Image source: Polycom.
Friday was a great day for bullish investors, as investors celebrated an unexpectedly upbeat employment report and sent the stock market close to new all-time highs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 287,000 new jobs in June, bouncing back from a tepid report in May and leading many to believe that fears of a Brexit-induced global recession might be overblown. Major market benchmarks climbed about 1.5% on the day, and the S&P 500 closed less than a point from its all-time closing high more than a year ago. Several stocks helped lead the way higher, and among the best performers were Polycom (PLCM +0.00%), Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL +0.00%), and Chemours (CC +0.14%).
Changing dance partners helps Polycom
Polycom jumped 13% after the collaboration and communication technology company chose to terminate merger plans with another company in order to accept a higher rival bid. It had anticipated being acquired by Mitel, which had originally offered a roughly $2 billion deal that included a combination of cash and Mitel stock. At the time, Mitel believed that the combination would create a complete communications and collaboration portfolio with a better opportunity to grow profit over time. However, private equity company Siris Capital Group made a rival offer for $12.50 per share in cash, and Polycom decided that its best course of action would be to pay Mitel the termination fee of $60 million and move forward with the Siris deal. Investors apparently agreed, and Mitel shares also benefited from the termination payment, which will amount to roughly $0.50 per share for a stock that currently trades around $7.
Jones Lang LaSalle keeps on growing
Jones Lang LaSalle rose 9% in the wake of the completion of yet another acquisition. The real estate specialist said that it had finished acquiring San Antonio-based Travis Commercial Real Estate Services, giving the company greater exposure to a host of services in the region, including property leasing and management, multimarket corporate services, tenant representation, investment sales, and facilities and construction management. South Texas is one of the most promising regions in the nation in terms of growth potential, and Jones Lang LaSalle expects the purchase to help it accelerate its expansion plans there. With the real estate specialist having made many similar acquisitions recently, it's clear that Jones Lang LaSalle sees no imminent end to the good times in the real estate market in recent years.
Chemours gets off the hook
Finally, Chemours soared 17%. The chemical company's stock had lost ground earlier in the week on an adverse jury verdict against former parent company DuPont in a trial concerning Teflon-related chemicals and their alleged connection to a case of testicular cancer. However, in the subsequent punitive damages portion of the trial, the jury limited the amount of damages to just $500,000, which was far less than the 10-figure amounts that some analysts had feared. Chemours has agreed to cover costs from DuPont's liability in the case, and even though this is just one of many related cases likely to come to trial in the future, the relatively favorable outcome here has given hope that Chemours might not take as big a hit from the litigation as investors had expected.
