Deals

Credit Suisse carcass feeds many hungry mouths

15 Mar 2024

In the year since it collapsed, competitors have carved up the Swiss bank’s employees and clients. UBS grabbed most of the spoils, but Santander, Deutsche Bank and others have also moved in. Lasting benefits, though, depend on survivors showing restraint when activity picks up.

AOL-Time Warner architect leaves useful blueprints

14 Mar 2024

Gerald Levin, dead at 84, will forever be linked to the $340 bln M&A disaster, but the strategy behind it was prescient. So was his work championing HBO and pay-TV. Other tech and media CEOs have done value-destructive deals using far weaker rationales, and more are in the works.

UK media muddle is fresh turn-off for foreign cash

14 Mar 2024

Hurried Westminster amendments are set to block an Abu Dhabi-backed bid to buy the Telegraph. It’s OK to stop foreign states owning domestic media, and it may not even upend UAE relations. But making policy on the hoof so flagrantly offers a new reason to swerve UK assets.

Rescuing a bank is like making a fine soufflé

13 Mar 2024

Steven Mnuchin’s $1 bln swoop on New York Community Bank may be more challenging than his rehabilitation of mortgage lender IndyMac in 2009, but the returns could be ample. Bank rescues have many ingredients. Timing, skill and luck separate those that rise from those that sag.

Reddit Google searches ‘how to make money’

12 Mar 2024

The social media firm’s rapid top-line growth suggests it’s attracting ad dollars. But Reddit’s reliance on search engines like Google to attract viewers is a risk. Roughly three-fourths of its new users come through search. Monetizing them keeps the platform on a cost treadmill.

How to sustain the big rebound in dealmaking

12 Mar 2024

The year kicked off with a 75% increase in global M&A activity, to $525 bln. Speaking to The Exchange podcast from a gathering of merger mavens in New Orleans, Evercore banker Bill Anderson discusses the resurgence and what’s needed to keep the momentum after a two-year slump.

Generali has some scope to think bigger on M&A

12 Mar 2024

Under CEO Philippe Donnet, the $38 bln insurer did smallish deals. Targeting big players like $16 bln Aviva, to shrink a gap with rivals, may require clashing top investors to back an equity hike. But Generali could also fund a large buy by running down its chunky capital buffer.

A $35 bln gas reunion tracks a topsy-turvy market

11 Mar 2024

Gas producer EQT spun off its midstream unit in 2018 to sate activists. The argument was that pipelines return cash while gas firms spend it. But that’s no longer true and the operational logic was thin. Striking amid low gas prices invites scrutiny, but recombining makes sense.

Hostile bidders run into a credibility crunch

11 Mar 2024

Retailer Macy’s and hunting-gear maker Vista Outdoor are resisting uninvited $7 bln and $3 bln buyouts, arguing that the funding is flimsy. Higher interest rates indeed make life harder for suitors. Both proposals, however, look carefully calibrated to reflect the times.

Simmering M&A gumbo lacks essential ingredients

8 Mar 2024

Dealmakers cooked up more than $520 bln of mergers during the first two months of 2024, up 75% from last year’s ultra-sluggish start. Financial and legal advisers gathered in New Orleans are still stewing, however. For them, the recipe calls for some Fed and private equity spice.

Capital Calls: Packaging M&A

8 Mar 2024

Concise views on global finance: A potential 11 bln pound tie-up of UK-listed packaging companies DS Smith and Mondi will rest on yet-to-be-disclosed synergies.

A year on, SVB’s killer is still at large

7 Mar 2024

Twelve months after Silicon Valley Bank’s demise, investors worry more about real estate than flighty depositors. The disjointed system that enabled a crisis remains intact, though, with patchy oversight, incomplete safety nets and ambiguity over who loses if a lender fails.

Virgin Money sale is UK challenger banks’ swansong

7 Mar 2024

Nationwide Building Society is paying a high premium for the embattled lender, but accounting gains and the scope to rival giants like Lloyds Banking Group sweeten the $3.7 bln deal. Still, the demise of the most prominent smaller bank suggests the sector is reverting to form.

Swarming investor gnats circle too widely

6 Mar 2024

New US rules have started helping smaller fund managers make a mark. They’re increasingly needling boards and stinging CEOs. When they flit around bigger targets such as Disney and Crown Castle, however, they’re easily swatted away and become a nuisance for larger activists.

Nelson Peltz becomes gadfly to Disney’s flywheel

5 Mar 2024

A 130-plus page presentation makes a strong case for how and why the $210 bln company's boss Bob Iger didn't do his job. Activist Nelson Peltz’s ideas for fixing Disney are weaker. Still, CEOs run companies; board members keep tabs. In a smaller world, Peltz might win a seat.

Elliott has limited ammo in UK retail bidding war

4 Mar 2024

The US investment group’s latest $951 mln offer for retailer Currys could have yielded an adequate return. But the target has rejected it. Hiking the offer looks tricky given the ropey UK economy, reduced scope for leverage, and potential rival bidder JD.com’s deep pockets.

Disney gets second mouse role in Reliance show

29 Feb 2024

The duo are merging their Indian TV and streaming assets into a $8.5 bln joint venture. It's a welcome end to an unnecessary distraction for Disney boss Bob Iger. After forcing the US firm into missteps, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is winning control of a powerful entity at a steal.

UK $4 bln insurance mash-up may yet motor

28 Feb 2024

Direct Line rejected a cash and share offer from its $8 bln Belgian rival Ageas. The target’s depressed share price suggests it has good reason to hold out for more. And synergies related to the two groups’ capital should give Ageas scope to hike its offer.

A $16 bln deal models buyouts’ modest comeback

28 Feb 2024

Private equity’s 2023 was a year to forget; 2024’s near-$100 bln of buyouts is a better start. The carve-out of Truist’s insurance unit shows banks willing to lend, finally, at a decent level. Crazy checks won’t return until rates fall again, but for LBO shops, it’s a start.

Vodafone’s Italy exit puts speed before valuation

28 Feb 2024

The UK telco looks poised to sell its hard-pressed local business to Swisscom for 8 bln euros in cash. The price tag is lower than a previous Iliad offer. But it’s a cleaner exit, and advances boss Margherita Della Valle’s goal of prompt M&A to make her company less sprawling.