Deals

Match is a relationship better enjoyed in private

17 Jul 2024

For public investors, the owner of dating app Tinder’s profile has a red flag: slow growth. With shares down 80% since 2021, Starboard is the latest rabble-rouser pushing fixes. Strong cash flow and a cheaper valuation make the $9 bln company a better pairing for a buyout shop.

Wiz deal could help Alphabet nail down the cloud

15 Jul 2024

At $23 bln, the cybersecurity firm would be the Google parent’s biggest acquisition, one antitrust regulators are likely to hate. It’s expensive too. But Alphabet is an underdog in cloud, where security is a big differentiator. Even with the risk of failure, the deal makes sense.

Axel Springer split could suit both parties’ needs

12 Jul 2024

Buyout firm KKR backed an 8 bln euro take-private of the media group in 2019. Now it may get the classifieds unit it likes while CEO Mathias Döpfner keeps news, the FT says. It would unpick an odd governance situation, and the German tycoon could get cash for a US media splurge.

Smaller tech grapples with end of Big Tech put

12 Jul 2024

Software developers are trading at premium valuations, fueled at least in part by the idea that larger rivals will scoop them up. Alphabet’s decision not to buy $25 bln HubSpot, and greater antitrust resistance, indicates such outcomes are less assured. More disappointment looms.

Booze-free beverages are no small beer

11 Jul 2024

Carlsberg’s $4 bln deal to buy soft-drinks maker Britvic is just the latest foray by a big brewer into serving the alcohol-averse. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss whether it’s a seismic tobacco-like shift or a frothy attempt to fizz up profit margins.

Amazon dresses up its drab fashion with Saks stake

10 Jul 2024

The online retailer wants to boost its luxury appeal by backing the upscale chain’s $2.7 bln deal for Neiman Marcus. It should give boss Andy Jassy insight into richer shoppers as he mulls a rival to bargain sites Shein and Temu. Pursuing both ends of the market is a smart look.

Stubborn IPO lull defies supply and demand logic

9 Jul 2024

Despite solid market debuts by Reddit, Galderma and Viking, the $49 bln raised in the first half is the lowest tally since 2016. It’s vexing for buyout firms with $3 trln of assets to sell and investors with $10 trln in cash to spend. Economic theory suggests a price imbalance.

Paramount deal offers sneak peak of media 3.0

8 Jul 2024

Shari Redstone agreed to pass her family’s empire to rising Hollywood mogul David Ellison’s Skydance. The $8 bln deal, wildly lopsided in their favor, may raise investors’ hackles. Yet it’s a key test of media also-rans’ likely next chapter: supplying content to streaming giants.

Carlsberg soft-drink deal packs an appealing punch

8 Jul 2024

The $18 bln brewer is scooping up J2O-maker Britvic for $4.2 bln. The Danish buyer’s shares have slumped since deal talks started, but investors’ nervousness is overdone. Expanding into non-alcoholic drinks makes sense, and the returns seem reasonable despite a fizzy deal price.

Shein maps out how to charm the world in India

5 Jul 2024

The $63 bln fast fashion giant is relaunching four years after it was banned, this time in an alliance with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance. If Shein can claw its way back into a country that aggressively curtailed Chinese interests, partnerships may be the way forward elsewhere too.

Bosch’s Whirlpool bet may end in rinse cycle

4 Jul 2024

The German group is eyeing the struggling $6 bln US home appliance maker, Reuters says. Expanding stateside makes sense given growth in Bosch’s main European units is slowing. But its target may be just as tricky if interest rates and inflation keep hammering US consumers.

Middle East reignites Santos’ M&A pipe dreams

4 Jul 2024

Shares of the $17 bln Aussie driller jumped on a Bloomberg report that Aramco and ADNOC are each studying bids. That may yet lure in BP, Chevron and others. But the return on investment remains as ho-hum as when Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher opened the door to a deal last year.

EQT’s $3 bln gaming play hits the right buttons

3 Jul 2024

The Swedish buyout shop looks set to clinch video game services group Keywords. The target’s business of translating games like ‘Clash of Clans’ for a wide range of clients helps insulate it from an industry rut. The chunky 96% premium can also make it a high scorer.

Tougher trustbusting will last beyond US election

3 Jul 2024

In just a few years, competition cops Jonathan Kanter and Lina Khan reversed a lax consensus that existed for decades. The November ballot threatens to derail some of their efforts. Much of the agenda has staying power, however, both in the fine print and the bigger principles.

Good luck finding a new Boston Celtics pot of gold

2 Jul 2024

The leprechaun-logoed NBA champs are for sale after two decades under venture capitalist Wyc Grousbeck’s group. At a mooted $6 bln, the investment return would top US stocks and private equity. A repeat depends on the dubious scenario of broadcast rights rising wildly again.

Larry Fink makes racy salvo in private markets war

1 Jul 2024

BlackRock will buy UK buyout fund data provider Preqin for $3.2 bln, muscling aside rivals like S&P. It’s a rich price that will take years to pay off. While CEO Fink has a history of savvy deals, higher rates and acute competition in alternative assets both raise the stakes.

Miner M&A spotlight may shift to Teck and Freeport

27 Jun 2024

BHP’s failed pitch for Anglo American leaves a vacuum for keyed-up mining bankers to fill. Canada’s $25 bln Teck and $70 bln US rival Freeport-McMoRan both offer purer-play copper options. Either could become targets for bigger fish, or even drive consolidation themselves.

A South Korean EV reversal would inspire copycats

27 Jun 2024

Splitting out electric-car related assets was a popular ploy for firms like Renault and Geely to charge up valuations. But now conglomerate SK might go the other way by merging its loss-making battery business with another unit. As EV demand slows, similar reversals may follow.

VW and Rivian wheel out a more practical EV model

26 Jun 2024

The German carmaker is investing up to $5 bln in its smaller US rival and a new JV to develop software. Many such tie-ups have ended badly, but in this case it’s more than just funding a flashy but cash-burning newcomer. The big incumbent here gets access to proven technology.

Spirit doesn’t deserve Boeing’s cash

25 Jun 2024

Separating the supplier from the aircraft maker in 2005 benefited neither, so a deal to reunite them makes sense. Spirit’s shareholders probably don’t want Boeing’s stock. But the target’s woes compounded the acquirer’s problems. Ties that bind the two leave Spirit few options.