Blackstone solar exit plugs into twin deal fads 20 Jul 2015 Stephen Schwarzman’s firm is selling panel-installer Vivint for $2.2 bln after a sizzling IPO last year. Buyer SunEdison will cover part of the 52 pct premium with an asset sale that may pay fat dividends. It will take more than a trendy industry and structure to recoup the price.
Agnellis nudging PartnerRe out of rival’s reach 20 Jul 2015 Exor, the Italian family’s investment vehicle, has a better offer for the Bermudan reinsurer than Axis. Common shareholders would get more money, in cash, and preferred stockholders extra assurances. A last-minute counter by Axis would hurt its and PartnerRe’s investors.
Pearson sale of FT could stick this time 20 Jul 2015 The $16 bln publisher may offload the pink-hued newspaper, according to new reports. The Financial Times looks increasingly out of place in a group focused on U.S. education. The healthy M&A market might encourage potential buyers to bid a price acceptable to Pearson.
Fertilizer deal talks emit whiff of exuberance 20 Jul 2015 U.S. nitrogen giant CF Industries is sizing up $6 bln Dutch rival OCI. A combination could bring tax and other savings. CF got the timing right when it bought rival Terra in 2010. This time, prices are falling and new supplies arriving. The M&A enthusiasm looks excessive.
Defense-minded Lockheed plays strong offense 20 Jul 2015 The U.S. arms supplier has struck a solid deal to buy the Sikorsky helicopter business. A big tax break reduces an already reasonable headline price of $9 bln. Lockheed’s plan to spin off or sell other less profitable units further attacks the problem of a leaner Pentagon.
Samsung win is bittersweet for ruling Lee family 17 Jul 2015 A $9 bln intergroup merger was narrowly passed, despite opposition led by Elliott. That helps the family’s succession planning. But the U.S. activist may fight on. And the spat shows South Korea’s largest conglomerate is vulnerable to restive shareholders as it restructures.
Travel deal treads new path for shell companies 16 Jul 2015 Blank-check vehicles have often brought financial misadventure. The latest quest for success is the acquisition of Lindblad, a National Geographic-linked operator of cruises to the Galapagos and Antarctica. New terms and investors suggest so-called SPACs are worth revisiting.
Macy’s will struggle to resist real estate sale 15 Jul 2015 Activist fund Starboard has bought into the $23 bln U.S. department store chain, earmarking the company’s property holdings as a source of value. Spinning off buildings is a hot trend, and the numbers add up for Macy’s. The long-term risks, though, shouldn’t be discounted.
Gulf investor pays up for Spanish shopping spree 14 Jul 2015 The ex-prime minister of Qatar is paying 1 bln euros, or a steep 57 times historic earnings, for a 10 pct stake in Spain’s largest department store. It values the equity at 10 billion euros. But El Corte Ingles owns prime real estate. The move may be a prelude to an IPO.
Micron would be a less-than-fab deal for China 14 Jul 2015 A state-backed group is reportedly eyeing a record $23 bln bid for the U.S. memory-chip maker. Beijing is already building a standalone semiconductor industry via smaller takeovers. But completing this deal, and getting the most out of the acquired business, will be much harder.
Energy deal treadmill has bounce left in it yet 13 Jul 2015 Marathon Petroleum’s pipeline unit will pay $15.6 bln for gas processor MarkWest. It’s fresh evidence that energy-sector partnerships crave big deals that lower capital costs and boost payouts - despite two prominent rivals’ attempts to pull the plug on the structure.
U.S. bank bosses get greedy in latest merger 13 Jul 2015 The Fed has approved BB&T’s purchase of Susquehanna, one of the industry’s biggest transactions in years. Other lenders may be relieved to see the deal pipeline flow again. The buyer’s top brass, meanwhile, will share an undeserved $2.5 mln bonus, a blot on otherwise good news.
Wreckage of failed German lender HRE offers value 10 Jul 2015 In the midst of the Greek crisis, Germany’s government is pursuing a 1.5 bln euro IPO of Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, a remnant of Hypo Real Estate, which collapsed in 2009. While still hobbled by the past, the lender is recovering. A knockdown price takes legacy issues into account.
Coty’s $12.5 bln P&G deal slaps on too much makeup 9 Jul 2015 The fragrance giant is touting $550 mln of cost cuts from buying its larger rival’s beauty business. But that overstates the financial benefits of a tie-up that will take time and money to consummate. Coty’s once over-enthusiastic investors are at least seeing through the gloss.
Agnellis jump through hoops to woo PartnerRe 7 Jul 2015 Family scion John Elkann is offering his quarry’s preferred shareholders a higher dividend and a pledge to restrict payouts to his own Exor. That should curb fears of Fiat or other group holdings hurting reinsurer PartnerRe’s credit – if investors take Elkann’s word as his bond.
Governance complicates $16 bln German media merger 7 Jul 2015 Publisher Axel Springer is in early merger talks with larger broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. Antitrust hurdles are lower than when they last tried to combine, while synergies could be hefty. But a deal will be a challenge as long as the Springer family insists on keeping control.
Latest pharma roll-up leaves lots of room to grow 7 Jul 2015 Horizon’s $1.75 bln unsolicited offer for U.S. rival Depomed continues the sector’s M&A rave fueled by tax savings and cost cuts. The Irish bidder is a recent entrant on the scene, so its low debt load and small size means it can easily expand. That portends more deals ahead.
Asia’s M&A boom leaves old guard in charge 7 Jul 2015 Regional deals could be worth $1 trln this year. But the bonanza offers less than investors might hope. Backing from states and tycoons makes many companies bid-proof. That means fewer premium bids, less pressure on firms to shape up, and more stitch-ups of minority shareholders.
Aetna’s bitter Humana pill is good long-term care 3 Jul 2015 The two U.S. healthcare insurers struck a $37 bln deal ahead of rivals in a race to consolidate an industry rapidly reshaping under Obamacare. Cost savings will fall short of the premium Aetna is offering. It may be a price worth paying to be first in line with trustbusters.
Potash Corp may have to go too far to get K+S 3 Jul 2015 The Canadian fertiliser giant is willing to bid $10.5 bln for its German peer. It will need to improve its offer and give credible job guarantees to win over the target. But these concessions could become contradictory. A higher price implies Potash will need bigger cost cuts.