Stockwinners Market Radar for May 29, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:38 EDT First Data to acquire CardConnect for $15.00 per share - First Data (FDC) and CardConnect (CCN) announced a definitive merger agreement for First Data to acquire all outstanding shares of CardConnect for $15.00 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to be "modestly accretive" to First Data's adjusted EPS in the first full year post-closing, before expected synergies, the company said. Under the agreement, First Data will commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding CardConnect common stock for a purchase price of $15.00 per share in cash. The aggregate transaction value is approximately $750M, including repayment of CardConnect's outstanding debt and redemption of CardConnect's preferred stock. CardConnect shareholders holding approximately 40% of CardConnect common stock have entered into tender and support agreements. The transaction is subject to the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of CardConnect. The parties expect the transaction to close in Q3. "This transaction is consistent with our strategy of integrating and scaling innovative technologies... CardConnect is a long-standing First Data distribution partner and we are excited to incorporate their state-of-the-art solutions across some of our most important strategic initiatives such as partner-centric distribution, integrated payments, and enterprise payments solutions," commented First Data.

19:31 EDT Fiserv says selected by Bank of Sydney - Fiserv announced that Bank of Sydney will "work with Fiserv to provide its consumer and small business customers with enhanced digital banking capabilities." The bank will implement DigitalAccess from Fiserv, an end-to-end solution hosted in a cloud environment, to support all online and mobile applications, infrastructure, and services offered by Bank of Sydney. Bank of Sydney chose Fiserv in a competitive process to replace its current digital banking platform.

18:36 EDT British Airways suffers 'major' IT failure - IAG's British Airways announced Saturday it experienced a "major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide," leading it to cancel all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports that day. By Monday, the company said it had resumed just over 95% of flights, while noting that 75,000 passengers were impacted by the disruption. Reference Link

16:29 EDT PPG says remains willing to engage with AkzoNobel - PPG (PPG) issued the following statement in response to the decision by the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber: "The matter before the Enterprise Chamber was between AkzoNobel (AKZOY) and certain shareholders, who have clearly stated that constructive engagement between AkzoNobel and PPG is in the best interests of all stakeholders. PPG remains willing to meet with AkzoNobel regarding a potential combination of the two companies, but without productive engagement, PPG will assess and decide whether or not to pursue an offer for AkzoNobel. PPG will make further announcements if and when it is appropriate."

15:38 EDT General Motors says ISS recommends vote against Greenlight proposal - General Motors announced that Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended GM shareholders vote for all of the board's nominees and against the Greenlight proposal at the company's 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 6. According to GM, ISS stated in its May 26 report that "the negative outcomes associated with the proposed dual class share structure combined with the lack of visibility regarding value creation for shareholders drive our recommendation against the dual class proposal... The dual class structure would create conflicts of interest as dividend and capital appreciation shareholders would have different objectives, adding complexity to decisions regarding the company's capital structure and investments."

15:27 EDT 500.com to acquire shares of MelcoLot Limited - 500.com announced a share purchase agreement pursuant to which it has conditionally agreed to purchase from Melco LottVentures an aggregate of roughly 1.28B shares of MelcoLot Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, representing approximately 40.65% of MelcoLot's existing issued share capital. Total consideration is approximately HK$322.2M, equivalent to approximately HK$0.252 per share. Pursuant to the Hong Kong code on takeovers, upon completion of the acquisition of the shares, 500.com will be required to make a cash offer to acquire all shares of MelcoLot in issue at HK$0.252 per share. Furthermore, the company will also be required to make a cash offer to cancel all outstanding options granted by MelcoLot pursuant to its share option schemes.

14:51 EDT Israel's Partner Communications announces partnership with Netflix - Partner Communications (PTNR) announced a partnership with Netflix (NFLX) to make Netflix's services directly accessible through Partner's new television service which is expected to launch in the coming weeks. "Partner will be the first telecommunications company in Israel to offer the Netflix service on its set-top box, enabling a best-in-class user experience for Netflix members with a fast load time for the application and all the conveniences of a Netflix button on Partner's remote control," the company noted. "Israeli customers have shown strong enthusiasm for Netflix content since we launched here just over a year ago. With more than 1,000 hours of new original Netflix content slated for 2017, we are delighted to work with Partner to offer a fantastic new way through which Netflix customers can seamlessly access and enjoy our service," Netflix commented.

14:33 EDT China Lodging completes Crystal Orange transaction, says plans guidance revision - China Lodging Group announced completion of the transaction with shareholders of Crystal Orange Hotel to acquire all equity interests of Crystal Orange for an initial aggregate consideration of approximately RMB3.65B on May 25. The transaction has obtained approval from the Antitrust Bureau of Ministry of Commerce of China. Upon closing, Crystal Orange's hotel business has become part of China Lodging's network. "We value Crystal Orange's brand recognition and postmodern design. Their style and positioning match perfectly with China Lodging's philosophy and brand portfolio," remarked China Lodging. China Lodging's management will revise FY17 guidance taking into consideration the financial impact of the transaction. More details on the financial impact and revised guidance will be provided on the company's Q2 earnings call.

14:25 EDT Nasdaq selected to power Kazakhstan stock exchange - Nasdaq and Astana International Financial Centre announced Monday a new agreement under which Nasdaq has been selected to power Kazakhstan's nascent stock exchange, the AIFC Exchange. The exchange is targeted to launch in late-2017 and will initially trade equities and fixed income with other asset classes for future phases. "Within the framework of the agreement, the Nasdaq Matching Engine will be implemented and go through several rigorous testing and acceptance stages before official deployment... Once the AIFC Exchange goes live, Nasdaq will provide continual maintenance and technical support," the companies said.

14:08 EDT Canadian National says train conductors, yard employees give strike notice - CN said Saturday that the "Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference - Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons," which represents approximately 3,000 CN conductors and yard operations employees in Canada, has given the company a 72-hour notice of its intention to strike as of 0400 hours EDT on May 30, 2017. "We continue to negotiate in good faith with the assistance of a federally-appointed mediator in order to reach a fair agreement before the strike deadline. We are also offering to resolve our differences through binding arbitration with a neutral arbitrator. We remain optimistic that we can reach an agreement without a labour disruption," commented CN.

14:02 EDT Goldcorp extends deadline, waives minimum for Exeter Resource tender - Goldcorp (GG) announced Friday it has extended the expiry time of its offer to acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of Exeter Resource (XRA) to June 7 and waived the offer's minimum tender condition of not less than 66 2/3% of the outstanding Exeter shares. The minimum tender condition has now been reduced to the legal minimum requirement, which requires that Exeter shares constituting more than 50% of outstanding shares be tendered. "Goldcorp remains fully committed to the offer and to the Exeter shareholders who have already tendered their Exeter shares to the offer. Goldcorp encourages all shareholders who have not yet tendered their Exeter shares to the offer to do so as soon as possible. Exeter's board of directors continues to unanimously support the offer as amended and unanimously recommends that shareholders tender their Exeter shares," the company noted.