Apple Inc, AOL, Carrollton, Delphi, Lorillard Winning 52-Week Stock Price Highs Monday

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Apple’s iPhone 5 will be released “around October,” the head of human resources at a Foxconn factory said, according to Kotaku, which cited a South Korean newspaper. The shares closed at $636.23, up $2.55 or 0.4% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $310.50 to $634.66.

Aol Inc. (NYSE:AOL): AOL management and its Board of Directors intend to return a significant portion of the sale proceeds to shareholders and will determine the most efficient and effective method to do so prior to the closing of the transaction. Pro forma for the sale and license, as of December 31, 2011, AOL would have had approximately $15 per share of cash on hand. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, upon the satisfaction of customary conditions and regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended. Evercore Partners and Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisors and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner acted as legal counsel to AOL in connection with the transaction. The shares closed at $26.40, up $7.98 or 43.32% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $10.06 to $22.47.

Carrollton Bancorp (NASDAQ:CRRB): Jefferson Bancorp and Carrollton Bancorp announced the execution of a definitive agreement for merger of Jefferson Bancorp, Inc and Carrollton Bancorp. The subsidiary banks, Bay Bank, FSB and Carrollton Bank will also merge, with Bay Bank, FSB being the surviving entity. The transaction is currently valued at approximately $25M in stock and cash, representing $15.4M in consideration to Carrollton shareholders and repayment of $9.1M in TARP funding to the US Treasury. The transaction will combine the strengths of the two organizations in the Maryland market with a combined 12 bank branches in the Baltimore/Washington market. Carrollton will be the surviving holding company in the merger and the transaction is structured as a tax-free reorganization. The shares closed at $5.10, up $1.05 or 25.93% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $2.10 to $4.91.

Delphi Financial (NYSE:DFG): Delphi Financial Group announced that Delphi, Tokio Marine Holdings and the other named defendants have agreed to settle In re Delphi Financial Group Shareholder Litigation, Consolidated C.A. No. 7144-VCG, the consolidated action brought in connection with the merger of Delphi and a subsidiary of Tokio Marine. If the settlement is finalized and approved, Delphi’s Class A stockholders and option holders as of the effective time of the merger, other than the defendants to the consolidated action and their affiliates, will receive their pro rata portion of a payment equal to $49M less plaintiffs’ counsel fees and expenses, which have not yet been determined. The payment will be made after and subject to approval of the settlement agreement by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware. A hearing to consider the settlement is expected to occur subsequent to the closing of the merger. The amount of plaintiffs’ counsel fees and expenses will be determined at or after the time the Court of Chancery approves the settlement agreement. The shares closed at $45.35, up $0.52 or 1.16% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $20.04 to $44.99.

Lorillard Inc (NYSE:LO): Dr. John L. Faessel wrote in a post to Seeking Alpha that, “In my opinion we will soon see a licensing deal [where] the total payment to Star [Scientific] (NASDAQ:CIGX) in some kind of licensing deal from Big Tobacco could total in the hundreds of millions of even billions.” In late afternoon trading, shares of Star Scientific are up 14c, or 4.62%, to $3.17. The shares closed at $136.40, down $0.06 or 0.04% on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $96.18 to $136.90.

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