Deutsche, Commerz get 30-year reunification bonus 3 Jan 2020 New businesses flourished after East Germany rejoined the West in 1990. Their founders are now approaching retirement, and heirs may have no interest in running the family firm. That’ll spark a Mittelstand M&A boom, bringing much-needed fees for the country’s embattled banks.
Viewsroom: Green M&A in 2020 2 Jan 2020 CEOs increasingly talk a good game on climate change, but the financial implications of global warming have played a small role in dealmaking so far. That will change in the year ahead. Also: why the video-game industry should be bracing for a political backlash.
Trade wars are holding cross-border M&A hostage 31 Dec 2019 Global deals exceeded $3.8 trln in 2019, but takeovers where buyer and seller are in different countries fell by a quarter. Geopolitical tensions make any big transaction a potential target. Spats between the United States, China and the EU look set to keep weighing on activity.
BlackRock is Wall Street’s object of fantasy M&A 23 Dec 2019 Investment banks are paid to be creative by concocting deals that help clients meet their strategic imperatives. But financiers like Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, too, could use some of their own advice. The $76 bln investment behemoth might one day play into their pitchbooks.
Asia Pacific is primed for its next 11-digit LBO 23 Dec 2019 Over $250 bln of private equity money is sloshing around the region, as a new KKR fund looks set to exceed its flagship U.S. one. Cheap debt helps put another Toshiba-like deal in the frame. Dentsu and Haier fit the buyout profile. Even whoppers like Woolworths could be targeted.
T-Mobile Sprint antitrust defense has a hole in it 20 Dec 2019 America’s No. 3 and No. 4 telecom firms are fighting state regulators to keep their $26 bln deal on track. Federal watchdogs want to preserve competition by making the companies help Dish build a new fourth mobile carrier. That only works if Dish is up to the job. It may not be.
UK $7 bln food fight’s final course: indigestion 20 Dec 2019 Takeaway.com’s Jitse Groen upped his all-share bid for Just Eat, almost certainly seeing off rival cash bidder Prosus. Yet the likely return on his splurge looks low. And investors accepting his offer are betting that the new group will trade on an overcooked valuation multiple.
Payments M&A is timely bet on Italy’s cash purge 20 Dec 2019 Months after listing, Italian leader Nexi has spent 1 bln euros on Intesa’s merchant acquiring business. Buying state-backed peer SIA to forge a 13 bln euro European champion could be next. Bulking up while Rome is pushing measures to curb the use of banknotes makes sense.
ChemChina’s fortunes rest on Syngenta listing 20 Dec 2019 The state chemicals giant wants to raise $10 bln ahead of a mooted flotation of the Swiss firm it bought in 2016. Boss Frank Ning may settle for a lower valuation, Reuters reports. But the funds will help him pay down big debts, and pave the way for a merger with rival Sinochem.
Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey’s heroic year ahead 19 Dec 2019 From banning political ads to developing cryptocurrency plans, the CEO of Twitter and Square has been politically more astute than rivals like Facebook. That sets him up for a good 2020. Also: the different ways that shareholders, the Fed and M&A bankers will tackle climate risk.
M&A bankers will turn climate risk into clients 19 Dec 2019 The financial impact of global warming is one of the biggest strategic issues CEOs face, yet it plays a small role in dealmaking. That might change in 2020 as shifting regulation and consumer habits start to affect the bottom line, giving climate-conscious advisers an edge.
Japan’s buyout teams face endurance challenge 19 Dec 2019 Industrial group Showa Denko is buying Hitachi’s chemical arm for $9 bln, disappointing private equity suitors like Bain and Carlyle. Firms are raising record sums in the hope that corporate reforms unleash a wave of dealmaking. Flush with cash, Japan Inc is crashing the party.
Lenovo founder’s M&A manual is missing an update 19 Dec 2019 Liu Chuanzhi will retire as head of Legend Holdings, the $8 bln PC-maker’s parent. His 2005 purchase of an IBM unit was one of the best examples of a Chinese firm building a global brand through foreign deals. That playbook looks more like an exception to today’s hostile rule.
Peugeot and Fiat hit the road in a low gear 18 Dec 2019 PSA and FCA are to create the world’s fourth-largest carmaker. But with investors yet to buy into the promise of 3.7 bln euros of annual savings, a deal was the easy part. Peugeot boss Carlos Tavares still has to work his integrational magic to get the market on side.
German listings breakup puts LBO shop in fast lane 18 Dec 2019 Hellman & Friedman paid 3 bln euros for the car sales division of classifieds group Scout24. It’s a rich price, but the unit’s racy growth means the buyout fund should make a healthy return. A higher exposure to risky property leaves the seller’s investors with a bumpier ride.
The hottest new car model is a Daimler-BMW deal 18 Dec 2019 The German giants want to save a combined 13 bln euros to fund the pricey transition to electric cars. But crunching together could yield synergies worth more than three times that. The Fiat-Peugeot playbook will be scrutinised heavily in Stuttgart and Munich in the year ahead.
Cineworld Canada deal has makings of a good sequel 16 Dec 2019 The UK cinema chain is buying Toronto-based Cineplex for $2.1 bln, its second deal in as many years. More debt-driven M&A looks scary after a dreary year at the box office. But the returns are reasonable, and the target’s high market share should limit the financial chills.
DuPont’s latest reinvention risks deal fatigue 16 Dec 2019 The $26 bln sale of its nutrition unit looks smart on paper. Yet DuPont has been reworking itself for four years, with no real boost for shareholders. Buyer IFF is still digesting another purchase. And closing is over a year away. Even the right deal can be too much of a grind.
DuPont comes out smelling of roses in $45 bln deal 16 Dec 2019 Executive Chairman Ed Breen is merging his nutrition and biosciences business into International Flavors & Fragrances. He has secured a premium valuation, cash sweetener and a tax-free transfer for DuPont shareholders. IFF gets little besides the dubious benefits of scale.
LVMH’s Tiffany swoop will trigger bling reprisal 13 Dec 2019 Bernard Arnault’s $230 bln luxury giant is racing ahead of its peers. But they won’t stand still. Kering will use M&A to cure its Gucci habit. Cartier-owner Richemont offers a better fit than possible target Moncler, provided the two can solve significant governance hurdles.