“Big Four” U.S. airlines will go down to three 4 Jan 2021 Stricken travel is worsening carriers’ positions. They’ve already slimmed staff, and restructuring is next. But U.S. taxpayers are invested in them succeeding, and have already benefitted from a long descent in ticket prices. A merger stamped by the government is on the horizon.
Overpayment detected in $8 bln Teledyne deal 4 Jan 2021 The $14 bln U.S. industrial conglomerate is buying rival FLIR Systems. Cost savings cover less than half of the $1.6 bln premium. Both firms sell sensors, but focus on different wavelengths, so it’s possible combining could deliver faster growth. But that’s hard to deliver.
Corona Capital: Icahn, Productivity, Natixis 4 Jan 2021 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Carl Icahn sells half his Herbalife Nutrition stake; an ECB survey suggests Covid-19 will make big firms more productive, but that may not be all good news; and Natixis fast-tracks its overhaul.
MGM’s $11 bln UK punt is close to maximum wager 4 Jan 2021 Entain rebuffed a merger proposal from the U.S. resorts-to-roulette group. The British bookie has good reasons to ask for more stock and a slug of cash from its sports-betting partner. But with no rival bidders, and a shrinking domestic business, its negotiating power is limited.