E-commerce giant Alibaba invests £2.97bn in Suning as global mergers and acquisitions hit new high August 10, 2015 Alibaba’s announcement it would be investing £2.97bn in a 20 per cent stake in retail giant Suning marks the Chinese e-commerce giant’s biggest acquisition ever. The global deal bonanza continues upwards. With global M&A recently hitting a post-downturn high, Alibaba’s record deal came just hours after Warren Buffett confirmed a record $37bn deal as his [...]
Shire share price rises as investors become optimistic about Baxalta hostile takeover bid August 10, 2015 Shares in pharma giant Shire recovered this morning after its $30bn (£19bn) hostile bid to take over US biotech company Baxalta. Read more: Shire share price drops following £19bn hostile takeover bid to Baxalta The offer by the UK company, which amounts to $45.23 per Baxalta share, followed an unsuccessful attempt to get Baxalta [...]
Shire share price drops following £19bn hostile takeover bid to Baxalta August 10, 2015 London-listed pharma giant Shire has made a hostile approach for US rival Baxalta. In a statement, the UK company offered $45.23 per Baxalta share, amounting to a deal worth an estimated $30bn (£19bn). Baxalta, a biotech business focused on developing treatments for rare diseases, was spun-out of Baxter International last month. Shire [...]
Shire ramps up bid to win over Baxalta board August 10, 2015 The board of Baxalta will come under renewed pressure to open takeover negotiations this week, following early campaigning by Shire to promote its $30bn (£19.4bn) offer for the US firm. However, Baxalta insists that it will not accept this offer, with a company source describing the bid price as being “nowhere near” the value [...]
Deal bonanza as global mergers and acquisitions hit post-downturn high August 7, 2015 For deal junkies, it's hardly surprising – but now new figures have proved that the summer lull failed to materialise in July, with global M&A volume hitting $549.7bn, the highest figure since the global financial crisis. The figures, by Dealogic, showed deals peaked at $559.2bn – but that was in April 2007, shortly before the [...]
RSA share price soars 12 per cent after Zurich confirms takeover talks August 3, 2015 Shares in London-listed RSA Insurance Group soared per cent this morning as Swiss rival Zurich confirmed it was considering a takeover bid. Zurich is reportedly mulling a bid in excess of £5.5bn for the business as new rules come in governing how much money insurers must set aside to protect against potential market shocks. [...]
RSA hoping for better offer as bidders Zurich, Axa and Aviva circle August 2, 2015 Insurer RSA is hoping to attract a better offer than Zurich’s potential bid, revealed last week, with several other companies believed to be interested in entering the race for the troubled British firm. City analysts expect Zurich to make an offer of around 550p per share. That price would provide investors with a premium [...]
Tyrrells buys Yarra Valley Snack Foods for global growth August 2, 2015 Upmarket crisps maker Tyrrells is speeding up its global expansion after announcing its acquisition of Melbourne-based organic snacks company Yarra Valley Snack Foods. Tyrrells launched a range of products in Australian supermarket Coles in April last year, and says the purchase will “accelerate the international growth”. It reported a net worth of over £26m last [...]
Stephen Hester’s role at risk as offer for RSA looks likely August 2, 2015 RSA boss Stephen Hester was given a hero’s welcome when he was appointed to lead the embattled insurer just over 18 months ago. However, following last week’s revelation that Zurich is mulling an offer for the group, he could be set to leave before finishing what he has started. The former Royal Bank of [...]
Intercontinental profits rise as merger talks heat up July 31, 2015 INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) posted a rise in first half sales and profits yesterday as rumours of a merger between the hotelier and Starwood Hotels & Resorts re-emerged. The company, which denied the takeover talks, reported a nine per cent rise in operating profits to $337m (£216m) while revenue per available room increased by 5.1 [...]