Capital Calls: Motorcycle M&A 1 Apr 2024 Concise views on global finance: John Malone’s Liberty Media is buying Dorna, the parent of motorcycling racing championship MotoGP, for 4.3 billion euros. It’s hard to see how the media mogul can make the deal work.
Remington deal fight is all about guns’ taboo 1 Apr 2024 Political backlash made gunmakers the orphans of capital markets, leaving the 208-year-old ammo brand to be fought over by unusual suspects: a Czech firm drawing national security scrutiny and a former insider. Investors’ retreat ensured a scrappy end for the military supplier.
Odd Washington deal creates anti-M&A synergy 28 Mar 2024 Senators on opposite ends of the political spectrum are joining forces to stop stock swaps like Capital One’s $35 bln Discover deal from being tax-free. The proposal probably wouldn’t generate much revenue. It does, however, build on the movement against corporate concentration.
Europe’s IPO window opens slowly for buyout barons 28 Mar 2024 CVC floated beauty retailer Douglas, whose shares fell, while EQT received a warmer welcome for skincare group Galderma. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how to interpret the mixed message for private equity groups sitting on $3 trln of unsold assets.
Packaging deal’s US interloper may end up as pulp 27 Mar 2024 New York-listed International Paper proposed merging with $7 bln DS Smith as an alternative to the target’s union with UK peer Mondi. But the intruder’s premium offer crumpled in value as its own share price fell. It now faces the tough choice of either retreating or overpaying.
Capital Calls: Shell and Russia 26 Mar 2024 Concise views on global finance: Russian state giant Gazprom will buy the British energy major’s 27.5% stake in a major Siberian liquefied gas field for the equivalent of $1 bln. Shell is however unlikely to be able to get hold of the cash any time soon.
Commodity trading giants get in cotton M&A spin 26 Mar 2024 Singapore's Olam has bested Louis Dreyfus' offer for one of Australia's largest processors of the fibre. The two suitors have battled Down Under in the past, and Olam looks to have the edge for a second win. But the volatility of earnings in this small deal warrants caution.
British M&A refuseniks are playing a risky game 25 Mar 2024 Insurer Direct Line and retailer Currys both rebuffed offers that came with 40% premiums. One possible rationalisation is that a huge UK stock-market discount invites cheeky bids that require knocking back. But certain British stocks may also not merit greater generosity.
Donald Trump’s paper payout defies financial truth 22 Mar 2024 Shareholders of a blank-check vehicle agreed to buy his nascent social media firm, valuing it at about $5.6 bln. If all goes to plan, the Republican candidate could add 55% of that to his net worth. On any objective measure, though, his Truth Social platform is worth much less.
Energy firms can’t all be better than average 22 Mar 2024 The industry’s big event in Houston saw oil, gas and renewable firms believe in different realities, mixed with resentment of being overlooked and supposed government favoritism. But in a commodity industry, low cost eventually wins, and that is renewable fuel.
Unbundling Paramount is better for almost everyone 22 Mar 2024 Buyout shop Apollo is offering $11 bln for the media empire’s studios, home of “Mission: Impossible.” That’s a complication for Shari Redstone’s push to sell her controlling stake and salvage her family business. Other investors are better served by a breakup’s cash lifeline.
Bank crises proved a mixed blessing for rivals 21 Mar 2024 It’s 12 months since Silicon Valley Bank failed and Credit Suisse collapsed into the arms of UBS. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how bigger banks gorged on these lenders’ carcasses – and how the system’s underlying weaknesses have not gone away.
US Steel tug-of-war threatens to pull it apart 19 Mar 2024 Cleveland-Cliffs has put its rival in a bind, rallying political and labor opposition to a $14 bln agreed sale to Japan’s Nippon while pushing its own questionable takeover bid. No deal at all would be bad news for the target’s union workers. A carve-up might be inevitable.
Reckitt slump offers a cue to slim down 18 Mar 2024 The $41 bln Lysol maker’s shares fell sharply after it lost a US court case. One option for Reckitt Benckiser is to separate the nutrition arm, focus of the legal woes. That would ease the hit to the rest of the group, but also leave a new arm that may yet be worth something.
Swisscom’s Italy foray works best as a first step 15 Mar 2024 The $30 bln Alpine telco predicts 600 mln euros of annual savings from its 8 bln euro Vodafone Italia buy. Yet investors don’t yet seem to be assuming a big windfall. Revamping mobile services in the highly competitive Italian market to drive returns requires further M&A.
Credit Suisse carcass feeds many hungry mouths 15 Mar 2024 In the year since it collapsed, competitors have carved up the Swiss bank’s employees and clients. UBS grabbed most of the spoils, but Santander, Deutsche Bank and others have also moved in. Lasting benefits, though, depend on survivors showing restraint when activity picks up.
AOL-Time Warner architect leaves useful blueprints 14 Mar 2024 Gerald Levin, dead at 84, will forever be linked to the $340 bln M&A disaster, but the strategy behind it was prescient. So was his work championing HBO and pay-TV. Other tech and media CEOs have done value-destructive deals using far weaker rationales, and more are in the works.
UK media muddle is fresh turn-off for foreign cash 14 Mar 2024 Hurried Westminster amendments are set to block an Abu Dhabi-backed bid to buy the Telegraph. It’s OK to stop foreign states owning domestic media, and it may not even upend UAE relations. But making policy on the hoof so flagrantly offers a new reason to swerve UK assets.
Buyout shops take risky exit to bypass deal crash 14 Mar 2024 A lack of M&A and IPOs has left private equity portfolios with $3 trln of companies, many past their sell-by dates. As a result, firms are increasingly cashing out backers while keeping assets. There are guardrails on the structures now, but they could easily spin out of control.
Rescuing a bank is like making a fine soufflé 13 Mar 2024 Steven Mnuchin’s $1 bln swoop on New York Community Bank may be more challenging than his rehabilitation of mortgage lender IndyMac in 2009, but the returns could be ample. Bank rescues have many ingredients. Timing, skill and luck separate those that rise from those that sag.