Thursday’s biggest gaining and declining stocks

Orlando, FL 6/14/12 (StreetBeat) – Below are some of the most active stocks in U.S. trading on Thursday:

Gainers

Quest Software (Nasdaq:QSFT) rose 8% Thursday after the firm said it’s received a proposal for a buyout of the firm at $25.50 in cash.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) shares rose 10.3%. Earlier Thursday the company said it is buying back $1 billion of its common shares, including a $400 purchase form Goldman Sachs.

Decliners

Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) dropped 9.3% after the Swiss National Bank urged the banking group to increase capital to prepare for an escalation of the euro-area crisis.

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) shares tumbled 15%. Earlier Thursday the firm unveiled sweeping changes to its business, including 10,000 additional job cuts and a broad management shake-up, as the struggling company cut its earnings outlook for the third time in a little over a year.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AEGR) fell almost 10%. The firm said Thursday that it will sell an undetermined number of shares to raise money to run its business,

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Quest Software (Nasdaq: QSFT) Lands Bigger Offer, Bidding War May Be On

Shawshank, VA 6/14/12 (StreetBeat) – Quest Software’s (Nasdaq: QSFT) search for a better buyout has proved fruitful and it now might find itself in a bidding war.

The maker of software for managing databases said it has received an offer from an unnamed party at $25 a share, valuing the whole company at $2.11 billion. All Quest says about the buyer is that it is a “strategic” bidder.

This comes after Quest had agreed to a $2 billion buyout by venture capitalists Insight Venture Partners in March.

That deal came with a 60-day go-shop period in which Quest said it had discussions with several strategic and financial parties that were likely to lead to superior proposals. Though no deal was reached by the end of the allowed period, Quest warned discussions would continue.

Bloomberg News at one point reported that Dell, which has made several purchases this year, was in discussions, but then Reuters reported those talks were breaking down.

The new offer was high enough that Quest deemed it “superior” but has not yet recommended the offer, as Insight has the right to match the proposal in the next three business days.

Shareholders are assuming more is coming. Shares jumped 8.2% to $25.81 in premarket trading, as the market looks ready for a good-old fashioned bidding war in the software space.

There had been some surprise when Quest unveiled its first offer at a relatively slim 19% premium to shares.

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Quest (Nasdaq: QSFT) Received Multiple Buyout Proposals During Shop Period

Shawshank, VA 5/9/12 (StreetBeat) -- Quest Software Inc. (Nasdaq: QSFT), which agreed in March to be bought by private-equity firm Insight Venture Partners for about $2 billion, received “multiple written proposals for potential alternative transactions” during a 60- day so-called “go-shop” period.

A special committee evaluating the offers determined that several are “reasonably expected to lead to a superior proposal,” the Aliso Viejo, California-based company said today in a statement. Quest said it may continue discussions with other bidders, though the committee “has not yet determined that any of the alternative proposals constitute a superior proposal under the merger agreement.”

Quest, a provider of business software for managing and protecting data, said on March 9 it had agreed to be acquired by Insight for $23 a share. The shares have surged 18 percent since the agreement was announced, suggesting that investors anticipate a higher bid.

“They now appear very likely to take a superior offer,” said Brian Freed, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities in Denver, who has a hold rating on the shares. “It either means someone else makes a bid superior to Insight, or Insight moves up its bid.”

The shares jumped 8.6 percent to $24.81 at 9:30 a.m. in New York, the biggest increase since the Insight deal announcement.

Insight is likely to raise its bid, though it may be hard for a financial buyer to match an offer from a strategic purchaser, Freed said. Quest could be sold for closer to $26 a share, he said.

“If a new buyer is someone already in the software business who could garner operating leverage, they could always pay significantly more and yield a return,” Freed said.

Tracy Benelli, a spokeswoman with Quest, and Erica Harris, an Insight spokeswoman, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

Quest agreed to pay Insight $6.3 million if it finds another buyer after the end of the go-shop period, the company said on March 9.

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Quest Software (Nasdaq: QSFT) Agrees to Buyout

Chicago, IL 3/9/12 (StreetBeat) -- Quest Software (Nasdaq: QSFT), a provider of database applications and other corporate I.T. must-haves, said Friday that it had agreed to be taken private by a New York-based venture capital and private equity firm, Insight Venture Partners.

