Stocks to Watch, Aug. 27: Marsh & McLennan Cos., Rambus Inc

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trading in Monday's session are Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd., Marsh & McLennan Cos. and Rambus Inc.

Shanda Interactive Entertainment (SNDA) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 36 cents per American Depositary Share, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.

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Marsh & McLennan (MMC) said it has agreed to buy back $800 million worth of its outstanding shares in an accelerated share repurchase transaction. The New York-based company said it will fund the transaction with proceeds from the recent sale of Putnam Investments. MMC said it will conduct the purchase under the $1.5-billion share buyback authorization announced on Aug. 7.

Rambus (RMBS) said the special litigation committee established by the board has finished its review of stock options practices and submitted a final report to court. The special litigation committee was composed of two independent directors, J. Thomas Bentley and Abraham Sofaer, and it conducted its review with the assistance of independent counsel, the company said. The committee determined that all claims should be terminated and dismissed against the named defendants in the derivative actions with the exception of claims against Ed Larsen, who served as vice president of human resources from September 1996 until December 1999, and then senior vice president of administration until July 2004, Rambus said.

The committee also entered into settlement agreements with certain former officers of the company. The value of the settlements exceeds $6.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, Rambus said. The agreements also include the relinquishment of claims to over 2.7 million stock options, the company said. The conclusions of the committee are subject to the court's review.

Sun-Times Media Group Inc. (SVN) said that, as of Aug. 16, it had a total of $121 million invested in asset-backed commercial paper issued by multiple trusts in Canada, which it made upon recommendations by its investment adviser, CIBC World Markets. Of this total, the company said $48 million of its investment has since matured but was not redeemed and remained outstanding, while roughly $25 million was redeemed.

The Chicago-based company also said it has $47 million of investments that will mature between Aug. 27 and Sept. 10, and that of this total, $36 million is invested in trusts sponsored by CIBC, which has said it will provide liquidity to trusts it sponsors. The remaining $11 million is invested in Lafayette Trust, sponsored by Swiss Re and managed by Coventree Capital. Sun-Times said it is still assessing the implications of the situation but said its operations have not been affected and it has sufficient cash to maintain all of its operations.