007, up from 16 in 2006, (3) and plans on further reducing operating expenses while expanding revenues.

So, what is the company really worth? AVP is a lifestyle sports entertainment company that focuses on live and televised professional beach volleyball events. The company offers a well positioned business model that compares to Speedway Motors (NYSE:ISCA), World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE), and Dover Motorsports (NYSE:DVD). The proposed acquisition of AVP values the company at an enterprise value of $31.8 million, or 1.48x trailing 12 months revenue. The peer group mentioned above trades at an average and median of 3.1x trailing 12 months revenue. This suggests a valuation of $2.38 per AVP share. Moreover, the peer group trades at a median of 9.2x 2008 EBITDA consensus. Applying this multiple to AVP again yields a dramatically higher number - especially if you take into account the fact that the acquirer will be able to remove public company costs!

What can be done? Obviously, shareholders can reject the proposal which is definitely a possibility given Diker's 15.8% stake and the sub par buyout offer. However, for now, the hedge fund is appealing to the company's board of directors to reconsider the proposed offer in hopes that they will repeal it. If they are successful in either of these, we could see a substantially higher buyout offer, or the company remaining a separate entity. Either way, this stock is definitely worth watching!

Related Companies
Google, Inc. (GOOG)
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)
Interactive Data Corp. (IDC)

NovaStar (NYSE:NFI) announced that it hired Deutsche Bank to help it explore strategic alternatives including a possible sale or other "change of control transaction". The move will make it the latest subprime mortgage specialist to propose relinquishing its independence.

Research in Motion Ltd. (NDAQ:RIMM) said that its fiscal fourth quarter profits surged tenfold from a year ago, when it had a large legal expense, as sales rose 66% on higher demand for the company's BlackBerry wireless devices.

Google Inc. (NDAQ:GOOG) plans to join the battle to deploy voice-based search technology according to a media report on Wednesday. Google released a free experimental service last week called Google Voice Local Search, which allowed users to dial a number and search for businesses in specific cities via voice recognition.

Advanced Magnetics Inc. (NDAQ:AMAG) said its Phase III studies on ferumoxytol, an intravenous iron replacement, met their primary and secondary endpoints. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company said the two studies demonstrate a significant improvement in hemoglobin levels for non-dialysis dependent patients using the drug, compared with oral iron supplements.

CheckFree Corp. (NDAQ:CKFR) confirmed that it has had discussions with an unnamed "large customer" over the possibility of the customer "pursuing an in-house approach" for some of Checkfree's services. Atlanta-based Checkfree added that "there have been no changes to any material customer contracts." Earlier Wednesday, JMP Securities analyst David Scharf said he was fairly certain that Bank of America is planning to transition the payment warehouse portion of its online bill-pay processing to an in-house solution. Scharf said he believed BofA's business accounted for $170 million, or 20% of CheckFree's fiscal 2006 revenue, with bill-pay services accounting for $150 million.

Christopher & Banks Corp.'s (NYSE:CBK) fiscal fourth-quarter net income plunged to $1.93 million, or 5 cents a share, from $6.68 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. The Minneapolis-based women's retailer said net sales for the 14-week quarter ended March 3 increased 5.8% to $134 million, compared with $126.6 million in the 13-week period a year ago. Christopher & Banks expects a first-quarter net income range of 30 cents to 31 cents a share.

Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NDAQ:HILL) said it now expects a first-quarter loss of 13 cents to 15 cents a share on revenue of $53 million to $54 million. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based provider of storage systems previously forecast a per-share loss of 20 cents to 23 cents a share on revenue of $46 million to $49 million. Dot Hill said the increased forecast is largely due to higher-than-expected revenue and margin contribution from its largest OEM customer.

TLC Vision (NDAQ:TLCV) shares move dup over 9% today after the company announced that it would repurchase $125 million worth of its own shares at prices not less than $5.75 and not more than $6.25. The repurchase was initially proposed along with other strategic alternatives by Glenhill Advisors and will be financed through a combination of cash and borrowing. The move also provides a healthy boost to Glenhill's position, which paid around $4 to $5 for its 14% stake in the company. This is yet another instance where shareholder activism caused change that helped the company unlock value in its shares! Meanwhile, shareholders are also watching the company as it embarks on larger changes that the hedge funds proposed to its overall strategy and restructuring. Combined, these factors make TLCV a stock worth following!

Related Companies
LCA-Vision Inc. (LCAV)
PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. (PYTO)
Orion HealthCorp, Inc. (ONH)