Mergers & Acquisitions

Robey Warshaw’s $90 mln bonanza is taste of 2025

29 Nov 2024

The UK boutique’s four partners split a record bounty for the last financial year. That’s oddly high since it was a slow period for deals. Now, falling rates and laxer antitrust authorities will help buyouts and corporate mergers, lifting rival rainmakers too in the coming years.

China offers escape hatch for Hong Kong tycoons

28 Nov 2024

The $200 bln China Mobile is eyeing assets in the financial hub. Beijing's push for deeper integration between Hong Kong and the mainland plus beaten down valuations mean other state giants can bargain hunt too. Family-owned business like Li Ka-shing's ports may all be in play.

Nissan and Honda would drive better together

28 Nov 2024

An emergency overhaul won’t lift profitability much at Renault’s $9 bln alliance partner. And $40 bln Honda’s autos unit is subpar. Merging Japan’s second- and third-largest carmakers would give scope to cut costs, boost earnings and invest more efficiently in EVs and other tech.

Aviva can put its foot down with Direct Line

28 Nov 2024

The $16 bln UK insurer has had a $4 bln approach for its smaller rival rebuffed. Boss Amanda Blanc has scope to turbocharge the offer and still make an acceptable return. That makes it more likely that she goes over the heads of Direct Line’s management if they don’t engage.

European pharma’s growth prescription: pivot to US

28 Nov 2024

Novartis, Novo Nordisk and regional rivals lost $86 bln in value over concerns about tariffs and other possible measures by President-elect Donald Trump. Stateside M&A and manufacturing moves could ease the pain and boost revenue. But hopping across the pond will mean paying up.

Tycoons’ odd telco bets mask a greater logic

26 Nov 2024

In recent years high-profile, rich investors like Carlos Slim have snapped up stakes in the likes of $19 bln BT. These haven’t always yielded juicy returns, nor prompted strategic shifts. But as a bet on much-needed consolidation, they may yet end up looking smart.

Italian bank M&A circus risks sidelining investors

26 Nov 2024

Andrea Orcel’s UniCredit offered 10 bln euros for Banco BPM, irking Rome and potentially eliciting a rival swoop from the target’s 9.2% owner Crédit Agricole. Meanwhile BPM may launch its own bid for Monte dei Paschi. The risk is that shareholder interests get lost in the noise.

Mining M&A makes a mockery of windfall taxes

26 Nov 2024

Anglo American has just joined BHP and others disposing of coal assets in securing a cut from new owners if the fossil fuel's price soars. It's savvy but also breezily undercuts their objections to governments pulling similar tricks to reduce costs for consumers.

An $11 bln concrete deal is about unset options

25 Nov 2024

Quikrete is buying building materials peer Summit at a so-so multiple, despite a rush of subsidy-bolstered US construction. If the pace keeps up amid easing interest rates, it’s smart vertical integration. If a new Trump era wrecks that forecast, there are obvious units to sell.

UniCredit boss’ 3D chess M&A game could backfire

25 Nov 2024

Andrea Orcel’s bank offered 10 bln euros for Italian rival Banco BPM months after a raid on Germany’s Commerzbank. Both deals make sense, and having options may boost his negotiating power. But hostile moves can harden opposition, and UniCredit risks looking desperate for a deal.

Dish deal collapse would torch massive windfalls

22 Nov 2024

DirecTV ended plans to buy its satellite rival as owner Charlie Ergen refuses to haggle with bondholders balking over a $1.5 bln discount. He’ll be stuck with $10 bln of debt, creditors get left on shaky ground and synergies worth $8 bln vanish in an epic lose-lose-lose.

Itochu is a complex partner for 7-Eleven buyout

21 Nov 2024

The $71 bln trading house may join a white-knight purchase of the convenience store's owner Seven & i. Itochu owns rival FamilyMart and has business ties to the target. Its involvement in any deal may come down to a trade-off between competition and efficiency in Japan.

Brookfield has room to sweeten Spanish drug deal

20 Nov 2024

Grifols rejected a 6.5 billion euro offer from the Canadian firm and its founder family. That’s not surprising, given the offer is far from generous and the pharma company’s sales are recovering. Bruce Flatt’s group can afford to pay more and still clear an acceptable return.

Amcor’s cheap packaging deal hides a fragile item

20 Nov 2024

The Switzerland-based company is paying $8.4 bln for US rival Berry. It’s a low price when compared with the cost savings on offer, but the target brings with it debt and a business that is struggling to grow. Rapid consolidation among peers also raises the pressure to merge.

Biden trustbusters keep new ideas on life support

15 Nov 2024

The DOJ is suing to stop UnitedHealth’s $3 bln deal for in-home care rival Amedisys, arguing it would hurt patients. As with other recent US litigation, it targets issues beyond price, in this case quality and capacity. It’s a parting shot at codifying novel competition theory.

John Malone M&A cleanup costs minority investors

14 Nov 2024

The famed cable dealmaker’s empire is reshaping itself, as giant Charter strikes a $13 bln agreement for Liberty Broadband. It’s mostly about the buyer getting back a lump of its own shares, at an 11% discount. The transaction is great for everyone except selling shareholders.

Just Eat’s discount deal puts CEO on notice

13 Nov 2024

The food delivery firm finally sold Grubhub for $650 mln, a stark decline from the $5 bln it paid three years ago. Investors’ cheer reflects that they feared an even worse price, and it gets rid of a dead weight. But Just Eat boss Jitse Groen can’t afford any more mistakes.

Giant LBO brings barbarians to Seven & i’s rescue

13 Nov 2024

The founding Ito family has offered $58 bln to take the 7-Eleven operator private. The whopping deal would stretch Japan’s financing markets and require a management overhaul to generate decent returns. Still, it gives the board another alternative to Canadian suitor Couche-Tard.

Arbageddon dangers averted by only so much

12 Nov 2024

Merger arbitrageurs battered by tougher trustbusters and scarce deals cheered the US election results. The pending $35 bln takeover of credit card brand Discover and others may benefit, as more M&A gets teed up. A mercurial Donald Trump, however, is bound to blow up some trades.

Activist hitches long ride on Nissan’s turnaround

12 Nov 2024

Fund Effissimo bought a stake in the sickly Japanese carmaker, sending shares up 13%. The $9 bln marque already unveiled bold cost-cutting plans, and there is limited scope to push for more. It’s a risky bet CEO Makoto Uchida can pull it off amid an increasingly tough market.