Antitrust

Dealmakers contend with a boom being chipped away

14 March 2018

M&A practitioners gathering in New Orleans can toast the strongest start to a year since AOL and Time Warner connected in 2000. The annual conclave also coincides with the demise of Broadcom's $117 bln bid for Qualcomm. It raises prickly issues and also hints at cyclical excess.

What’s Time Warner worth?

13 March 2018

AT&T's $85 billion bid for the media group is in limbo - but Time Warner may be better off without it. Run the numbers.

Time Warner may do better without AT&T

13 March 2018

The broadcast group and HBO owner is in limbo while telecom giant AT&T prepares to fight U.S. watchdogs over its $85 bln bid. If there’s even a 50 pct chance the deal happens, a Breakingviews analysis suggests Time Warner could be worth significantly more than the market thinks.

Disney’s Sky choices: bid, barter or back down

6 March 2018

Comcast’s swoop on the British broadcaster puts the U.S. group’s $52 bln tie-up with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox at risk. CEO Bob Iger can enter a bidding war he may lose, offer U.S. assets in exchange, or give up on Sky. The third option is most logical, but hard to sell to Murdoch.

Comcast’s $31 bln Sky bid spoils Disney-Fox party

27 February 2018

The U.S. cable group is offering 12.50 pounds per share in cash for the UK broadcaster controlled by Rupert Murdoch. That complicates the mogul’s plan to sell his entertainment assets to Disney boss Bob Iger. Murdoch must enter a bidding war for Sky or re-think the broader deal.

Broadcom’s next sweetener: a bigger breakup fee

14 February 2018

The chipmaker's increased $120 bln-plus offer for Qualcomm has finally persuaded its quarry to talk. But the $8 bln of insurance Broadcom is offering in case antitrust regulators in Beijing or Washington block the deal probably isn't enough. History may justify twice as much.

Comcast hints at tense second season for Fox bids

12 February 2018

The cable firm could try to thwart media giant Disney’s $52.4 bln purchase of parts of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. Antitrust and family politics would hinder a reprise of Comcast’s $60 bln offer for now, but Disney may yet have to raise its game.

Broadcom ups difficulty level for Qualcomm owners

5 February 2018

The chipmaker has raised its hostile bid to more than $120 bln. The merger is no more likely to pass antitrust review unscathed, though. And because Qualcomm’s owners would get roughly a quarter of the combined company, Broadcom’s overpayment becomes a serious risk for them.

Rupert Murdoch’s next foe: Sky hedge fund holdouts

25 January 2018

The tycoon’s Fox looks set to deflect regulators’ objections to his bid for UK TV group Sky. But hedge funds could block the deal. The deep pockets of Disney, soon to own Fox, and the hope that cheaper soccer rights will boost Sky’s profit may stir them to seek a higher price.

EU makes Qualcomm bid more attractive, less likely

24 January 2018

Regulators fined the company $1.2 bln for paying Apple not to buy chips from its rivals. Such levies reduce Qualcomm’s potential profitability, and make a $105 bln bid from rival Broadcom more alluring. Yet it suggests trustbusters may look askance at the combined firm’s power.

Murdoch’s Sky bid will ride out regulatory storm

23 January 2018

The UK competition authority said Fox’s offer for the broadcaster would give Chairman Rupert Murdoch excessive media clout. It may yet call for the deal to be blocked. But Disney’s bid for Fox alters the dynamics. Ring-fencing Sky News could allow the media mogul to get his way.

EssilorLuxottica succession blur needs clearing up

18 December 2017

The Italian glasses maker set to merge with France’s Essilor has replaced its CEO. New boss Francesco Milleri may succeed founder Leonardo Del Vecchio as head of the combined firm. Yet the French seem less certain. The lack of clarity could complicate an already tricky merger.

M&A friction limits EU single-market opportunity

13 December 2017

Two Spanish ministries are interfering in a 16.5 bln euro Italian bid for local toll-road group Abertis. France and Italy similarly meddled in recent cross-border deals within the euro zone. Building scale isn’t proving as borderless as proponents of EU champions would like.

Hadas: The mystery of lost competition

6 December 2017

The U.S. tax cut is expected to boost corporate earnings but not lower prices or raise wages. That implies there’s too much tacit collusion for basic economic theory to work as designed. Limited price competition is great for shareholder value, but bad for the economy.

Sky investors choose between profit and principles

12 October 2017

Chairman James Murdoch faces a backlash over concerns about his independence as Twenty-First Century Fox, which he runs, tries to buy the UK pay-TV group. Shareholders have legitimate corporate-governance grievances. But financially they’d be better off with Murdoch’s money.

Google clears deck for huge antitrust fight

27 September 2017

The company is separating its European shopping unit and allowing rivals to bid for ads. That solves one problem it has with watchdogs while minimizing losses and continuing an appeal. It also frees up Google to battle the EU over claims it uses Android to dominate online search.

EU probe may be least of EssilorLuxottica problems

27 September 2017

Brussels is polishing its glasses for a close antitrust read of the $54 bln merger of Essilor and Luxottica. But the eyewear behemoths face other headaches, like customer defections and new competitor alliances. By the time the deal closes, its benefits could look fuzzy.

Murdochs pay price for governance scandals

12 September 2017

Fox’s bid for Sky may be delayed after a minister questioned whether phone-hacking and harassment scandals could hurt broadcasting standards. It raises the risks of an awkward investigation. Worse, the UK’s volatile politics could shift further against Fox owner Rupert Murdoch.

Soft tech dominance brings on hard fight

31 August 2017

The exit of internet-monopoly researchers from a Google-funded think tank signals a larger battle. Tech firms have reaped fortunes controlling search, data and advertising. The companies and regulators are slowly taking the concentration of influence more seriously.

RBS gains more than consumers from state aid fudge

27 July 2017

The UK bank will pay over 800 million pounds to hang on to a lending arm that European antitrust authorities wanted it to offload. The boost to competition is hard to assess. But the Treasury-negotiated deal hauls RBS closer to becoming a normal bank – at a good price.