Mergers & Acquisitions

KKR-led hospital deal calls for surgical precision

Ready Soon |5 Jul 2022

To make a $14 bln buyout of Ramsay Health Care work may involve amputating parts in Europe and a tricky sale and leaseback operation. And since due diligence started back in April, higher interest rates and a new Australian government further complicate the delicate procedure.

Capital Calls: Kohl’s future, Aerojet fight

1 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. retailer walked away from a deal with Franchise Group, leaving it to weather a potential recession alone. Meanwhile, Aerojet CEO's victory against her executive chairman culminates in a board mess.

Robinhood’s reversal, Russian oil cap

30 Jun 2022

The digital brokerage is worth less than a quarter of its $32 bln IPO value. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists argue that its $7 bln cash pile and ample user base make it an attractive target. Also, Western leaders’ plan to restrict funds to Moscow may backfire.

Bankers’ next pitch is corporate finance fiction

30 Jun 2022

Fees from mergers and IPOs dried up in the first half, while jumpy debt markets inhibited private equity buyers. Dealmakers need a new way to win business from companies blindsided by a pandemic and a war. There may be an opportunity in preparing CEOs for the next calamity.

Unilever ice cream mess is only partly cleaned up

30 Jun 2022

The $116 bln group has sold its Israeli Ben & Jerry’s business after the ice cream maker halted sales in the occupied Palestinian territories. Unilever gets to extricate itself from a no-win situation. Yet the hipster dessert’s ongoing autonomy means the two may clash elsewhere.

E-commerce may be beauty behemoths’ next makeover

29 Jun 2022

L’Oréal and Estée Lauder like to plug small brands into their sprawling networks. That could plump up the sales and profitability of a trendy online makeup group like $1.5 bln e.l.f. Applying its skill in selling direct to consumers would add gloss to their own brands as well.

Robinhood at $0 would start to look cheap

27 Jun 2022

At its recent stock price lows, Robinhood is a pile of cash with a digital brokerage thrown in virtually for free. Users might drift, and regulators may blunt Robinhood’s arrows, but assuming the most valuable customers stick around, it makes sense for acquirers to be circling.

Airlines M&A plays regulator roulette

27 Jun 2022

Budget carrier Frontier raised its offer for peer Spirit to $2.6 bln. That’s just enough to compete with rival JetBlue’s bid. Now shareholders have to weigh merger-skeptical regulators. It’s not just a calculation of who can win, but what the buyer will give up for it to happen.

India’s Zomato gorges on a deal in lean times

27 Jun 2022

As tech companies tighten their belts, half the country’s food-delivery duopoly is paying $570 mln for grocery outfit Blinkit. SoftBank and other sellers swap a down round for a safety net. Using richly valued stock should make it more palatable for the buyer’s shareholders.

Zendesk’s sad exit shows tech bubble madness

24 Jun 2022

The customer service software firm agreed to a $10 bln offer – 40% lower than the one it nixed in February. Yet the private equity buyers aren’t getting an obvious bargain either, at over 50 times estimated EBITDA. Readjusting to reality can take a while.

Barclays adds risky spice to insipid valuation

24 Jun 2022

The UK bank is scooping up specialist lender Kensington for nearly $3 bln. It’s small, and CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan is right to try to gee up his low-valued shares with retail assets. Still, he’s also bulking up in the riskier end of the market amid a potential house price dip.

Capital Calls: Bank stress tests, Japan inflation

24 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: U.S. lenders passed the latest Federal Reserve capital exams, but they’re bound to be more stressful next time; the country’s consumer prices rose 2.1% in May, intensifying a standoff between the central bank and bond investors.

Capital Calls: SoftBank Arm-twisting

22 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The UK government may be eyeing desperate measures to keep SoftBank-owned chip group Arm's IPO in London.

CEO’s exit puts $30 bln cancer specialist in play

21 Jun 2022

Founder Clay Siegall quit U.S. oncology biotech Seagen after a domestic-abuse charge. Merck has already spied an opening into a hot area of cancer treatment. Rivals Roche, Pfizer and Novartis may also want to get involved. But Seagen’s size will create regulatory problems.

Capital Calls: Spirit dogfight costs more each day

21 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: Hostile suitor JetBlue bumped up its offer for the budget airline. The bidding war with rival Frontier Airlines is getting more expensive, even as the cost of corporate debt – and thus the burden for the winning suitor – keeps rising.

Euromoney offers warm glow in buyout freeze

21 Jun 2022

The London-listed financial data and events firm is evaluating a $2 bln takeover offer from a private equity consortium. Despite a chunky premium, the buyer can make a decent return with a modest margin boost and limited debt. These qualities may yet attract other bidders.

Capital Calls: Hydrogen IPO, Call centre M&A

20 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: Despite Thyssenkrupp postponing its clean energy listing, De Nora is still pressing on with its own one at a lower 3 bln euro valuation; customer-service group Sitel agrees to buy 2.6 bln euro rival Majorel in a cash-and-stock deal.

Western bankers’ long wait for Gulf gold pays off

20 Jun 2022

Not long ago, U.S. and European lenders’ Middle East jobs meant low-paid work and no play. Now, oil-funded deal flow in Riyadh and Dubai is robust even as it falls elsewhere. That’s a boon for the likes of JPMorgan and Citi, who stuck it out and are now boosting their teams.

BNP-ABN deal could put old bank M&A ghosts to rest

17 Jun 2022

The 59 bln euro French lender signalled an interest in its 10 bln euro state-owned Dutch peer. A tie-up would build on an inauspicious history: A pre-2008 carve-up of ABN prompted government bailouts. Yet a cheap stock and simpler cost-cutting logic argue for a second chance.

Spirit investors should pick price over certainty

15 Jun 2022

The budget airline’s shareholders have the choice of a $2.2 bln cash-and-stock offer from Frontier, or a much higher but less secure offer from JetBlue. Even adjusted for the likelihood of failure, JetBlue’s offer looks better. Frontier’s choice: pay more, or get bumped.