Benzinga's M&A Chatter for Thursday July 19, 2012

The following are the M&A deals, rumors and chatter circulating on Wall Street for Thursday July 19, 2012:

Hearing Magellan Health Exploring Strategic Alternatives

The Rumor:
Magellan Health (NASDAQ: MGLN) is rumored to be exploring strategic alternatives, according to dealReporter.

A spokesperson for Magellan would not comment on the rumor.

Magellan Health closed at $52.56 Thursday, a gain of 12.40% on 16 times average volume.

Hearing Seagate Technology Considering Acquisition of OCZ Technology

The Rumor:
Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) is rumored to be considering a purchase of OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ), according to sources as reported by Fudzilla.

A spokesperson for Seagate would not comment on the rumor. An OCZ spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

OCZ Technology closed at $5.62 Thursday, a gain of 23.03% on 6 times average volume.

Centene Takeover Target Reports New York Times

The Rumor:
Centene (NYSE: CNC) is a possible takeover target, according to the New York Times. Possible suitors include WellPoint (NYSE: WLP), Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Humana (NYSE: HUM).

Centene closed at $37.58 Thursday, a gain of 0.51% on lower than average volume.

Vringo Completes Merger with Innovate/Protect

The Merger:
Vringo (NYSE: VRNG) announced Thursday the completion of its merger with Innovate/Protect, a company that seeks to maximize the value of intellectual property and technology assets.

The combined entity, which trades on the NYSE MKT under the symbol “VRNG,” is managed by an executive team led by Chief Executive Officer Andrew Perlman and supported by the board of directors, which consists of directors from the previous Vringo and Innovate/Protect boards.

Vringo closed at $3.70 Thursday, a gain of 2.78% on twice average volume.

PPG Commodity Chemicals Business to Merge with Georgia Gulf

The Merger:
PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) and Georgia Gulf Corporation (NYSE: GGC) announced Thursday that the boards of directors of both companies have approved definitive agreements under which PPG will separate its commodity chemicals business and then merge it with Georgia Gulf. This business combination is expected to deliver enhanced value for the shareholders of both companies.

The terms of the transaction call for PPG to form a new company by separating its commodity chemicals business through a spinoff or split off, and then immediately merging the business with Georgia Gulf or a Georgia Gulf subsidiary in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. The merger will result in PPG shareholders receiving approximately 50.5 percent of the shares of the merged company, with existing Georgia Gulf shareholders owning approximately 49.5 percent of The Newly Merged Company.

PPG Industries closed at $111.96 Thursday, a gain of 7.77% on 3.5 times average volume.

Georgia Gulf closed at $32.67 Thursday, a gain of 13.24% on 9.5 times average volume.