AMS has tricky route out of M&A cul-de-sac 15 Oct 2019 The Austrian sensor maker has no good options after its failed bid for lighting group Osram. But German regulators have given it a least-bad exit via a sneaky loophole. It’s not perfect but is better than selling down its Osram stock at a loss or ditching its strategic ambitions.
UK’s $4 bln cyber buyout is pricey but defensible 14 Oct 2019 Thoma Bravo is paying a hefty 37% premium for Sophos, which has battled volatile software renewals. The offer is a high multiple of EBITDA. Yet the cybersecurity firm’s network of distributors should keep rivals out, and give the private equity barons room to grow through M&A.
Some Uniper investors now more equal than others 8 Oct 2019 Finland’s Fortum is buying the 20.5% of the German utility held by activists Knight Vinke and Elliott for 2.3 bln euros. Pushing its own holding above 70% gives Fortum effective control. But it makes second-class citizens of Uniper shareholders that don’t get the same deal.
Cellnex adds UK piece to Europe phone-mast jigsaw 8 Oct 2019 The Spanish firm has snapped up 7,400 British mobile phone towers for 2 bln pounds. At 270,000 pounds per mast the price looks decent compared with other deals. Once Cellnex adds Germany to its map it will have to rely on earnings growth, not acquisitions, to underpin its value.
LSE has done Hong Kong’s bourse a favour 8 Oct 2019 Charles Li, unable to charm the UK exchange into talks, has dropped his bid. It’s a blessing in disguise. Adding cash to sweeten a rejected 30 bln pound offer would stretch finances, and the political backdrop has worsened after a weekend of violence in the Chinese-run territory.
German lighting mess has glimmer at end of tunnel 7 Oct 2019 AMS’s failed bid for Osram leaves the Munich-based group looking friendless and saddled with a blocking stake that might deter private equity. Yet Bain and Advent could afford to offer more without destroying their returns. If they do, it may suit seller, unions and even AMS.
Irish bookie’s $6 bln deal is worth a flutter 2 Oct 2019 Paying a 38% premium usually raises eyebrows. Not so with Paddy Power parent Flutter Entertainment’s all-share acquisition of Toronto-based Stars Group. Cost savings alone almost justify the price. Meanwhile a revenue boost looks credible as legal U.S. sports betting opens up.
BYD could get China’s Tesla back on the road 2 Oct 2019 Nio is sputtering. Making snazzy rides for the world's largest market is burning up cash, and the $1.4 bln electric-car maker is now contemplating more cuts just to keep up. That could tarnish a shiny brand. Pooling with a more experienced peer, like BYD, may be a better option.
Election year could be potent M&A sedative 1 Oct 2019 Drugmakers and healthcare companies made up the lion’s share of deals this year. U.S. presidential elections next year will inject uncertainty, because the sector is so geared to policy shifts. Proposals from Democrats like Elizabeth Warren could dampen animal spirits for years.
Leveraged loan partygoers take a much-needed rest 1 Oct 2019 Growth in risky corporate debt has slowed. Investors worrying about the economy are driving a harder bargain with private equity-owned groups like Shutterfly and Sotheby’s. Yet sovereign bond yields are ultra-low and buyout firms have huge cash piles. The lull may be temporary.
India’s financial fires are starting to rage 1 Oct 2019 An outsize scandal at a Mumbai-based co-operative bank, abetted by poor oversight, has battered confidence. Plummeting share prices, meanwhile, raise questions over the future of private lender Yes Bank, and others. It signals loan pain to come for an already scorched economy.
Osram bidding war triggers flashing red lights 27 Sep 2019 Austrian sensor specialist AMS is upping its bid for the German bulb and LED maker to 4 bln euros. The 17% premium to a formal Bain-Carlyle offer will probably see off the private equity challengers. But it adds another turn to the deal’s already stretched finances.
Exxon Mobil quits North Sea with bags full of gold 27 Sep 2019 The U.S. oil major is shifting capital from high-cost fields to higher-growth areas closer to home. That’s sensible, and a $4.5 bln price tag for its Norwegian operations is a good exit. It’s some consolation for investors antsy about Exxon’s laid-back approach to climate change.
Bain’s Osram bid is insufficiently illuminating 26 Sep 2019 The buyout group and new partner Advent may outdo a 4.3 bln euro cash offer for the German lighting group from Austria’s AMS. Yet the latter’s proposal must lapse before shareholders can see what Bain is bidding - which may be less appetising. Osram should stick to its guns.
Altria-PMI deal could waft back into view 25 Sep 2019 A $187 bln merger between the cigarette companies was stubbed out by turmoil at Juul, in which Altria owns 35%. The market already suggests the vaping upstart is worth less than Altria paid. If it falls more, the logic of a combination could bring PMI back for another pull.
Hong Kong’s LSE bid conceals a shrewd Beijing view 25 Sep 2019 David Schwimmer, CEO of London’s bourse, says China is opening up. HKEX boss Charles Li has partly based a $34 bln pitch for his rival on the opposite. Experience suggests Li's diagnosis on capital controls is right. Whether his prescription is correct is another matter.
Canadian miner gives copper a belated deal patina 25 Sep 2019 China’s biggest producer of the metal may have built a nearly 10% stake in $6 bln First Quantum, and is negotiating to invest in its Zambian assets. The low price of copper, and depressed industry valuations, make it a good time to do more. It puts Rio Tinto on the M&A spot.
Facebook’s brain-computing goals are distant 24 Sep 2019 Mark Zuckerberg’s $533 bln social network is taking a step toward making computers even more omnipresent by purchasing CTRL-labs, a startup tapping nerve signals to control devices. It’s a little creepy, but it’s also a long-term spur for a company mired in near-term problems.
Berlusconi puts Bolloré in a corner at Mediaset 20 Sep 2019 The Italian tycoon has found a clever way to thwart his French rival’s attempts to kill Mediaset’s merger plan. Small fund Peninsula has agreed to put up the almost 1 bln euros needed to buy out Vivendi. The surprise move gives Berlusconi the upper hand in the ongoing struggle.
Hong Kong’s first UK exchange foray clouds second 20 Sep 2019 Its 2012 takeover of the London Metal Exchange promised to preserve the institution and expand in China. Hong Kong’s bourse honoured the first, but Beijing made its own way in commodities. Returns have been poor too. That history informs its $37 bln London Stock Exchange bid.