Healthcare M&A will wear down in 2016 4 Jan 2016 Obamacare and tax avoidance spurred over $550 bln of U.S. deals in 2015. That’s three times more than the previous record. With the obvious combinations already struck, acquisitive companies hurting and trustbusters sharpening their pencils, a repeat will be challenging.
Viacom, Time Warner among 2016 merger wannabes 31 Dec 2015 U.S. media distributors such as cable outfit Comcast have bulked up, and Apple, Amazon and the like have built new streaming models. The giants have 12-digit valuations. With the exception of Disney, traditional content makers are looking puny. They’ll feel the urge to merge.
Fund glut will send Asia’s buyout barons off-piste 30 Dec 2015 Local private equity firms are flush with unspent capital. Though that’s a global issue, it’s more acute in Asia due to a dearth of sizeable takeover targets. Firms will be tempted to overpay for assets, buy businesses from rivals, or drift into unfamiliar kinds of dealmaking.
U.S. chipmaker etches path for Chinese suitors 30 Dec 2015 Beijing is encouraging local semiconductor companies to buy foreign rivals. The threat of American lawmakers intervening is real, but CFIUS also has approved multiple deals. Fairchild is using these trends to its advantage in a $2.4 bln sale. It could become a popular playbook.
Carl Icahn’s Pep Boys fight can go another round 29 Dec 2015 The auto-parts chain is spurning Japan’s Bridgestone in favor of a sweetened $1 bln offer from the raider-turned-activist. Icahn is offering a 52 pct premium. But shareholders seem to be betting that Bridgestone has the financial wherewithal to punch its way to a higher price.
Rail mega-deal holds ticket to runaway M&A train 29 Dec 2015 Canadian Pacific’s $28 bln bid for Norfolk Southern involves an industrial buyer facing low growth and an aggressive investor. The offer is unsolicited, cross-border and legally messy. After a record year of mergers, this one transaction foretells much of what to expect in 2016.
Japan’s outbound M&A wave will sweep up minnows 29 Dec 2015 A growing number of companies are trying to buy their way out of a shrinking home market. While blue-chips like Canon, Nippon Life and Mitsubishi UFJ are still shopping abroad, smaller companies are getting bolder. Watch for less familiar names venturing overseas in 2016.
French telco M&A could be triumph of the smallest 23 Dec 2015 Past attempts to reduce the number of mobile operators have failed. A mooted tie-up between Orange and Bouygues may fare better, though with tough remedies. The beneficiary could be market No. 4 Iliad, which may get the chance to pick up some cheap offcuts.
Japan’s dealmakers rediscover their samurai spirit 23 Dec 2015 Acquisitions by Nomura and Panasonic cap a punchy year for outbound M&A with deals totaling a near-record $79 bln. Overseas purchases have eclipsed domestic ones for a second year. Though assets are getting pricier, Japan’s demographic decline ensures the exodus will continue.
Qatar price for Turkish bank reflects weaknesses 22 Dec 2015 The Gulf state’s largest lender says it will pay National Bank of Greece 2.75 bln euros for Turkey’s Finansbank. A price equivalent to around one times book value looks cheap. But business conditions have worsened. Qatar National Bank may find it hard to generate economic profit.
Chinese corruption drive may thin out M&A bidders 21 Dec 2015 Fosun’s decision to drop its bid for private bank BHF Kleinwort Benson may be unrelated to the brief disappearance of its boss. But corporate predators from China account for 7 pct of global cross-border takeovers. A crackdown on graft could lead to less competition for deals.
Qihoo gets its $9 bln buyout, against the odds 18 Dec 2015 The biggest take-private of a U.S.-listed Chinese company has been finalised despite funding challenges. Tapping retail investors may have helped raise the $6 bln equity cheque. But peers eyeing similar buyouts, before re-listing back home, could find their journey harder.
Breakdown: China’s chip ambitions will jolt rivals 18 Dec 2015 National security and industrial policy are driving tens of billions of dollars of investment into China’s semiconductor industry. M&A by state firms like Tsinghua Unigroup is already rattling foreign competitors and governments. Fights over market share will follow.
Casino mogul secretly bought the wrong newspaper 17 Dec 2015 Sheldon Adelson has emerged as the mystery buyer of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s not clear why the billionaire wants it, beyond solidifying his influence in Nevada. Macau matters more to his business than Sin City – maybe he should have grabbed the South China Morning Post.
AstraZeneca’s M&A flurry clears value hurdle 17 Dec 2015 The UK pharma group has spent $4 bln on a stake in cancer specialist Acerta. Its acquisitions this quarter now total more than $7 bln. The dealmaking reflects new-drug pipeline challenges and sector-wide price pressure. Astra is ratcheting up the risk, but the approach looks sound.
SAB’s dregs might wet a private buyer’s whistle 16 Dec 2015 Spinning off Peroni and Grolsch could raise $1.2 bln for the UK brewer’s new owner AB InBev and ease antitrust approval. Rivals like Carlsberg or Asahi have little to gain from SAB’s cast-offs. A buyout firm or acquisitive family investor, though, could spy a double-digit return.
Pricey fintech deal may fall shy of industry hype 16 Dec 2015 Global Payments is forking over $4.3 bln for rival Heartland Payment Systems. It looks like a conventional tie-up in a hot market already losing steam. Cost savings probably won’t cover the 20 pct premium, meaning the buyer needs to boost sales to justify the steep price.
Dow-DuPont tax acrobatics more clever than cagey 15 Dec 2015 The chemical giants’ $130 bln merger and split should avoid any tax on capital gains. One needed contortion is to show that the shareholder rosters overlap. Dodges like so-called inversions have caught flak lately, but this looks more like a convenient fit with byzantine rules.
Spin-meisters’ $841 mln deal takes cue from clients 15 Dec 2015 The purchase of press release service PR Newswire is the latest in a string of deals for Cision, owner of the Gorkana journalist database. Acquisition “platforms” have already colonized the pharma and consumer sectors. It was only a matter of time before flaks piled on.
Sanofi and Boehringer scratch each others’ backs 15 Dec 2015 The French pharma group is swapping its animal health business for the consumer arm of the German company. The 23 billion euro deal helps both while avoiding the risk of expensive M&A. Boehringer may have a marginally better deal, but Sanofi’s need is probably greater.