, On Tuesday May 25, 2010, 4:16 pm EDT

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT – News) recently launched a tender offer for buying all issued shares of Unidux, Inc. in a move to expand operations in Japan.

The tender offer is expected to be completed by the end of July 2010. For the tender offer to be successful, 66.7% of the shares need to be tendered. Avnet reported that shareholders representing about 37.6% of the issued shares have committed to accept the offer.

Unidux is an electronics components distributor primarily serving Japanese original equipment manufacturers. Unidux has operations in Japan, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China and ASEAN countries. It distributes active and passive components from leading suppliers including Intel (NasdaqGS: INTC – News), Micron (NasdaqGS: MU – News), OKI, Aptina and Littelfuse (NasdaqGS: LFUS – News).

Management expects that the Unidux business will add complementary customers and suppliers while tripling Avnet Electronics Marketing business in Japan. It will also provide an opportunity to forge ties with many significant new customers such as Fujitsu, Panasonic (NYSE: PC – News), Sharp and Toshiba.

Earlier, Avnet entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bell Microproducts Inc. (NasdaqGM: BELM – News) for $7.00 per share, amounting to $252 million. Bell is a leading value-added distributor of storage and computing technology. The company has over 1900 employees and offers a broad suite of integration and support services to OEMs, VARs, system builders and end users through 55 offices in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America.

Avnet management had pursued a strategic acquisition policy to grow its geographic as well as market coverage for electronic components and computer products. The company has been able to increase its scale of operations as a result of its acquisitions.

The company continues to expand business in Asia, and Asia is likely to be the largest growth driver given the current outsourcing trends.

AVNET INC (AVT): Read the Full Research Report

INTEL CP (INTC): Read the Full Research Report

PANASONIC CORP (PC): Read the Full Research Report

Zacks Investment Research

, On Tuesday May 25, 2010, 8:47 am EDT

NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS – News) – one of the country’s largest asphalt refiners and marketers and operators of petroleum product terminals and petroleum liquids pipelines – has agreed to acquire certain assets of an energy- and commodities-focused private equity firm for $44.1 million. 

As per the deal, Boston-based Denham Capital will sell its stake in Asphalt Holdings Inc. to NuStar. Asphalt Holdings Inc. is engaged in providing receipt, storage and distribution of asphalt and crude oil via marine vessels, barges, tank trucks and rail cars.

The assets, located in Alabama , consist of 3 asphalt storage terminals that include 24 storage tanks with a total capacity of approximately 1.8 million barrels. The acquisition will also give NuStar associated rail- and truck-loading facilities, along with 3 docks with barge or ship access.  

The transaction, which will allow NuStar to add to its already attractive set of fee-based assets in the U.S. , is expected to be immediately accretive to the partnership’s cash flow. Additionally, NuStar will be able to expand its terminal presence into a new market in the U.S. Gulf Coast with the opportunity to expand into new asphalt markets as well.

San Antonio, Texas-based NuStar Energy is a master limited partnership that engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil as well as refined products in the U.S. , the Netherlands Antilles, Canada , Mexico , the Netherlands  and the U.K. The partnership is one of the largest asphalt refiners and marketers in the U.S. and the second largest independent liquids terminal operator in the nation. NuStar’s current asset base includes 8,417 miles of pipelines, 89 storage facilities, and 2 asphalt refineries with a combined throughput capacity of 104,000 barrels per day. The partnership’s combined system has more than 93 million barrels of storage capacity.

NuStar Energy is currently rated as Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying that the stock is expected to perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

NUSTAR ENERGY LP (NS): Read the Full Research Report

Zacks Investment Research

, On Monday May 24, 2010, 2:19 pm EDT

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM – News) further expanded its software portfolio by announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement by acquiring Sterling Commerce from AT&T (NYSE: T – News) for $1.4 billion in cash.

Sterling Commerce — based in Dublin, Ohio — offers business-to-business solutions, which optimizes business collaboration networks and enable companies to communicate and collaborate with customers, partners and suppliers. IBM plans to absorb all 2,500 employees of Sterling into the WebSphere organization within IBM’s Software Group.

The Sterling deal is expected to close in the second half of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. AT&T anticipates a one-time gain of approximately $750 million in the quarter in which the transaction closes. Sterling Commerce was acquired by AT&T (known as SBC Communications at that time) in 2000 for nearly $4 billion.

The deal will provide IBM access to over 18,000 clients of Sterling, operating across financial services, retail, manufacturing, communications and distribution industries. IBM expects Sterling’s suite of products to complement its middleware portfolio. Moreover, IBM also plans to leverage Sterling’s large trading partner network to offer new cross-channel solutions to its clients.

IBM is facing increasing competition from other technology giants, such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ – News) and SAP AG (NYSE: SAP – News), as they continue to venture into each others’ business domains. SAP recently announced its intention to acquire Dublin, California-based Sybase Inc. (NYSE: SY – News), which offers a gamut of solutions for mobile platforms, for a total consideration of $5.8 billion.

Shares of IBM have declined 0.41% to $124.99 in morning trade, while the price of AT&T shares has dipped more than 1% to $24.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. We currently have a Neutral recommendation on both IBM and AT&T.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHS (IBM): Read the Full Research Report

AT&T INC (T): Read the Full Research Report

HEWLETT PACKARD CO (HPQ): Read the Full Research Report

SAP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT (SAP): Read the Full Research Report

Zacks Investment Research