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Bausch + Lomb buyout gets blurry beyond $7 bln

13 Dec 2024

Private equity firm TPG is interested in the eye care company, whose parent’s $20 bln of debt makes it a willing seller. A new owner will struggle to find big costs to cut and to exit at a higher valuation multiple. Such constraints make it harder to see clear to a 20% return.

Private equity bids long goodbye to IPOs

13 Dec 2024

Buyout firms called $130 bln more from fund investors than they handed back between 2022 and early 2024, piling on pressure to return capital. Public markets are an increasingly impractical way to sell large investments quickly. Creative finance commands an ever greater premium.

Helicopter SPAC deserves another whirl

13 Dec 2024

Blank-check hype helped elevate Blade’s $825 mln valuation until the euphoria landed with a thud. Since then, the company has found more success transporting organs than Manhattan or Monaco jet-setters. The promise of quieter electric aircraft is another reason to go for a ride.

AI models’ slowdown spells end of gold rush era

13 Dec 2024

Rapid progress from building bigger systems set off a dash for data centers and chips. But progress may be slowing. Microsoft and Alphabet face less existential pressure but also new competitors, putting a question mark over the $8 trln rise in Big Tech’s market value since 2022.

Warner Bros Discovery re-enters the spin zone

12 Dec 2024

Boss David Zaslav engorged his media empire by merging with a rival’s broken-off business. Corporate restructuring sets him up to reverse the trick. A full roster of bank advisers and moves by peers imply dying TV networks are due a reshuffle. Doing so could add $20 bln of value.

Walgreens invites a Rube Goldberg buyout plan

12 Dec 2024

The flailing $8 bln drugstore would be a cheap target were it not for a $36 bln morass of debt, long-term leases and opioid liabilities. Yet a ruthless buyer could lean on cutting rents, chairman Stefano Pessina’s 17% stake and sellable bits to excavate whatever is left to save.

Berlin can curb but not stop a Romania-TikTok mess

12 Dec 2024

The app is under scrutiny for enabling meddling in Bucharest’s elections. Given a blanket TikTok ban is beyond the EU’s remit, Germany’s February poll may go the same way. Yet Berlin could also coordinate better with tech platforms ahead of time – which Romania didn’t.

Sour grapes spill beans on squashed grocery deal

11 Dec 2024

After trying to unite for two years, Albertsons and Kroger each claimed the other broke their contract a day after US judges nixed the $25 bln merger. The blame game may well end in a stalemate. It also suggests trustbusters astutely divined a ruthlessness veiled in so much M&A.

Nippon Life plays up Japan Inc’s existential angst

11 Dec 2024

The insurer is buying smaller US rival Resolution for $8.2 bln. Returns look low, and the weak yen makes overseas purchases more expensive. But the deal diversifies earnings too reliant on a shrinking home market. Assuming Washington allows, such transactions will keep flowing.

Buyout barons’ Europe bargain hunt will intensify

11 Dec 2024

Preqin data shows that funds focusing on the region are outperforming North American ones, helped in part by a 10% valuation discount on local deals. The gap may grow as US stocks get more expensive. But for Europe it’s a sign of corporate weakness, rather than strength.

Blocked grocery mega-merger tips rolling M&A cart

10 Dec 2024

A US judge ruled Kroger’s $25 bln union with Albertsons is anticompetitive, siding with President Biden’s trustbusters. The decision further ingrains some of their bolder ideas. Dealmakers and CEOs planning shopping sprees under a new administration could use the reality check.

Hershey would be a bitter confection to swallow

10 Dec 2024

The Reese’s chocolatier may again be a takeover target for Cadbury owner Mondelez. Anti-obesity drugs and the recent Mars-Kellanova merger make the 2016 idea worth reconsidering. Financing a $50 bln deal will be tough, however, requiring dubiously huge synergies to justify.

How the world could unplug from China’s batteries

10 Dec 2024

International cell makers are struggling to compete with Chinese giants like CATL. But innovations like solid-state batteries could upend the industry in the not-too-distant future. In this week’s episode of The Big View podcast, QuantumScape CEO Siva Sivaram explains how.

Nvidia probe lets China have cake and eat it

10 Dec 2024

Beijing has started an antitrust investigation into the $3.4 trln firm. Coming after more US tech curbs on the country, the motive seems political. But Nvidia's AI chip dominance means monopoly concerns can't be dismissed. And the decision may resonate with regulators elsewhere.

A $13 bln cash sale breaks buyout doom loop

9 Dec 2024

In a tough market for M&A and IPOs, private equity shops have been recycling assets to sate anxious investors. GTCR’s deal to offload its insurance broker to Arthur J. Gallagher provides a sign that the tide may be turning. Whether animal spirits will persist is the question.

Madison Avenue’s $13 bln deal lacks creative spark

9 Dec 2024

Omnicom is buying rival Interpublic to create the largest ad network, with agencies including BBDO and McCann. Chunky savings worth nearly $6 bln help the merger stack up financially. As AI threatens to upend the industry, however, it’s hard to spin it as anything but defensive.

Syrian regime change puts focus on Trump and Iran

9 Dec 2024

The overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad is the latest setback for his supporters in Tehran. President-elect Donald Trump had already pledged to get tougher on the Islamic Republic. Its weakness may embolden him further, with volatile results for the region and the oil price.

Putin faces hard choices if Ukraine war drags on

9 Dec 2024

Though Russia can probably keep fighting for a long time, the costs will mount – especially if inflation rises or the oil price falls. A credible Western plan to support Kyiv could bring President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and help secure a decent ceasefire.