Deals

Teck breakup vote is just a battle in Glencore war

21 Apr 2023

The Canadian miner’s carve-up plan will fail if even a minority of investors vote against it next week. That’s quite possible, and would constitute an initial win for Glencore’s rival $23.5 bln offer. But the Swiss group would still face a struggle to get its own deal accepted.

“Super Mario” augurs more media-gaming tie-ups

20 Apr 2023

Nintendo and Universal’s film adaptation of the hit video game franchise could rake in $1.5 bln. That’s a big victory for an industry whose spinoffs have more often been the butt of jokes. With gaming stocks having sold off sharply, there’s logic in more media giants plugging in.

Bolloré sale brings Vivendi endgame a step closer

19 Apr 2023

Tycoon Vincent Bolloré may offload his logistics unit for $5 bln. That gives him firepower to buy out shareholders of his $12 bln media group Vivendi. Yet a full takeover may be costly, and the 71-year-old has other ways to tighten his grip. Betting on a big premium looks risky.

Merck treats its migraine with half headache pill

17 Apr 2023

With its star cancer remedy close to going off patent, the pharma giant has shifted into digestive disease with an $11 bln bid for Prometheus. If the biotech’s drugs are approved, Merck will have a slice of a $49 bln sector. If not, the patent cliff will be even more precipitous.

Melrose M&A ordeal has a political upside

17 Apr 2023

The UK acquisition machine is turning around engines-to-car-parts group GKN, which it bought for $10 bln in 2018. Politicians’ fears of debt-fuelled asset stripping now look quaint. Yet the takeover has yet to make decent returns. A breakup and more dealmaking should help.

James Murdoch’s cut-size India deal has some logic

14 Apr 2023

Rupert Murdoch’s son and ex-Disney executive Uday Shankar are pumping $530 mln into a cricket-rights owning joint venture with Reliance Industries, a third of the original amount. India’s streaming war may be heating up, but both sides had good reasons for a rethink.

Big Tech breakups: more antitrust than Alibaba

13 Apr 2023

The Chinese company’s six-way separation plans are renewing questions about the sprawl at Amazon, Alphabet and Meta. There’s less obvious strategic or financial upside to carving out AWS, YouTube or the metaverse. Competition authorities have their own agendas, however.

Guest view: Direct lending may be entering new era

13 Apr 2023

Private credit funds have grown nearly seven-fold since the 2008 financial crisis to reach $800 billion. As banks grapple with leveraged loans on their balance sheets, buyout firms are seeking out other sources of financing. It’s a big opportunity, says Oaktree’s Armen Panossian.

SoftBank-Alibaba sale looks awkward for Prosus

13 Apr 2023

The Japanese investor may offload most of its stake in the Chinese giant. But Prosus is only slowly shrinking its 27% holding in Tencent. The Amsterdam-listed firm has a chunky valuation discount. While the two situations are very different, the final outcome should be the same.

SoftBank exit eases Alibaba’s mega reboot

13 Apr 2023

The Japanese group is slashing its stake in the Chinese e-commerce firm to 4%, a symbolic end to a 23-year investment. Not much changes for Alibaba, but SoftBank’s position was a distraction. Now boss Daniel Zhang can focus on pitching shareholders on his radical breakup plan.

UBS can score a quick win with Swiss sale

12 Apr 2023

Chair Colm Kelleher’s acquisition of Credit Suisse is infuriating politicians. They fear the new bank will be too big in Switzerland and lead to job cuts. Selling or listing the domestic business would buy political goodwill and give UBS a tidy return on its $4 bln investment.

A rare Tata IPO signals India’s auto smarts

12 Apr 2023

Engineering outsourcer Tata Tech is helping China’s Nio and Vietnam’s VinFast roll out electric vehicles faster and cheaper. Its listing, the conglomerate’s first debut in 18 years, will be a leading indicator of India’s ability to drive a key part of the global auto industry.

Capital Calls: Inflation gets sticky

12 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: US inflation is increasingly coming from non-essential goods’ prices that rarely drop. That’s a bad sign for Americans since it signals a longer battle against price hikes and even higher interest rates.

KKR places a bet on American political dysfunction

11 Apr 2023

The buyout shop is now a 30% owner of FGS, a communications firm with a big presence in Washington. The timing couldn’t be better: U.S. companies claim public policy decisions are crimping business. That affects KKR too. Tapping into the advisory gravy train is a hedge of sorts.

Glencore Teck tweak is necessary, not sufficient

11 Apr 2023

The Swiss group’s $23 bln offer for the Canadian miner now includes up to $8 bln of cash. That means its target’s shareholders can avoid taking payment in dirty coal shares. But Glencore may still have to raise the value of the overall bid to bring Teck investors on side.

Capital Calls: IMF’s grim outlook, Electric cars

11 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The International Monetary Fund’s medium-term forecast for the global economy is the bleakest since 1990; lower proposed mileage ratings for electric vehicles could force automakers to sell more of them to meet regulatory standards.

Satellite M&A may just create more space debris

11 Apr 2023

Luxembourg-based SES is in talks about a possible $10 bln combination with US rival Intelsat. Both companies need scale and cost savings to compete with a new breed of giants like Elon Musk’s SpaceX. But they also risk doubling down on slower-growing parts of the market.

Temasek hospital deal channels its Dr Resilience

11 Apr 2023

The Singapore investor is taking control of India’s Manipal chain for $2 bln, doubling down as the Pai family trims. Private equity firm TPG is placing a second bet too. Growing and recession-resilient, Asian healthcare is emerging as a relatively attractive safe haven.

Capital Calls: Saudi’s $5 bln gaming play

6 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: PIF-owned Savvy Games is acquiring US-based mobile gaming specialist Scopely for $4.9 bln, but it doesn’t obviously aid the kingdom’s wider gaming strategy.

WWE and UFC merger mania is quite the production

6 Apr 2023

The wrestling heavyweight has agreed to merge with Endeavor’s mixed martial arts franchise in a $21 bln deal. In this Viewsroom episode, Breakingviews columnists discuss why the transaction makes sense strategically, but the financial logic is contorted.