Deals

Remington owner runs low on takeover-defense ammo

24 Jun 2024

Vista Outdoor keeps spurning a $3 bln buyout bid in favor of a breakup. With the shareholder vote nearing, its Czech suitor just offered more for the bullets brand. The camping- and shooting-gear unit left behind, however, is risky recompense for more cash and a political fight.

Britvic can swerve Carlsberg dilution

21 Jun 2024

The soft drinks maker rebuffed a $4 bln cash deal from the Danish beer giant. Carlsberg wants to boost its no-alcohol business, so may yet return with a more generous offer. But Britvic’s cocktail of geographic expansion and low-sugar drinks means it can also grow on its own.

Vodafone India bulls get ahead of themselves

21 Jun 2024

Two big share deals show New Delhi’s decision to prop up the country’s third-largest telecom operator is starting to work. But the tripling in $13 bln Vodafone Idea’s stock looks overdone. It’s still losing customers and battling debt, all with a messy ownership structure.

Tiny Singapore’s chip hub retains a big punch

21 Jun 2024

NXP and Vanguard's new $8 bln factory in the country follows recent investments from GlobalFoundries and others. Singapore has an impressive edge in the semiconductor industry despite high costs and a shortage of space. Its neighbour Malaysia will soon test that advantage.

Tate & Lyle’s sour M&A may have nicer aftertaste

20 Jun 2024

The $3.2 bln food company is paying $1.8 bln for US-based ingredient business CP Kelco. An unappetising-looking return may be one reason why Tate & Lyle shares lurched down. But the deal makes strategic sense, and there may yet be a path to sweeter numbers.

Mining M&A stokes coal race against cleaner power

20 Jun 2024

Anglo American will soon offload dirty deposits used to make steel as part of CEO Duncan Wanblad’s overhaul. Rival sales suggest there should be plenty of suitors. Coking deals can pay off for buyers if prices stay high and green options develop slowly, but neither is assured.

Online comics IPO will test latest K-wave export

17 Jun 2024

South Korea exported $13 bln of content in 2022. Webtoon’s US listing offers a way to tap into that global audience, but it’s double-edged: the digital comics firm is shrinking at home, despite a rich IP trove and growth elsewhere. Success hinges on whether that tide is receding.

Nordic $5 bln insurer M&A limits cross-border risk

17 Jun 2024

Finland’s $21 bln Sampo is buying Danish rival Topdanmark. Overseas deals can easily go awry, but Sampo is buying a group it already half-owns and paying in shares. More importantly, the target’s current valuation should make it possible for synergies to cover the premium.

Latest UK builder M&A may yet have completion date

14 Jun 2024

Crest Nicholson rejected bigger rival Bellway’s $828 mln all-share offer. While Crest’s new profit warning is a turnoff, falling returns mean housebuilder mergers generally make sense. Bellway may not need to offer much more to convince its target’s shareholders.

Carlos Slim’s BT stake may just be a prelude

13 Jun 2024

The Mexican billionaire has taken 3% of the $17 bln UK telco. Nationalism, and Slim’s failed 2012 tilt at Dutch peer KPN, imply he won’t launch a full bid. But BT investors Patrick Drahi and Deutsche Telekom may sell their shares if he gets even keener on the group’s turnaround.

Paramount’s Redstones fall short of the Murdochs

12 Jun 2024

For media’s founding families, the issue of messy generational succession looms large. Just look at the ‘Mission: Impossible’ studio, where Shari Redstone has now killed an $8 bln deal at the eleventh hour. Unlike the Murdochs, Paramount’s dynasty failed to clean up its empire.

New Pharma will crowd out Big Pharma

11 Jun 2024

For decades the likes of Pfizer have ruled the industry, gobbling up tech-driven players. But former upstarts are no longer bite-sized, as Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ $125 bln market cap proves. Their new strength will create more M&A competition and undermine established leaders.

Autonomy’s legal endgame leaves few real winners

7 Jun 2024

A US court has cleared Mike Lynch of fraud connected to a $12 bln sale of the group he founded to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. It only heightens the sense that HP’s due diligence was lamentable. But the snail-pace of justice also cost Lynch over a decade of his career.

Spanish bank M&A lies in lap of interest-rate gods

7 Jun 2024

BBVA’s 12 bln euro hostile pursuit of Sabadell currently implies a slim premium to the target’s pre-bid price. If the latter’s investors think the ECB will keep rates high, returns will stay strong and they should reject BBVA. But lots of rate cuts may upend Sabadell’s defence.

Trustbusters loom larger for Microsoft than Nvidia

6 Jun 2024

Tech is full of natural monopolies, and artificial intelligence may be no different. Regulators prefer to act quickly to stop abusive actions snuffing out competition. The $3 trln chipmaker’s dominance will be hard to dislodge. The software giant’s AI deals appear more fragile.

Oaktree can still score a skilful goal with Inter

6 Jun 2024

The US fund ended up owning the loss-making Italian club after the previous owner missed a payment. Fetching valuations similar to what Elliott secured for rival AC Milan looks tricky. Yet American interest in soccer and on-field success point to a sale price exceeding $1 bln.

Dollar Tree rejig is tale of haves and have nots

5 Jun 2024

The $26 bln discount chain’s main brand is attracting shoppers with deeper pockets, a similar pattern to Walmart. The more downmarket Family Dollar, acquired in a takeover battle a decade ago, is struggling. Cutting it loose could help shareholders uncover a bargain.

Bill Ackman hitches ride on meme-stock bandwagon

4 Jun 2024

The hedge fund boss has attracted 1.2 mln X followers to his political and investment agendas. He’s leveraging the social media clout by selling a $1.1 bln stake in his Pershing Square firm. A richer valuation multiple than Man Group or Blackstone emits an essence of GameStop.

Blackstone music deal can spare just a cent

3 Jun 2024

Steve Schwarzman’s firm is raising its bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund by a penny. His private equity firm famously top-ticked the property market and the music deals have similar tunes. While the $1.6 bln price helps, high interest rates make it hard to strike the right note.

Medical trash turns into less valuable treasure

3 Jun 2024

Waste Management is paying $7 bln to buy Stericycle, which had a mixed pandemic. Vaccination needles injected profit into biowaste disposal, but work-from-home shredded the document destruction business. Unless the buyer can sweep up some pricing power, the deal is mostly scraps.