Mergers & Acquisitions

SoftBank-backed fintech slaps on smart M&A patch

26 April 2018

Online lender Kabbage is buying analytics firm Orchard, whose investors include Wall Street chiefs Vikram Pandit and John Mack. The deal is more about adding data than revenue, but that shows fintech lenders are starting to put profit and customer retention ahead of rapid growth.

Comcast is best leaving Fox to the Mouse

25 April 2018

Boss Brian Roberts says the cable company is open to acquisitions and he won’t use stock. But how he pays is less important than what he pays. Challenging Disney’s $66 bln deal for parts of Rupert Murdoch’s empire would be an expensive fight. Roberts is better off walking away.

Sky upside depends on Disney-Fox irrationality

25 April 2018

Brian Roberts’ Comcast formalised a $31 bln bid for the UK group. Rival suitors Bob Iger and Rupert Murdoch, of Disney and Fox, will struggle to match the U.S. cable giant’s synergies. Sky investors betting on a counteroffer must hope the media moguls ditch financial logic.

Indian telecom tower M&A leaves room for more

25 April 2018

A union of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers creates a $15 bln company with more masts than heavyweight rival American Tower. This paves the way for indebted telecoms backers, including Vodafone, to take out a special dividend or sell part of the merged group to a buyout firm.

Water M&A fight puts governance center stage

24 April 2018

Eversource’s bid to upset SJW’s $750 mln deal with CWS is a close call on financial grounds. The interloper feels unfairly shut out, though, because SJW’s CEO ran the target until last year. And Eversource’s last big merger was messy. Watchdogs have to navigate choppy currents.

Verizon better staid than reckless

24 April 2018

The $200 bln telecom firm's earnings met expectations, but rivals are otherwise engaged bidding for media companies. Verizon hasn't yet left its comfort zone, beside a half-hearted attempt for parts of Rupert Murdoch’s empire. When others are paying high prices, that's reassuring.

Subsea 7 can still save McDermott from itself

23 April 2018

The Oslo-listed oil services group has lobbed in a $2 bln offer for its U.S. counterpart. Subsea 7’s bid looks low, and hinges on McDermott ditching an agreed deal with CB&I. But CB&I’s sale of Stone & Webster to Toshiba is a bad precedent, and Subsea 7 can afford to pay more.

Utility deal provides banquet for regulatory feast

23 April 2018

CenterPoint Energy’s $6 bln swoop for Vectren gives state watchdogs a chance to extract their pound of flesh for customers. As with many electric company M&A, there’s no number given on synergies. That leaves investors wondering if they’ll receive any juice at all.

Poker group bets $5 bln on Sky-high sports growth

23 April 2018

Canada’s Stars Group is buying UK online sports-gambling specialist Sky Bet. The price is more than current owners CVC and Sky would have got in a mooted IPO. For Stars, the debt-heavy punt only works if Sky Bet’s rapid growth continues - or the U.S. relaxes sports-gambling laws.

Breakdown: Telecom Italia’s three-way poker game

23 April 2018

The incumbent telco is entangled in its umpteenth debilitating corporate fight. The row pits U.S. activist investor Paul Singer against French financier Vincent Bolloré. But an Italian state investor may be the key player. Breakingviews explains how the cards will fall.

Wesfarmers exposes its conglomerate discount

24 April 2018

By opting to spin off Coles Supermarkets, the $35 bln Australian group invites scrutiny of its coal-to-clothes hodgepodge. A Breakingviews analysis suggests a gap of 11 pct between its market value and the sum of its parts. It's enough to spur a fresh strategic review.

Shire makes needy suitors work for risky bet

19 April 2018

The London-listed pharma group has rejected a 42 bln pound offer from Osaka-based Takeda, and may now face a bid from Botox-maker Allergan. Shire’s business has its challenges, but its would-be acquirers have strategic issues and need a deal. The risk of overpaying is going up.

P&G drug deal needs vitamin shot to persuade Peltz

19 April 2018

The U.S. consumer giant is paying 3.4 bln euros for the consumer arm of Germany’s Merck. For it to make sense P&G will have to crank up sales of Seven Seas vitamins while cutting out costs. Board member Nelson Peltz’s criticism of past acquisitions further raises the stakes.

Nestlé and Unilever switch focus to shopping lists

19 April 2018

The consumer giants reported strong sales growth in the first quarter; a welcome change after two years of sluggish demand. With share prices flatlining, though, a further shake-up of their brands is likely. There are growing signs of where both companies are looking to buy.

Icahn offers poaching insurance for VMware

18 April 2018

A stake purchase by the activist investor could add friction in a potential merger of the $53 bln software company with its controlling shareholder Dell. Minority shareholders in VMware ought to expect fair treatment. Icahn's presence might help ensure they get it.

Hammerson’s M&A fumble leaves defences down

18 April 2018

The shopping centre operator ditched a 3.4 bln pound plan to buy rival Intu after shareholder pressure. The group will now sell assets and focus on posh malls, but the U-turn makes it vulnerable. The UK’s strict takeover rules give rejected suitor Klepierre a narrow way back.

Savory European fare feeds China’s M&A cravings

18 April 2018

Property developer Kam Fung may buy Spanish meat producer Incarlopsa, valuing it at 1.2 bln euros. Combining bricks and ham offers no clear benefits, and the price looks rich. But Beijing isn't guiding against food investing, and the Trump era forces a change of deal direction.

French telco jigsaw missing key regulatory piece

17 April 2018

Bouygues could bid for Altice’s French business, Bloomberg reports, to end a painful price war. It’d make more sense than failed 2016 talks with state-owned Orange. But regulators may still prefer four less-profitable operators to three stronger groups with power to raise prices.

Icahn will need to work to extend winning streak

16 April 2018

The investor is selling Tropicana, the casino he plucked out of bankruptcy, for $1.85 bln. It follows last week’s sale of Federal-Mogul to Tenneco, and Volkswagen is knocking on Navistar’s door. A bull market has given Icahn a hot hand, but it makes deploying the cash a challenge.

Coffee to go offers quick fix for Whitbread

16 April 2018

Activist Elliott controls 6 pct of the UK hotel and coffee chain and reckons a listing of its Costa brand would add 3 bln pounds of value. It’s a simple-seeming solution to Whitbread’s discount rating. Separating investor worries about the two parts of the business has merit.