ReportWire

Tag: Acquisitions/Mergers

  • Dassault Aviation Rises After Ukraine Agrees to Buy 100 Rafale Fighter Jets

    Ukraine agreed to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets as part of a larger military equipment deal that triggered a jump in the share price of the French aerospace and defense manufacturer Dassault Aviation AM 7.44%increase; green up pointing triangle.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he had signed a letter of intent to acquire 100 Rafale F4 fighter jets by 2035, SAMP/T air defense systems, radars, air-to-air-missiles and aerial bombs from France.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Cristina Gallardo

    Source link

  • Trump Administration Blocks Gunvor Takeover of Russian Oil Assets

    Gunvor pulled its offer to buy the international assets of sanctioned Russian oil producer Lukoil after the U.S. Treasury Department said it opposed the deal and called the Swiss commodities trader the “Kremlin’s puppet.”

    The move signals the Trump administration is taking a hard-line approach in its recently launched effort to use economic pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Georgi Kantchev

    Source link

  • Louvre Skimped on Security to Spend on Art in Years Before Heist, Says Auditor

    PARIS—France’s state auditor issued a searing assessment of the Louvre Museum’s finances on Thursday, alleging its management prioritized the acquisition of new artworks over the maintenance and security of its existing collection.

    The auditor released its 153-page report after a team of thieves used low-tech methods to break into the museum last month and steal France’s crown jewels, drawing attention to the Louvre’s porous security.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Noemie Bisserbe

    Source link

  • Comerica Stock Soars. Fifth Third to Buy Peer for $10.9 Billion as Bank Mergers Heat Up.

    Fifth Third Buys Comerica for $10.9B in Year’s Biggest Bank Deal. Which Firms Might Be Next.

    Source link

  • Etsy’s stock is having its best day in seven months after Elliott takes ‘sizable’ stake

    Etsy’s stock is having its best day in seven months after Elliott takes ‘sizable’ stake


    Investors bought up shares of Etsy Inc. on Thursday after the online crafts marketplace added to its board of directors a partner of hedge fund Elliott Investment Management L.P., which recently acquired a “sizable” stake in the company.

    Etsy
    ETSY,
    +9.31%
    said Marc Steinberg, who is responsible for public- and private-equity investments at Elliott, has been appointed to the board, effective Feb. 5, and will also join the board’s audit committee.

    “Etsy has a highly differentiated position in the e-commerce landscape and a uniquely attractive business model, supported by a distinctive and engaged community,” Steinberg said. “We became a sizable investor in Etsy and I am joining its board because I believe there is an opportunity for significant value creation.”

    Etsy’s stock shot up 8% in afternoon trading, to pare earlier gains of as much as 14.2%. The stock was headed for its best one-day gain since it climbed 9.2% on July 11.

    Elliott’s stake was acquired in recent months, as the fund’s disclosure of equity holdings through the third quarter did not list Etsy shares.

    “Marc’s appointment reflects our ongoing commitment to enhance the perspectives and expertise on the Etsy Board,” said Etsy Chairman Fred Wilson. “We look forward to benefiting from his voice in the boardroom as a seasoned and experienced investor as we continue our journey of creating a leading global e-commerce platform.”

    Etsy now has 10 board members.

    Etsy’s stock has run up 18.6% over the past three months, but has tumbled 48.5% over the past 12 months. That’s compared with the S&P 500 index’s
    SPX
    18.7% rally over the past year.

    Read (December 2023): Etsy to cut 11% of staff as CEO says company is on ‘unsustainable trajectory’

    At an investor conference in December, Chief Executive Josh Silverman said business has slowed since the post-pandemic boom, as people have “had enough of buying things” and are now spending primarily on eating out and travel. Inflation and the loss of government subsidies was also weighing on spending.

    Still, Silverman said, Etsy is now about two and a half times bigger than it was before the pandemic, and the company has more active buyers than it did at the peak of the pandemic.



    Source link

  • Macy’s rejects $5.8 billion takeover bid; Arkhouse threatens to go to shareholders

    Macy’s rejects $5.8 billion takeover bid; Arkhouse threatens to go to shareholders

    Macy’s Inc. said Sunday it has rejected an unsolicited bid by Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management to take the department-store chain private in a $5.8 billion deal, citing concerns over financing.

    In a statement, Macy’s
    M,
    -1.67%
    said Arkhouse and Brigade failed to address the board’s concerns over their ability to finance the deal, and found a “lack of compelling value in their non-binding proposal.”

    “Following careful consideration and efforts to gather additional information from Arkhouse and Brigade, the board determined that Arkhouse and Brigade’s proposal is not actionable and that it fails to provide compelling value to Macy’s, Inc. shareholders,” Macy’s Chief Executive Jeff Gennette said in a statement. “We continue to be open to opportunities that are in the best interests of the company and all of our shareholders.”

