Supermarkets

Sour grapes spill beans on squashed grocery deal

11 Dec 2024

After trying to unite for two years, Albertsons and Kroger each claimed the other broke their contract a day after US judges nixed the $25 bln merger. The blame game may well end in a stalemate. It also suggests trustbusters astutely divined a ruthlessness veiled in so much M&A.

Blocked grocery mega-merger tips rolling M&A cart

10 Dec 2024

A US judge ruled Kroger’s $25 bln union with Albertsons is anticompetitive, siding with President Biden’s trustbusters. The decision further ingrains some of their bolder ideas. Dealmakers and CEOs planning shopping sprees under a new administration could use the reality check.

Japan’s virtuous M&A circle starts with 7-Eleven

5 Dec 2024

The battle for control of $45 bln convenience store owner Seven & i is being cheered in Tokyo. It’s evidence of progress in the drive to improve efficiencies in the world’s third-largest economy. It could also be a sign of what’s to come if officials make the right next moves.

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.

Walmart streak suggests it can weather Trump toll

19 Nov 2024

The $700 bln giant hiked its annual sales outlook as more people shopped at its stores. Despite being a big importer from China, it powered through the incoming president’s first trade war. With shares at an all-time high, investors are betting it can cope with another outbreak.

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.

Bidders poke holes in Japan’s fair M&A push

21 Oct 2024

Seven & i and Fuji Soft have each dug in their heels against generous takeover approaches from Canada's Couche-Tard and buyout firm Bain Capital. New guidelines are reshaping the market for deals in the $4 trln economy, but reluctant targets retain power to simply say no.

Weak 7-Eleven defense might embolden Couche-Tard

10 Oct 2024

Japan’s top convenience store owner will spin off its superstores and trim stakes in non-core assets to fend off a $47 bln takeover approach. It’s a disappointing strategy update. The Canadian suitor can consider taking its offer directly to the target’s long-suffering investors.

Couche-Tard clears price hurdle to Seven & i deal

9 Oct 2024

The Canadian suitor can cut enough costs to justify its revised 53% indicative premium, valuing its rival's enterprise at $55 bln. Though antitrust concerns in the US remain, it seriously raises the bar for the Japanese target's strategic update on its plans to unlock value.

Seven & i defence calls for radical strategy

23 Sep 2024

A 20% jump in the company's stock price after it rejected Couche-Tard's $39 bln takeover puts the 7-Eleven operator under pressure to lay out a plan to improve shareholder returns. So far CEO Ryuichi Isaka has only tinkered at the edges. A drastic overhaul may be necessary.

Couche-Tard gives 7-Eleven owner easy defence path

6 Sep 2024

The Japanese company's board unanimously rejected its Canadian suitor's $39 bln takeover offer. The 21% premium is well short of Seven & i's breakup value. For this deal to be a real test of Japan's receptiveness to foreign M&A, Couche-Tard needs to work a whole lot harder.

Nestlé’s CEO switch serves up unappetising menu

23 Aug 2024

The $275 bln consumer-goods group is replacing its boss of eight years, Mark Schneider, with insider Laurent Freixe. Weak sales and a sliding valuation probably justify the abrupt change. But investors will fear it heralds a more painful turnaround than they previously expected.

Consumer titans have Covid-era issue, in reverse

26 Jul 2024

In the pandemic, Nestlé and Unilever’s higher prices were accompanied by falling sales. Now they are tempting consumers to buy more products, but prices are harder to budge. One issue hasn’t changed: the giants’ vulnerability to cheaper and healthier eating habits.

Big Beer’s low-alcohol Plan B has too much froth

9 Jul 2024

Carlsberg, AB InBev and Asahi have set toppy targets for their teetotal products. Health concerns and Gen Z’s aversion to alcohol imply that’s a safe bet. But at $13 bln the market is still puny – and if the likes of Coca-Cola muscle in there will be a smaller barrel to share.

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.

Petrol station tycoon picks poor time to exit Asda

29 Apr 2024

TDR may buy Zuber Issa’s 23% stake in the UK grocer, increasing its own holding. Since their 2021 deal Asda has repaid a big chunk of its debt, but market struggles mean it merits a lower multiple. The buyout shop’s consolation is it can drive a hard bargain on price.

ESG is ghost at global retailers’ annual feast

19 Apr 2024

LVMH, Amazon and peers gathered in Paris for the industry’s yearly shindig. The growth areas in the $30 trln sector are Shein-style cheap garments and the Middle East. Both jar with retailers’ previous focus on environmental, social and governance factors.

Stephen King ghost-writes trustbusting bestseller

27 Feb 2024

The US FTC is suing to block the $25 bln merger of grocers Kroger and Albertsons partly because of perceived harm to union labor. It resembles, oddly enough, a winning DOJ lawsuit over Penguin’s deal to buy Simon & Schuster. The case has a good shot at becoming a horror classic.

Capital Calls: CVC, Grocer wars, Atos

2 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: The European buyout group has postponed its plans to list in Amsterdam; British supermarket Sainsbury’s is thriving, which is bad news for rivals like CD&R-owned Morrisons; French IT firm Onepoint has grabbed a 10% stake in ailing peer Atos.

Capital Calls: Food prices, Brookfield, SPAC spin

3 Oct 2023

Concise views on global finance: The cost of ingredients for the average UK meal fell 0.1% in September; the Canadian giant’s $1 bln renewables deal reflects how European green assets are getting more appealing; Singapore’s SPAC puts a new spin on blank-cheque targets.