Shares of Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) surged as much as 10% in Friday's pre-market trading after New York Post reported that Chairman Irving Azoff and Liberty Media's (Nasdaq: LINTA) John Malone are considering taking the company private. The speculation comes less than two years after the successful merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Sources suggest the talks are still in early stages and that going private was just one of several options being discussed.
Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN) rallied more than 9% after the company announced that it has received a letter from its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tianfu Yang ,and Abax Global Capital reaffirming their proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock of HRBN not currently owned by the two, and their respective affiliates in a going private transaction for $24.00 per share in cash. Mr. Yang, Abax, and their respective affiliates own approximately 40.72 percent of the company’s Common Stock currently.
Toyota Motors (NYSE: TM) announced Friday that it expects operating profits to fall 35 percent to $3.7 billion this year, due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that took place in Japan on March 11. The company continues to struggle in Japan as power shortages plague the country's power plants, and in turn, both manufacturers and consumers. On May 11, Toyota announced operating profits from the January to March quarter fell 52 percent as a result of the earthquake. Toyota also cut its group-based global vehicle sales forecast for the 2011/12 business year from 7.3 million to 7.24 million units. The massive decline in sales will most likely drop the company down to third in global vehicle sales this year behind General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen.
BSD Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: BSDM) announced Friday that a recently published study demonstrated that hyperthermia can be a powerful tool to inhibit the ability of cancer cells to repair the DNA damage caused by radiation or chemotherapy.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: GT) slumped more than 3% after the company agreed to sell its global wire business to Hyosung Corporation, pending government and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Goodyear and its affiliates will receive approximately $50 million for the business, subject to post-closing adjustments. The business, which manufactures tire reinforcement wire in Asheboro, North Carolina, and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg, employs about 600 people.
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