Deals

Budget US airlines look clearer for deal takeoff

23 Oct 2024

Frontier may be mulling a fresh offer to buy struggling rival Spirit two years after JetBlue’s doomed interruption. Stern trustbusters and $3 bln of debt will be steep hurdles. But boss Barry Biffle has a better shot now, if he stays disciplined with a bid this time.

China-India ties will settle into a new normal

23 Oct 2024

A deal on patrolling their disputed frontier is a welcome development. Leaders Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi will meet too. There's little chance of going back to the status quo of business ties four years ago, however. India will keep entry barriers for Chinese companies high.

EQT defers exit brainteaser with school deal

22 Oct 2024

Swedish firm EQT is reinvesting in education group Nord Anglia alongside Neuberger Berman for $14.5 bln, instead of a sale or listing. It highlights how buyout groups are keeping assets for longer. In this case, that comes with rising regulatory risks, and limited exit options.

JAB’s pricy coffee shot is not as dumb as it looks

21 Oct 2024

The German investment group scooped up a 18% stake in JDE Peet’s, which it listed in 2020, from Mondelez at a fat 32% premium. That eliminates a share overhang and risk of an interloper. And, with the $12 bln Douwe Egberts seller’s stock cheap, the markup is easy to swallow.

Swiss finish would take shine off UBS’s M&A gift

21 Oct 2024

The bank’s $3.8 bln takeover of Credit Suisse was described as the 'deal of the century'. But $19 bln of extra capital charges so far, and another looming hit from local regulators, will lower the returns. The next time a bank rescues a rival, it may push for even sweeter terms.

Bidders poke holes in Japan’s fair M&A push

21 Oct 2024

Seven & i and Fuji Soft have each dug in their heels against generous takeover approaches from Canada's Couche-Tard and buyout firm Bain Capital. New guidelines are reshaping the market for deals in the $4 trln economy, but reluctant targets retain power to simply say no.

Growth-hungry EQT boss faces an M&A puzzle

17 Oct 2024

The $40 bln buyout group’s CEO Christian Sinding is practically shouting from the rooftops that he wants to buy a private-markets peer. So-called secondaries targets, the biggest of which is Ardian, make sense. But it’s a sellers’ market and EQT’s Swedish stock may be a turnoff.

Luxury’s China wobble will accelerate M&A

16 Oct 2024

LVMH lost 7% of its market value after revealing bleak consumer spending in the world’s second-largest economy. The broader sell-off will make small players more vulnerable. But this will create a big opening for cash-rich giants to pounce on already battered stocks like Kering.

Fiery family feud is opportunity for Korea Inc

16 Oct 2024

Watchdogs are looking into a messy takeover battle between $12 bln Korea Zinc's founding houses. One has teamed up with Bain, the other with Asian fund MBK. Each is decrying its rival's tactics. The saga throws a timely spotlight on the country's governance shortcomings.

EU champions’ hope will slam into hard M&A reality

16 Oct 2024

Brussels bigwigs, like new antitrust boss Teresa Ribera, want to create US-style corporate giants. Yet possible options, like a 160-bln-euro Orange-Deutsche Telekom deal, make no industrial sense. The risk is that even if politicians get on board, shareholders won’t.

CD&R $17 bln French deal may hinge on big retreat

15 Oct 2024

Paris is concerned about the future of critical medicines if the private equity firm buys a stake in Sanofi’s consumer unit. CD&R can promise bigger investment and still get a decent return. Giving up control by bringing in a Gallic co-investor might also soothe the government.

UK tax threat revives gambling stocks’ M&A saga

14 Oct 2024

Entain and Evoke shares fell over 10% on reports of a 3 bln pound tax hike on the sector. After a troubled few years in which it was a target for MGM, debt-laden Entain had looked on the mend. If Britain turns the fiscal screw, smaller players may need to bulk up.

Weak 7-Eleven defense might embolden Couche-Tard

10 Oct 2024

Japan’s top convenience store owner will spin off its superstores and trim stakes in non-core assets to fend off a $47 bln takeover approach. It’s a disappointing strategy update. The Canadian suitor can consider taking its offer directly to the target’s long-suffering investors.

Direct lenders’ golden moment is over

10 Oct 2024

The core of private credit that’s focused on buyout debt surged after the pandemic, spurring the industry to $850 bln in assets. Yet with public markets roaring, returns will fall. Rather than replacing Wall Street banks, private players like Ares will have to cooperate instead.

Sanofi sale is critical health check for mega LBOs

10 Oct 2024

The French pharma company is deciding whether to sell its consumer drugs unit to Clayton Dubilier & Rice or PAI for $17 bln, says Bloomberg. It helps that volatile equity markets make an alternative listing riskier. A successful deal could give large buyouts a shot in the arm.

China M&A leaves offshore investors in the lurch

10 Oct 2024

The merger of brokerage firms Guotai and Haitong will massively dilute the former's Hong Kong shareholders. Blame the stubborn discount the city's stocks trade at to onshore equivalents. Beijing's consolidation push will leave more global backers in a similar spot.

Ratan Tata leaves more to India than its tycoons

10 Oct 2024

The former Tata chair, who has died aged 86, put a kind face on capitalism, though his bold cross-border M&A and lingering influence hurt the salt-to-steel conglomerate. The new era of industrialists in the country are financially shrewder but less universally admired.

Rio’s $6.7 bln lithium bet is a pricey slow burn

9 Oct 2024

The $112 bln miner is paying a 90% premium to buy Arcadium in cash. That’s probably not justified by the synergies – and Rio Tinto has yet to reveal them. Boss Jakob Stausholm can point to forecasts of a lithium demand surge, but right now investors have to take his word for it.

Couche-Tard clears price hurdle to Seven & i deal

9 Oct 2024

The Canadian suitor can cut enough costs to justify its revised 53% indicative premium, valuing its rival's enterprise at $55 bln. Though antitrust concerns in the US remain, it seriously raises the bar for the Japanese target's strategic update on its plans to unlock value.

Qualcomm’s Apple threat explains interest in Intel

8 Oct 2024

Most of the $190 bln wireless firm's revenue comes from designing chips for phones, and Apple chafes at hefty royalties. Acquiring bits or all of Intel would offer diversification and make Qualcomm a more “American” company. Mulling such a risky deal shows the company’s weakness.