Among the companies with shares expected to trade actively in Wednesday's session are MetLife Inc. (MET), General Motors Co. (GM), and Ford Motor Co. (F).

 

MetLife Inc. plans to sell a large piece of its U.S. life-insurance unit as part of a plan to ease some of the capital burden it is expected to face under new federal regulations, the company said. Under the plan, the company would spin off, sell or take public a business that has been at its core for decades: selling life insurance and other financial products to individuals and families across the U.S. Shares of MetLife gained 7.2% to $45.00 in premarket trading.

 

General Motors Co. will boost a stock-repurchase plan it announced last year by 80% to $9 billion and extend the program through 2017, a move that comes as the auto maker expects continued earnings growth amid record U.S. volumes and moderate global industry growth. Shares of General Motors rose 4.5% to $31.65 premarket.

 

Ford Motor Co., expecting to post record 2015 pretax profit, declared a supplemental dividend of $1 billion Tuesday that it will pay to shareholders on top of its regular first-quarter dividend. Shares of Ford slipped 1.6% to $12.65 premarket.

 

Atmel Corp. (ATML), which agreed in September to sell itself to Dialog Semiconductor PLC, said an unsolicited offer from Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) constitutes a "superior proposal," extending the bidding war for the chipmaker. Shares of Atmel rose 4% to $8.00 premarket.

 

A U.S. health advisory panel has recommended the approval of an implant to treat opioid addiction being developed by Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TTNP) and Braeburn Pharmaceuticals. Shares of Titan jumped 30% to $3.91 premarket.

 

BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) said Wednesday it sees double-digit sales growth in 2016 as the auto-parts maker expects a major boon from its acquisition of Remy International.

 

Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO) said results for the recently-ended fourth quarter will come in below Wall Street expectations and forecast a tough current quarter, after unusually warm winter weather dented sales of cold-weather goods.

 

CSX Corp. (CSX) said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter revenue fell by 13% as lower coal volumes, which has hurt the entire railroad sector, continued to weigh on the rail giant.

 

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) projected fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations on continued growth in the use of its da Vinci robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery.

 

Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARNA) and German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH agreed to collaborate on research to find treatments for psychiatric diseases in a deal that could generate up to $262 million in milestone payments for the San Diego drug developer.

 

Device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ) said fourth-quarter earnings would match expectations though revenue would fall slightly short amid weakness in its cardiac rhythm segment.

 

Stryker Corp. (SYK) on Tuesday raised its profit guidance for the recently completed year, pointing to sales that came in at the high end of expectations and the suspension of the medical device excise tax.

 

Canadian broadcasting and media giant Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR.B.T) said Wednesday it has agreed to buy the broadcasting unit of Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR) for 2.65 billion Canadian dollars (about $1.86 billion) in cash and stock.

 

Supervalu Inc. (SVU) on Wednesday reported profits that were in-line with analyst expectations but still posted a decline in revenue in all three of its business segments as it faces a challenging middle-ground grocery environment.

 

Yum Brands Inc. (YUM), which plans to split off its China unit, on Tuesday said sales at restaurants open for at least a year in that country rose an estimated 1% in December, reversing the previous month's decline.

 

Teen retailer Aéropostale Inc. (ARO) said Tuesday that it plans to eliminate about 100 jobs as part of a cost-cutting effort that targets $35 million to $40 million a year in savings before taxes.

 

Write to Jenny Roth at jenny.roth@wsj.com and Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2016 09:26 ET (14:26 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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