GE stuck under long First Solar shadow 7 Aug 2013 The conglomerate swapped solar technology for $82 mln of shares in the panel maker, just as First Solar’s earnings sent a months-long stock price surge into reverse. GE can’t sell for three years, so it may have to look on as its once high-flying partner loses out to rivals.
Wash Post shows NY Times way to trophy status 5 Aug 2013 The $250 mln purchase of the famed D.C. daily by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos confirms what investors already knew. U.S. newspapers are no longer businesses – they’re toys for today’s plutocrats. The deal offers a template for the last of a breed, the Times’ Sulzberger family.
Apax shows how a clean leveraged buyout works 5 Aug 2013 The private equity firm is selling insurance broker Hub in a $4.4 bln deal for a tidy profit six years after taking it private. Apax used a big slug of equity and doubled EBITDA without siphoning off any special payouts for itself. Over to Hellman & Friedman to repeat the feat.
Flawed Dell compromise saves faces all round 2 Aug 2013 Letting the $24 bln buyout fade away would have hurt most shareholders, the board and the founder. But the PC maker’s worsening prospects left little room. A 2 pct hike in the offer price in return for a tweaked voting procedure won’t delight anyone but should seal the deal.
Boutiques, bulge bracket hit the other’s weak spot 2 Aug 2013 Moelis and Rothschild scooped the big bragging rights to this week’s $35 bln Publicis-Omnicom deal. But BofA, Morgan Stanley and others can at least feast on the bigger payday financing the $2.5 bln Saks takeover. That’s money the boutiques are leaving on the table – for now.
Mad Men bring the negative campaign to M&A 2 Aug 2013 WPP boss Martin Sorrell says Publicis-Omnicom is a lopsided merger that will lose staff and clients. Publicis’ CEO deplores “anxious” rivals. The unusual public sniping is entertaining. But as in advertising, that’s not really the point. Both sides have something to sell.
Indonesia biggest loser from bank merger flop 1 Aug 2013 After more than a year in limbo, DBS has scrapped a $7.2 bln bid for Indonesia’s Danamon. The retreat is frustrating for the Singaporean lender and for sovereign fund Temasek, which has stakes in both banks. But the main casualty is Indonesia’s appeal to foreign investors.
U.S. hospital M&A treats symptom not disease 30 Jul 2013 HMA agreed to sell itself for $3.9 bln at an odd moment. Shareholders are set to vote on whether to oust the board, the CEO is decamping for a Mormon mission and government scrutiny of its practices is growing. The deal looks hasty and may leave money on the operating table.
WPP can sit out this bout of adland M&A 29 Jul 2013 A merged Publicis Omnicom would overtake the UK group as the largest advertiser. That must gall WPP boss Martin Sorrell. But he could poach clients, and charge more in a consolidated market. The benefits of gatecrashing this deal, or finding a consolation prize, look dubious.
Elan acquisition contains possible side effect 29 Jul 2013 Over-the-counter drugmaker Perrigo isn’t a natural buyer for the Irish biotech. Elan is largely a shell company with cash and royalty rights to a blockbuster treatment. Tax savings dominate the logic of the $8.6 bln deal. Relying on a practice under growing scrutiny is risky.
"Equality" in Big Ad merger may be hard to sustain 29 Jul 2013 Publicis and Omnicom have formed a neat merger of equals, with co-CEOs, a balanced board, parallel listings and head offices. As a combination of autonomous units, no single culture can dominate. Day one will be fine. There is still a risk that paralysis or conflict comes later.
Ad men’s $35 bln bet: size matters in digital age 28 Jul 2013 Publicis and Omnicom are merging to create the world’s largest advertising group. Cost savings look modest. Some clients could defect. But this is a way to adapt to the digital revolution: the Franco-U.S. duo will be better equipped to stand up to giants like Facebook and Google.
Vivendi compromises to get shot of Activision 26 Jul 2013 The French conglomerate is selling most of its stake in the video games maker for $8.2 bln. With this and the sale of Maroc Telecom, Vivendi’s promised reinvention is finally underway. But in neither case do its shareholders get the premium that usually comes with ceding control.
Lazard shows M&A rankings have few clothes 25 Jul 2013 The Wall Street firm ended this year’s first half in ninth place for its share of completed deals, yet it was in the top five for revenue. Business mix explains some discrepancies like this. Others result from rival banks grabbing credit even when they haven’t done much work.
Axel Springer gets top euros for dead trees 25 Jul 2013 It’s easy to see why Germany’s largest publisher wanted to sell a third of a declining domestic print business. It speeds up the move to digital. It’s harder to know why a buyer was willing to pay 920 mln euros, 9.7 times 2012 EBITDA. Springer shareholders should be happy.
Carlos Slim needs more than pique to stop KPN 24 Jul 2013 The biggest investor in the Dutch telco has failed to bless its $11 bln German selloff. That’s awkward. Whether strategic or financial, the depth of the Mexican mogul’s misgivings is unclear. Still, blocking the sale would be hard unless Slim can offer a sound alternative deal.
Michael Dell tries to crush passive resistance 24 Jul 2013 The minuscule increase in price for his eponymous computer company won’t win many shareholder votes. But he and backer Silver Lake want the board to stop treating abstentions as rejections. If adopted, investors wanting to scupper Dell’s buyout would have to vote against it.
Vivendi underwhelms with $5.5 bln Maroc telco sale 23 Jul 2013 The French conglomerate will forsake a control premium in the sale of its 53 pct stake in Maroc Telecom to UAE operator Etisalat, which is back on the acquisition path. The bright side for shareholders is that Vivendi has taken the first step in its overdue transformation.
KPN’s 8.1 bln euro German retreat is at full value 23 Jul 2013 Telefonica of Spain is buying the Dutch group’s German unit, E-Plus, in a cash and shares deal equating to 9 times EBITDA. That is a big multiple by the depressed standards of European mobile. KPN is getting a large slice of the deal’s hefty synergies.
Linking German arms of Telefonica and KPN is sound 22 Jul 2013 Merging the German units of the Spanish and Dutch mobile giants would create a 16 bln euro business, yielding 4 bln euros of synergies. The market is tough, a spectrum auction looms, and neither parent is financially strong. Provided Brussels isn’t too harsh, it makes good sense.