Deals

TPG starts a dicey dance with death Down Under

7 Mar 2023

The private equity firm is offering $1.5 bln for funeral-services firm InvoCare. The target could use some help after losing market share. But the 41% premium means the buyer would be piling on debt as interest rates rise. Making a decent return would require some deft footwork.

Germany’s electricity headache has an M&A cure

6 Mar 2023

Berlin may spend over 20 bln euros on the local unit of Dutch-owned TenneT. Every country’s power grid needs an overhaul to make it fit for the green transition, but Germany’s need is especially pressing. Still, relatively low debt also makes it easier to take swift action.

Buying WWE calls for intense financial contortions

3 Mar 2023

After making a dramatic return to the ring, founder Vince McMahon is eyeing a possible sale of his worldwide wrestling empire. Potential contenders for the $6.2 bln company include UFC owner Endeavor. The numbers and ownership structure, however, make a deal hard to stack up.

Capital Calls: TD Bank’s $13 bln cliffhanger

2 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Canadian bank’s acquisition of U.S. peer First Horizon will be delayed beyond its May 27 drop-dead date, but there are reasons to think it will still get done.

M&G would be a tricky hop for kangaroo raider

2 Mar 2023

Australia’s $48 bln financial giant Macquarie may bid for the $6 bln UK fund management group. A swoop would be well timed given M&G’s new boss is still bedding in, and the deal math just about works. But any transaction would involve a messy breakup, and the risk of a rival bid.

Banks’ state shareholders can afford slow selldown

2 Mar 2023

The Belgian and Dutch governments took advantage of a market rally to offload chunks of BNP and ABN. Valuations have risen but are still low relative to lenders’ returns. That means Britain and Germany would be wise to move gradually with their NatWest and Commerzbank holdings.

Alphabet’s AI response is make-or-break-it

1 Mar 2023

Microsoft’s chatbot likened a journalist to Hitler and spews falsehoods. But a bigger threat is to the Google owner. Given time and improvements, artificial intelligence could cannibalize three-quarters of the search market. Failing to catch up would pose an existential threat.

Goldman doubles down on the wealthy, as it should

28 Feb 2023

The $120 bln bank is boosting its alternative-investment unit, which may soon be half the size of Blackstone. Add in banking and shareholders effectively get the rest for free. It highlights the upside for Goldman’s value, and makes CEO David Solomon’s consumer push look worse.

Stalled TV deal sharpens U.S. competition picture

28 Feb 2023

A hedge fund’s $9 bln plan to acquire broadcaster Tegna hit a likely fatal regulatory dead-end. The takeover doesn’t cross typical red lines, and the limbo threatens to jack up the price. It’s fresh evidence of the Biden administration pulling out all the trustbusting stops.

Capital Calls: Monte dei Paschi, Abrdn

28 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Insurer AXA is selling shares in the Italian bank just four months after joining a risky capital increase; meanwhile, the UK asset management group run by Stephen Bird is still shrinking.

Cancer drug sale would be high hop on hope

27 Feb 2023

Pfizer is sizing up oncology specialist Seagen after talks with Merck stalled last year. While Big Pharma needs therapies to sell, the probable price of $40 bln or so is a big barrier. At that level a buyer would earn perhaps a 2% return on investment, even with hefty savings.

Revisiting JPMorgan’s innovative Cazenove deal

24 Feb 2023

The American giant’s 2004 joint venture with the venerable UK stockbroker is often cited as a rare example of a successful investment banking takeover. A new memoir by former CEO Robert Pickering confirms Cazenove was right to sell. Less clear is whether JPMorgan needed to buy.

Capital Calls: Adobe’s lose-lose Figma bind

24 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: Shareholders in the $160 bln design technology firm seem to have decided that the only thing worse than doing its blockbuster deal for rival Figma is losing it.

Beauty activism searches for Mr. Congeniality

23 Feb 2023

Bath & Body Works is a prime post-Covid activist target, as shares slump from a dizzying peak and demand slips. Little wonder Dan Loeb has shown up. But with his grievances focused on governance and big changes already made, this looks better solved without a knock-down fight.

Capital Calls: World Bank, Bumble, Wood Group

23 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. picks ex-Mastercard boss Ajay Banga to run the multilateral development bank; while the dating app’s shares are down, private equity owner Blackstone is still in the money; the UK oil services group has turned down three bids from Apollo.

Capital Calls: Tech trustbusting, Fresenius

22 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: After fighting a slew of deals, the U.S. FTC decided not to challenge Amazon’s $3.9 bln acquisition of One Medical, while the sprawling $17 bln German conglomerate is cleaning up its messy structure in a tentative step toward breaking up.

Euronext may have to dig deeper to snare Allfunds

22 Feb 2023

The 8 bln euro exchange offered 5.5 bln euros for the wealth technology group, the latest in a slew of deals. Boss Stéphane Boujnah would get much-needed diversification away from sluggish markets. Yet the price is not a knockout, and rivals like Deutsche Boerse could barge in.

TCI’s Airbus fury may have collateral benefit

22 Feb 2023

Hedgie Chris Hohn says the plane maker’s plan to buy a 30% stake in Atos’s cyber arm will destroy value. He’s probably right, but private investors take a back seat in defence deals, where governments call the shots. His salvo might however help Airbus drive a harder bargain.

Energy transition’s $12 bln deal becomes forex bet

22 Feb 2023

Brookfield and MidOcean have reduced their offer for Australia’s coal and gas-heavy Origin Energy, but only by 1%. Large investors also will be paid partly in U.S. dollars. If exchange rates move only slightly, it would more than compensate them for the price cut.

K-pop showdown amplifies shareholder voices

22 Feb 2023

A hostile takeover of South Korean music label SM by rival Hybe, which manages global boy-band sensation BTS, is heading to a ballot. The fierce saga exposes corporate governance woes that plague Asia, but also some unlikely progress. Whichever side prevails, investors win.