Microsoft’s Monster warning for LinkedIn deal 9 Aug 2016 The software giant's $26 bln swoop for the professional social-networking site already looked pricey. Monster.com offers a cautionary tale of how bad it could get. The job-listing board was once worth $8 bln until LinkedIn crushed it. Now it has sold to a rival for just $429 mln.
Megadeal gets India’s insurers set for public life 9 Aug 2016 A fiddly merger between two foreign-backed players will create India's largest private insurer, and give the $10 bln group a public listing. Others are queuing to IPO. Stock markets will help fund growth – and end state dominance of a sector that does not yet reach enough people.
Wal-Mart pays again for past mistakes 8 Aug 2016 The giant retailer is shelling out $3.3 bln for Jet.com, nine times the year-old shopping site's estimated 2017 sales. It might bolster Wal-Mart's poor online growth. But it's an expensive do-over for a company which Amazon beat to Jet.com founder Marc Lore's Diapers.com in 2010.
U.S. bank deal provides a timely reminder on M&A 8 Aug 2016 Giant pension fund TIAA is snapping up EverBank for $2.5 bln. Even this non-traditional buyer should be able to slash enough costs to justify the price tag. Earnings-strapped lenders may find acquisitions increasingly necessary. Cash is also becoming an integral component.
Vail’s $1 bln Whistler deal befits a forex ski bum 8 Aug 2016 The mountain-resorts operator is paying a 43 pct premium for its Canadian rival. Adjusted for the Canadian dollar's slide since Whistler went public it doesn't look so bad. Plus, skiing is a rare industry where revenue gains make sense and guard against vagaries like weather.
China’s soccer haul enters a league of its own 8 Aug 2016 Mainland buyers have just bought AC Milan, West Bromwich Albion and Auxerre, adding three teams to an already large stash of European football assets. With hazy financial logic, funky structures and political undertones, these deals echo China's wider overseas M&A boom.
SAF-Holland lacks firepower in truck bidding war 4 Aug 2016 The truck parts maker’s $490 million offer for Swedish peer Haldex was trumped by Germany’s ZF Friedrichshafen, which offered just 6 percent more. SAF is already stretching itself and will struggle to outbid a much bigger rival that has the target’s support.
Fiat supplier sale talk nails Marchionne’s dilemma 3 Aug 2016 Offloading Magneti Marelli to Samsung Electronics might raise $3 bln. But it would shrink earnings while leaving a truckload of debt, just as the profitable U.S. car market may be peaking. Tinkering won't for long distract the Fiat Chrysler CEO from bigger goals - like a merger.
Wal-Mart has long unicorn ride in Amazon chase 3 Aug 2016 The $220 bln retail titan is reportedly in talks to buy Jet, a fledgling online-shopping site. Wal-Mart has been accelerating acquisitions of tech startups in a bid to beef up digital efforts. Amazon, however, keeps moving ahead with efforts like one-day shipping and groceries.
Biogen is a risky $90 bln buyout target 3 Aug 2016 The biotech giant could be available, with its CEO stepping down, and potential acquirers are circling. Closing the gap between the Alzheimer's drug optimism built into Biogen's valuation and an acceptable price for a buyer may, however, prove a challenge too far.
Uber can take fight for rest of Asia up a gear 2 Aug 2016 After folding its China unit into rival Didi, the ride-hailing app can compete harder elsewhere in Asia. It is less far behind India's Ola and Grab in Southeast Asia. Uber must balance the conflicts this could create with Didi with the need to show global growth.
Uber and Didi carve up antitrust arbitrage 1 Aug 2016 Economies of scale help ride-hailing apps gain dominance. By trading its Chinese unit for a stake in local rival Didi, Uber is creating value but also conflicts of interest. Lags in antitrust law are one more aspect of regulation for Uber - and others - to take advantage of.
Verizon’s auto-tech roll-up makes a bit more sense 1 Aug 2016 The $2.4 bln purchase of Fleetmatics is another move to bolster an area that can potentially help offset declines in Verizon's core business. Combining it with Telogis, the deal carries more logic than last week's acquisition of Yahoo's sagging internet assets at twice the price.
Tesla makes best of perplexing SolarCity deal 1 Aug 2016 At $2.6 bln, Elon Musk's electric-car pioneer is paying less than expected for his solar-panel installer. The boards have done the right things to manage conflicts. There's overlap between Tesla's battery unit and SolarCity. But diluting the ambitious automaker's focus is risky.
Uber reverses out of dead end in China 1 Aug 2016 The U.S. ride-hailing app is handing Uber China to larger local rival Didi Chuxing. In exchange, Uber gets 20 pct of an enlarged $35 bln group. It's a humiliating reversal after a high-profile battle. The combined group can cut back on subsidies and focus on turning a profit.
Chinese investors up the ante in online games 1 Aug 2016 Gaming outfit Shanghai Giant, Alibaba boss Jack Ma, and partners are buying Israel's Playtika for $4.4 bln. This looks pricier than Tencent's recent purchase of the firm behind Clash of Clans. Plus, casino-style games are even more at risk of being overtaken by the latest hit.
Fosun’s deleveraging story strains credibility 1 Aug 2016 The Chinese conglomerate plans to offload up to $6 bln of assets by end-2017 to shore up its credit rating. Yet it has just unveiled new deals worth one quarter of that. Fosun is saying one thing and doing another. It may also find it easier to buy trinkets than to sell them.
NextEra deal marks beginning of end of TXU saga 29 Jul 2016 The power producer is buying the bankrupt giant's stake in transmission group Oncor, valued at $18.4 bln. The $45 bln LBO of TXU, now Energy Future, hit trouble soon after its 2007 completion. Most creditors will have to be satisfied with a slice of the former TXU's other assets.
India pharma deal suggests Fosun is an M&A junkie 29 Jul 2016 The Chinese conglomerate's drug unit is buying India's Gland Pharma for up to $1.3 bln. Shortages should boost prices of injectable drugs in the U.S., a key market for the KKR-backed group. Either way, Fosun's latest deal binge jars with its promise to cut debt.
Healthcare M&A rocked by seemingly unbreakable deal 28 Jul 2016 Several industry mergers have fallen foul of tax rules and antitrust concerns. Yet Abbott's $5.8 bln bid for Alere has so far resisted the diagnostics firm's restatements, product recalls and subpoenas over Medicare billing and overseas sales. It's a deal that needs to die.