SocGen surrender may spark ETF M&A wave 21 Sep 2020 The French bank may sell its Lyxor unit, which manages index-tracking exchange-traded funds. That could give CEO Frederic Oudea over 1 bln euros to absorb Covid-19 losses. Brutal fee pressure and BlackRock’s dominance mean punier rivals will need to scale up or get out too.
Corona Capital: Playboy, Mondelez 21 Sep 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: The owner of perhaps the most famous adult magazine is hoping a SPAC can give it a new lease on life; Mondelez wants to expand its range of healthy snacks – but they’re not always the best money spinners.
Iliad’s Polish jaunt could become an odyssey 21 Sep 2020 The French telecom firm is offering $4.2 bln for Play, the eastern European nation’s top mobile operator. Despite the 39% premium, Chairman Xavier Niel is hardly overpaying. The bigger worry is the cost of completing his target’s journey from mobile upstart to multi-media player.
Euronext gain is LSE loss in flawed Italian sale 18 Sep 2020 The French group is in exclusive talks to buy Borsa Italiana despite submitting a lowball bid. Open meddling by Rome has skewed the London Stock Exchange’s attempts to run an auction. Still, avoiding a state veto and completing its $27 bln Refinitiv deal may justify the discount.
Caixabank gets state boost in $5 bln Spanish union 18 Sep 2020 The Valencia-based lender is buying government-controlled Bankia to create Spain’s largest domestic bank. With cost savings worth more than 3 billion euros, the 20% premium looks small. Taxpayers and regulators are helping CEO Gonzalo Gortázar take it off the public’s hands.
BP’s wind tilt is more steady breeze than gale 18 Sep 2020 The UK oil major’s “green week” yielded a target of 20 GW of renewable energy by 2025. Even with a mooted $5 bln a year in investment, BP would struggle to get there via higher cost offshore wind. That’s probably why CEO Bernard Looney’s blueprint allows for a steadier pace.
Viewsroom: Credit-UBS, Bernard Arnault and Japan 17 Sep 2020 A merger of Credit Suisse and UBS has some merits on paper, but would be bloody in practice, says Liam Proud. Plus, the LVMH billionaire’s impeccably ruthless dealmaking is on full display with the Tiffany takeover. Pete Sweeney and Sharon Lam discuss Japan’s new man at the helm.
Icahn can’t push VW too much on Navistar bid 17 Sep 2020 The U.S. truck company in which the activist holds 17% wants Volkswagen to raise its $4.3 bln bid. Savings potentially worth almost as much mean the automaker run by Herbert Diess can pay more. But falling sales and cash outlays mean shares could fall sharply if the Germans walk.
Toshiba’s chip IPO could short-circuit 17 Sep 2020 Two years after the Japanese company's crown jewel was sold to a Bain-led group, the rebranded Kioxia will list at a $20 bln valuation. It offers a partial exit to the U.S. buyout firm and other backers. But aiming for a premium multiple amid choppy markets may backfire.
TikTok deal rings alarm on M&A reviews 16 Sep 2020 The ByteDance unit hopes to avoid a sale by partnering with Oracle. It hardly amounts to the clean break Donald Trump demanded. The politicking muddies the already challenging process for investments with foreign involvement. It makes cross-border deals that much more difficult.
UBS-Credit Suisse deal would be too clever by half 16 Sep 2020 The former’s Chairman Axel Weber may be mulling a merger with his Swiss rival. The banks’ similarities mean annual savings could exceed $3 bln. Yet capital buffers may rise and wealth clients flee. Closer cooperation on asset management and investment banking makes more sense.
Cox: Bernard Arnault is acting like a spoiled brat 15 Sep 2020 Europe’s richest man had to have Tiffany when times were good and agreed to pay too much for the American jeweller. When Covid-19 hit the fan, LVMH’s boss got buyer’s remorse. Now he's throwing all the toys out of his cashmere-lined crib to get his way. Which he probably will.
Fiat-Peugeot deal rejig removes car merger angst 15 Sep 2020 The Jeep maker’s investors will get about half a jumbo dividend expected via a tie-up with the French group, but more savings and part of Faurecia. The new entity’s balance sheet will now be stronger. And lingering uncertainty about the deal happening should evaporate.
Sewage keeps Parisian banking elite in Hermès ties 15 Sep 2020 Veolia’s hostile approach to rival Suez is providing utility-like returns to some 16 banks and M&A boutiques. Not bad for a 2.9 bln euro bid. But as private equity eyes a potential entrée, the fees may add up to more than wastewater and put an end to a pandemic-induced drought.
Canada peer offers G4S cheeky get-out-of-jail card 14 Sep 2020 BC Partners-owned Garda World may offer 3 bln pounds for the UK prison operator and outsourcer. That’s below the target’s price before Covid-19 closed airports and hit live events. But given its likely slow recovery and patchy track record, shareholders may prefer a surer thing.
Verizon $6 bln deal marks return to wheelhouse 14 Sep 2020 The U.S. telecoms group is buying Tracfone, a prepaid cellphone business. Past media acquisitions like Yahoo have not panned out. Boss Hans Vestberg is steering the $257 bln Verizon back toward what it knows best. It’s a different course from the one chosen by rival AT&T.
Gilead goes all-in to inject excitement 14 Sep 2020 The $82 bln biotech attracted attention with a Covid-19 drug but has been unable to shake its low valuation multiple. Recent M&A hasn’t helped, either. A $21 bln deal to buy Immunomedics is a huge bet on a breast cancer treatment. Failure could even turn Gilead into a target.
Son’s largesse may finally help SoftBank investors 14 Sep 2020 The CEO is selling chip group Arm to Nvidia for little more than he paid in 2016. It’s a poor return for the Japanese group’s investors during a tech boom. Yet if Son decides to take SoftBank private, as news reports suggest, shareholders could cash out while valuations are high.
Nvidia’s $40 bln Arm deal is risky chess move 14 Sep 2020 The chip specialist led by Jensen Huang will buy the UK company from SoftBank in the industry's biggest deal. It gives Nvidia a boost in the data centre business. But Arm's customers and regulators may baulk, and the chunky price tag presupposes huge growth and market share gains.
TikTok-Oracle deal leaves room for surprises 13 Sep 2020 ByteDance has chosen Larry Ellison’s firm as the “tech partner” for its video-app unit but any deal that stops short of a full sale will raise national security worries. With raging anti-China rhetoric and elections, Oracle’s ties to U.S. President Donald Trump are no cure-all.