The offer, which values Quest at roughly $2 billion, will give shareholders $23 a share in cash, a 19 percent premium to the company’s closing price on Thursday.

Vincent C. Smith, the company’s chief executive, and members of Mr. Smith’s management team will continue to run Quest after it is taken private, and the company’s headquarters will remain in California, the statement said. Mr. Smith owns about 34 percent of the company’s shares.

“As a private company, we will have increased flexibility to drive innovation across our product lines and execute our long-term strategy,” Mr. Smith said in a statement. “This move to a private company also will create exciting career opportunities for our employees, while retaining our commitment to continuing to provide excellent service to our customers.”

Quest’s board voted unanimously to approve the deal, the company said. Now, a special committee composed of three directors will oversee a 60-day “go shop” period to consider outside bids. The agreement forged between Insight and Quest calls for a $4.2 million breakup fee paid to Insight in the event that the deal falls through during that period, which rises to a $6.3 million breakup fee after the end of the period.

The deal is expected to close this fall, the company said. Insight has committed $210 million in equity to the take-private deal, which will be combined with more than $1 billion in prearranged debt financing from JPMorgan Chase, RBC Capital Markets and Barclays Capital, according to the statement. Mr. Smith’s shares will be rolled over into the newly private company if the deal goes through.

RBC Capital Markets and Barclays Capital acted as financial advisers on the deal. Morgan Stanley advised the special committee of the Quest board.

The law firm Potter Anderson & Corroon also advised the special committee. Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel to Quest, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised Insight. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taftserved as legal counsel to Mr. Smith.

“We are pleased to have successfully negotiated a transaction that includes an attractive upfront premium for Quest’s shareholders, an all-cash deal that would eliminate ongoing execution risk following a transaction, and that compares favorably with Quest’s standalone alternatives,” said H. John Dirks, who chaired the special committee.

Quest’s share price, which fell nearly 30 percent in the previous year, jumped more than 20 percent on news of the deal, and was trading at around $23.50 on Friday morning.

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Quest (NASDAQ:QSFT) to Acquire BakBone (OTC:BKBO)

Quest Software, Inc. (Nasdaq:QSFT) and BakBone Software Incorporated (OTC:BKBO) today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Quest to acquire BakBone, a leading provider of data protection software with headquarters in San Diego, California. BakBone delivers real-time continuous data protection, deduplication, replication, disk-based and tape backup and recovery. With BakBone, Quest will acquire heterogeneous data protection technologies that complement its portfolio of solutions for virtual, database and application-level data protection including vRanger Pro; LiteSpeed for Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle; Recovery Manager for Microsoft Exchange; SharePoint; Active Directory; and SharePlex for Oracle.

Quest expects to pay approximately $55 million, including the payment of certain debt obligations and net of anticipated cash on hand. BakBone shareholders will receive $0.33 per common share and $1.29 per preferred share following the closing of the acquisition.

“Quest continues to innovate by delivering data protection solutions to address one of the key pain points facing every organization – the ever-expanding amount of data being created,” said Doug Garn, CEO and president of Quest Software. “Quest has a long and successful history of acquiring and building out technically strong products and development teams. BakBone meets these criteria. Our respective products are highly complementary, with minimal overlap. The value received from BakBone’s employees, technologies, partners and customers is expected to be a key benefit as we seek to expand our market share in the data protection market by building upon our core portfolio.”

The closing of the acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2011.

“We are pleased that we have been able to enter into this definitive agreement on behalf of BakBone’s shareholders,” said Steve Martin, interim CEO and CFO of BakBone. “Quest has a rich history of recognizing new technologies in emerging markets and bringing them to a wider audience through its network of worldwide customers. We are confident that we will see even greater success for our solutions as part of the Quest family, and pleased that Quest saw value in adding us as an integral part of its data protection portfolio.”

BakBone makes data protection a simple, straightforward process with an award-winning product suite. From real-time data protection to deduplication, disk-based and tape backup and application protection, BakBone's solutions manage resources across all platforms, providing improved operational efficiency, reduced system downtime, improved data and application availability and enhanced security to support the business growth of enterprise environments. For more information about BakBone, visit www.bakbone.com.

For more information on Quest Software visit: http://www.quest.com/