CBS, ORCL, CRM, JT, GOOG: Latest M&A News

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CBS, ORCL, CRM, JT, GOOG: Latest M&A News

Here’s a look at Tuesday’s latest mergers and acquisition news.

CBS

Bankers are assessing possible interest in CBS’s (NYSE:CBS) outdoor advertising business, CBS Outdoor Inc. They are contacting private equity firms about a possible deal but they’re only in the preliminary stages. According to The Wall Street Journal, one hurdle in a possible sale may be its price: $6 billion. The business encompasses selling advertising spaces for billboards, bus panels and transit shelters.

Party City/Thomas H. Lee

Private equity firm Thomas H. Lee has agreed to purchase a majority share in Party City in a $2.7 billion deal.

The company is currently owned by private-equity firms Advent International, Berkshire Partners LLC and Weston Presidio; they had been planning an IPO for the company.

Berkshire and Weston have owned Party City since 2005 after a $364 million acquisition. They will keep a stake in the company as 91 percent shareholders.

Collective Intellect/Oracle

Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) has agreed to buy the text-mining and analytics software maker Collective Intellect as it continues expanding in web-based software.

With its cloud-based software monitoring, Collective Intellect can understand and respond to consumers’ social media conversations on such platforms as Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter. Its customers include Hasbro Inc.  Nestle S.A’s  Nestle Purina PetCare Co., and PepsiCo Inc., according to MarketWatch.

Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Buddy Media/Salesforce.com

salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) has agreed to buy online-marketing firm Buddy Media for $745 million as it grows its social-media footprint. According to Marc Benioff, Salesforce’s Chief Executive, he believes the deal will help with demand as the online-marketing business matures, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This deal comes after a similar one took place last week with Oracle Corp. purchasing Vitrue Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Similar to Buddy Media, Virtue assists marketers when publishing and monitoring content across platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Meebo/Google

On Monday, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) agreed to buy Meebo, the social startup, for an undisclosed amount.  According to a May All Things Digital story, Google said it was considering shelling out $100 million to buy the company.

With the acquisition, this should help give the Google+network service a bump, reported CNN.com.

In a statement, a Google spokeswoman wrote to CNN, “We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the Web. With the Meebo team’s expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google+ team.”

Japan Tobacco Inc

On Tuesday, Japan’s finance ministry announced that 10 banks are on the short list to underwrite the government sale of its Japan Tobacco Inc. stake. They include Nomura Securities Co. and JPMorgan Securities Japan Co.

The Japanese government will decrease its 50% share in Japan Tobacco (known as JT), by selling about 16.6% of its outstanding shares to gain money for reconstruction from last year’s earthquake and tsunami.

Sale proceeds could bring in about 705 billion yen; JT’s stock closed on Tuesday at Y424,500 per share.

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