Deals

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.

Glencore’s Teck gambit could slip on an oily patch

6 Apr 2023

The Swiss commodity giant’s $22 bln plan to buy its Canadian peer and spin off its coal arm offers an alternative to investors voting on Teck’s own breakup plan. Yet Glencore’s oil trading unit may hurt the value of the non-coal bit. Teck’s pitch has flaws too, but looks cleaner.

KKR’s FGS deal sets new bar for comms valuations

6 Apr 2023

The private equity group may buy 30% of the WPP-owned financial communications firm. The high price allows employees to cash out over $200 mln, meaning a few may leave. The best hope for KKR is that FGS’s revenue is increasingly stable and growing, justifying the higher multiple.

Capital Calls: Dogecoin, Boutique M&A deal

5 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Shiba Ibu breed associated with the crypto token turned up as Twitter’s logo and might catch the eye of securities watchdogs; The Raine Group not only is advising WWE on its blockbuster $21 bln merger, but inked an acquisition of its own.

Swiss mega-bank has scope to shrink to greatness

5 Apr 2023

Swallowing Credit Suisse propels UBS into the big leagues, with $3.4 trln of wealth assets and more dealmaking fees than Citi. Staying large means taking on volatile units and risky clients. Unlike previous empire-builders, CEO Sergio Ermotti has a remit to slash aggressively.

Storage merger war gets a little Extra

3 Apr 2023

Life Storage agreed to pair up with its rival store-it company Extra in a $12.4 bln deal after rejecting a hostile takeover from Public Storage. Life’s former suitor may come back claiming big synergies. But the needed premium – and a break fee – would not be worth the additional effort.

WWE-UFC headlock relies on financial theatrics

3 Apr 2023

Combining the producers of wrestling and mixed martial arts is set to create a new $21 bln company. Grappler-in-chief Vince McMahon gets a richer valuation on paper than partner Endeavor’s outfit. This storyline, including potential synergies, leaves a lot to the imagination.

Capital Calls: Illumina’s odd bedfellows

3 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The FTC’s order that Illumina unwind its Grail acquisition puts head commissioner Lina Khan on the same side as Carl Icahn. Khan opposes the deal because Illumina can raise prices, while the activist thinks the deal doesn't make sense.

Swiss anger will sour UBS’s deal of the century

31 Mar 2023

Politicians and citizens are unhappy about job cuts and future risks arising from the bank’s $3 bln state-backed Credit Suisse rescue. Parliament fury may force returning CEO Sergio Ermotti to tweak the deal. Either way, an unsavory domestic whiff could hang over UBS for years.

EY’s faltering breakup plan tightens Gordian knot

30 Mar 2023

A plot to hive off the consulting unit from the audit practice has stalled. EY has two realistic alternatives: sell a slice of its advisory business, or stay intact and focus more on lucrative consulting work. The catch is that a failed breakup could still leave lasting damage.

How post-2008 bank rules led to a 2023 problem

30 Mar 2023

After the last crisis, regulators pushed lenders away from fickle market-based finance to deposits instead. Yet Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank showed that not all customer cash is stable. Applying the same fix again is impossible, which means the problem is here to stay.

Fiddly call-centre deal shows why M&A is so quiet

30 Mar 2023

Dealmakers have had a quiet start to 2023, given economic uncertainty and shaky debt markets. Concentrix’s $4.8 bln swoop on Webhelp solves many of those problems with a clever structure, including a convertible note. But it’s not a formula that would work in many other cases.

Bigger and louder choirs create M&A dissonance

29 Mar 2023

After Ritchie Bros struck its $7 bln deal to buy IAA, at least 10 shareholders, including Starboard and lesser-known Discerene, sang out about the transaction. Uncommon and first-time vocalists are on the rise. Expect bosses and boards to develop their own new song and dance.

Another cultish cost-saving formula gets off-track

29 Mar 2023

Like GE’s Six Sigma and zero-based budgeting at Kraft Heinz, the railroad version of efficiency has gone too far. It is being tested at $120 bln Union Pacific, where a pushy investor wants devotee Jim Vena to be CEO. New industry concerns suggest it’s time to slam the brakes.

Busting through the brick wall barricading M&A

28 Mar 2023

Worldwide merger activity is down by about half this year to $470 bln, stymied by tough financing conditions, assertive trustbusters and more. In this Exchange podcast from New Orleans, JPMorgan’s head of M&A Anu Aiyengar debates downbeat dealmakers and the pockets of optimism.

Capital Calls: Syngenta IPO delay

28 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Shanghai Stock Exchange has canceled a hearing to review the agrichemicals group's listing plans, leaving investors fearing the worst in China.

SVB sale puts too-big-to-fail risk in a new bottle

27 Mar 2023

First Citizens got a good deal buying Silicon Valley Bank’s assets. For regulators, it’s a tradeoff. The buyer’s balance sheet has nearly quadrupled in just over a year. Until flaws in overseeing fast-growing banks are fixed, promoting aggressive expansion brings new pitfalls.

Xavier Niel can feast on European telco misery

27 Mar 2023

The French tycoon has assembled a privately owned telecoms empire worth about $33 bln, Breakingviews calculates. Behind the scenes he’s manoeuvring to further spread his wings. Purchases of stakes in Vodafone and Luxembourg-based Millicom signal the scale of his ambition.

Deutsche Bahn $16 bln sale has non-obvious endgame

24 Mar 2023

The German railways group may sell logistics arm DB Schenker for over $16 bln to cut debt. The most obvious fit is rival DSV. But selling to private equity or French shipping giant CMA CGM could mean fewer job cuts, which may be more appealing to Deutsche Bahn’s state owner.