Acxiom stock dives; Nokia rebounds on plan to buy Navteq; Velcro stock up on tender offer

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Oct. 1 - Acxiom Corp. watched its shares slide to kick off the week after the company agreed to back out of its planned merger with Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital.

In a day filled with merger and acquisition news, Acxiom agreed to take a $65 million termination fee to kill the agreement.

Elsewhere, Nokia Corp. is gearing up to buy Navteq, a navigation services provider, in an $8.1 billion deal set to close in the first quarter of 2008.

The move, an analyst said, is on target with Nokia's current strategy.

In other news, Velcro Industries NV's stock settled up more than 15.5% on Monday after the hook-and-loop fastener giant said it will begin a tender offer for all of its outstanding shares.

The $21-per-share price tag on the tender offer is a 17.3% premium to the company's $17.90 closing stock price on Friday.

Acxiom shares dive

Moving back to the Acxiom deal, the data integration company agreed to take the money and run from its $2.25 billion merger agreement with Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital subsidiary Axio Holdings, LLC.

The dissolved merger plan is the latest of several leveraged buyout deals to go sour. Most recently, Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. agreed to drop the asking price on its planned merger with Lone Star Funds V (US) LP to $11.75 per share from $15.10 per share.

"It seems to be a trend, for certain," said one sellside trader on Monday morning. "I would say that the most obvious reason mergers are going bad or are being renegotiated is that it takes a long time for mergers to occur. It just so happens that over the past few months, the stock market has taken a big hit. That leads to cause for concern for the buyers."

An analyst said Monday that the problems stem from a reported $11.5 million net loss from Acxiom in the most recent quarter.

"Things are looking pretty bad and so it was probably in the best interest for the buyers to leave it alone," said the analyst. "It probably would have been a positive for Acxiom to go through with the merger but I think they knew the buyers would be hesitant given their recent earnings report."

The news sent shares of Acxiom downward.

At 12:14 p.m. ET, Acxiom's stock had already given up 23.85%, or $4.72. The stock ended the day down 19.71%, or $3.90, at $15.89 (Nasdaq: ACXM). The stock fell by another 26 cents after the stock market closed.

"Acxiom has been an industry leader for over three decades and we will continue to execute on our long-term strategy to remain the market leader in database marketing, services and data products," said Charles Morgan, the company's chairman, in a statement.

"While I am disappointed we could not conclude the merger, we have renewed energy and remain focused and committed to delivering value for our shareholders and clients."

Morgan has said he will retire.

Nokia to buy Navteq

In a merger that is expected to go through, Nokia Corp. said it will buy Navteq in a merger valued at $8.1 billion.

"It seems like it's a good fit with their strategy," said an analyst familiar with Nokia. "Navigation is an area that a lot of communications companies are moving into and I think this will probably benefit those plans for Nokia."

Navteq is a Chicago-based digital map information provider for automotive navigation systems.

Nokia plans to purchase Navteq at $78 per share.

Navteq's stock dipped by 1.95%, or $1.52, to end at $76.45 (NYSE: NVT). The stock lost another 40 cents after hours.

Shares of Nokia edged up by 3 cents to close at $37.96 but lost 16 cents in after-hours trading (NYSE: NOK).

Once the merger is completed, sometime in the first quarter of 2008, Navteq's current business will continue to operate independently but will be a Nokia Group company.

"Location-based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia's internet services strategy," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's CEO, in a statement.

"The acquisition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space. By joining forces with Navteq, we will be able to bring context and geographical information to a number of our internet services with accelerated time to market. We also look forward to maintaining and enhancing the services and support provided to Navteq's existing and future customers."

"Nokia's unique vision for location-based services aligns perfectly with Navteq's vision to enable everyone to find their way to people, places and opportunities on mobile communications devices, cars, desktop computers and in all the other places that are important to them," said Navteq CEO Judson Green in a news release.

Nokia will pick up the tab for the purchase with a combination of cash and debt.

Velcro begins tender offer

Shares of Velcro jumped by 15.53% on Monday after the company said it will purchase all of its outstanding shares at $21 each, a 17.3% premium to the company's $17.90 closing stock price on Friday.

By lunchtime, shares of Velcro were up 15.64%, or $2.80. The stock ended the day up $2.78, or 15.53%, at $20.68 (Nasdaq: VELC).

The tender offer began on Monday and will expire Nov. 5, unless extended. Under the offer, Velcro will only accept shares tendered by a shareholder if the shares are held only by that shareholder.

Velcro, based in the Netherlands, makes hook-and-loop closures.

Dyadic changes management

Finally, Dyadic International, Inc. experienced a shift in management, the company announced Monday.

The Jupiter, Fla.-based company also announced plans to engage an investment banker to help it explore "strategic alternatives."

Glenn Nedwin resigned from positions as chief scientific officer, executive vice president, president of the company's biopharma business and as a board member and member of the company's executive committee of the board of directors. Nedwin has accepted a position with Danisco A/S.

There is a search to fill the position of chief scientific officer and president of the biopharma business.

Wayne Moor, the company's interim CEO, was appointed as the company's permanent CEO and president. Lisa De La Pointe, Dyadic's director of financial reporting and interim chief financial officer, was appointed as the executive vice president and as permanent CFO. Alexander "Sasha" Bondar, Dyadic's vice president of strategy and corporate development, was appointed as executive vice president and chief business officer.

Dyadic is a biotechnology company focused on bioenergy, industrial enzyme and pharmaceutical products.

Dyadic's stock remained unmoved at $5.30 on Monday. The stock has remained flat since May 22.

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