Tuesday's Winners & Losers: Aleris

Several companies with buyout news were among the stock winners Tuesday, including Aleris (ARS Quote) and Reynolds & Reynolds(REY Quote).

Aleris, an aluminum products company, agreed to be bought by private equity firm Texas Pacific Group for $52.50 a share, representing a 27% premium over its closing price Monday. The deal is valued at about $3.3 billion, consisting of the $1.7 billion cash payment and the assumption of $1.6 billion in debt. The deal is expected to close in early 2007. Aleris shares recently had shot up $10.25, or 25%, to $51.64.

Reynolds & Reynolds, which provides software systems to auto dealers, will be bought by privately held Universal Computer Systems in a deal valued at $2.8 billion. Reynolds holders will receive $40 a share, a 14% premium over the closing stock price of $35.08 Monday. The combined company will continue to operate under the name Reynolds & Reynolds. A shareholder vote on the deal is scheduled for the fourth quarter. Reynolds & Reynolds shares recently traded at $39, up $3.92, or 11%.

Food-services provider Aramark (RMK Quote) also announced a buyout Tuesday, but shares were lower. Aramark agreed to be bought by its CEO and a private equity group for $6.3 billion, plus the assumption of $2 billion in debt. Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph Neubauer, GS Capital Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors, JPMorgan Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Warburg Pincus will pay $33.80 a share for Aramark, a slight premium over the closing price of $33.05 Monday. The deal wasn't completely unexpected; the group had offered to buy Aramark in May for $32 a share. Aramark at the time formed a special committee to evaluate the bid. Shares recently were trading at $32.83, down 22 cents.

Elsewhere, shares of VeraSun Energy (VSE Quote) were up 6% after the ethanol producer posted second-quarter earnings that handily beat analysts' estimates. VeraSun posted a profit of $19.6 million, or 29 cents a share, including $21.5 million in charges related to its initial public offering. Excluding items, earnings were 60 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call anticipated earnings of 32 cents a share, before items. VeraSun reported revenue of $153.1 million, above analysts' forecast of $142.9 million. In the year-ago second quarter, VeraSun recorded a loss of $3.9 million on revenue of $34.4 million. Shares were trading up $1.43 to $24.45.