Company Report: GTW, AOL, FTE, NVS, WJCO, OCLR, HAND, SLE, More

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M&A Earnings/revenue Analyst actions Offerings/stock actions Miscellany

Gateway(GTW Quote) said it would use a processor from chipmaker Transmeta to run Web appliances it is making with America Online(AOL Quote). Gateway said it tapped Transmeta to provide the operating system for the products, turning away from the combination of Intel(INTC Quote) hardware and Microsoft(MSFT Quote) software. Gateway climbed 5 11/16, or 12.2%, to 52 1/2; America Online added 5 1/16, or 10.4%, to 53 9/16; Intel hopped 8 3/16, or 7%, to 125 3/4; Microsoft increased 1 15/16 to 63 3/8.

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France Telecom(FTE Quote) said it would buy British-based mobile phone company Orangefrom Vodafone AirTouch (VOD Quote), in a deal valued at $37.32 billion. France Telecom hopped 8 9/16, or 6.5%, to 139 9/16, while Vodafone AirTouch increased 4 7/16, or 10.6%, to 46 7/16.

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

CIBA Vision, the eye care unit of Novartis (NVS Quote) and Wesley Jessen VisionCare(WJCO Quote) announced an agreement whereby CIBA Vision will acquire Wesley Jessen for $38.50 a share in cash, or about $785 million. The offer represents a premium of about 17% over the closing price of Wesley Jessen's shares on May 26. Wesley Jessen VisionCare gained 3 11/16, or 11.1%, to 36 7/8, while Novartis slipped 1/8 to 37.

CIBA Vision will begin a cash tender offer within five business days for all outstanding shares of Wesley Jessen common stock. Upon completion, the combined company will be the world's second largest contact lens company. ...