    Earlier Sunday, Arkhouse confirmed that it and Brigade had submitted a proposal to buy Macy’s for $21 a share on Dec. 1, and threatened to bring the matter directly to Macy’s shareholders if talks do not pick up this week. “We see the potential for a meaningful increase to our original proposal if we are granted access to the necessary due diligence,” Arkhouse added.

    Also read: Macy’s real estate alone is worth nearly $3 billion more than investors’ bid, these analysts say

    Macy’s shares jumped after the buyout bid was first reported in December, but have since lost some of those gains.

    Last week, Macy’s said it will lay off 13% of its corporate staff — roughly 2,350 jobs — and close five stores in an effort to cut costs.

    Macy’s stock is down about 23% over the past 12 months, compared to the S&P 500’s
    SPX
    22% gain.

    Source link

  • JetBlue, Spirit Airlines appeal court ruling blocking their proposed merger

    JetBlue, Spirit Airlines appeal court ruling blocking their proposed merger

    JetBlue Airways Corp. and Spirit Airlines Inc. said late Friday that they have appealed a court ruling that earlier this week blocked their planned merger.

    JetBlue
    JBLU,
    -1.19%
    and Spirit
    SAVE,
    +17.19%
    announced the appeal in a terse press release that provided no more details, adding only that the process is “consistent with the requirements of the merger agreement.”

    Wall Street was split on whether the airlines would be legally obliged to appeal the Tuesday ruling, which sided with the Justice Department in saying that a merger between low-cost JetBlue and ultra-low-cost Spirit would hurt competition.

    Shares of Spirit rallied 12% after hours Friday, while JetBlue shares fell nearly 2%. Analysts at JP Morgan said this week that the ruling freed JetBlue from a “costly merger.”

    Earlier Friday, Spirit sought to reassure investors about its liquidity and issued an upbeat fourth-quarter revenue guidance. Spirit has amassed about $5.5 billion in debt, and is reportedly seeking advisers to help restructure it.

    The likelihood of Spirit attracting a new merger or takeover bid is considered low without a debt restructuring. Frontier Group Holdings Inc.
    ULCC,
    -2.13%
    and JetBlue competed for Spirit in 2022, with Frontier ultimately bowing out in July of that year.

    Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth said in a note earlier Friday that it was “clear to us that Spirit is pressing JetBlue to appeal the antitrust ruling, but we continue to believe the chances of success are low.”

    Syth has estimated that an appeal would take some four to five months.

    Shares of Spirit have lost 67% in the past 12 months, while shares of JetBlue are down 41%. The U.S. Global Jets ETF
    JETS
    has lost 9% in the same period. Those losses contrast with gains of 24% for the S&P 500 index
    SPX.

    Source link

  • iRobot Stock Plunges as Its Takeover by Amazon Likely Is Dead

    iRobot Stock Plunges as Its Takeover by Amazon Likely Is Dead

    Amazon’s $1.4 billion deal for Roomba-maker iRobot looks set to be blocked by European Union antitrust authorities. It’s only a small setback for the e-commerce giant but it’s a reminder that regulators are still skeptical over acquisitions made by big technology companies.

    Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription.

    View Options
    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • Spirit Airlines Stock Gets a Downgrade. It’s the Least of the Carrier’s Problems.

    Spirit Airlines Stock Gets a Downgrade. It’s the Least of the Carrier’s Problems.

    Spirit Airlines stock was falling again Thursday as the ultra-low-cost carrier’s predicament worsened.

    Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription.

    View Options
    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • Hewlett Packard Enterprises to buy Juniper Networks in $14 billion deal

    Hewlett Packard Enterprises to buy Juniper Networks in $14 billion deal

    In an effort to keep up in the accelerating AI arms race, cloud-services provider Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. on Tuesday agreed to buy Juniper Networks, Inc. in a deal worth around $14 billion.

    Under the terms of the deal, Hewlett Packard Enterprises
    HPE,
    -8.92%
    will acquire Juniper
    JNPR,
    +21.81%
    — which makes communications-networking products and also has an AI segment called Mist AI — for $40 a share. The companies expect the deal to close late this year or in early 2025.

    “The acquisition is expected to double HPE’s networking business, creating a new networking leader with a comprehensive portfolio that presents customers and partners with a compelling new choice to drive business value,” the companies said in a release.

    After the deal is completed, Juniper Chief Executive Rami Rahim will lead the combined HPE networking business, and report to HPE CEO Antonio Neri.

    “This transaction will strengthen HPE’s position at the nexus of accelerating macro-AI trends, expand our total addressable market, and drive further innovation for customers as we help bridge the AI-native and cloud-native worlds, while also generating significant value for shareholders,” Neri said in a statement.

    HPE said the addition of Juniper will boost margins and result in up to $450 million in annual cost savings within three years of the deal’s completion, as well as accelerate growth. HPE’s networking segment was the company’s top source of quarterly earnings before taxes, $401 million, on $1.4 billion in revenue.

    HPE’s deeper plunge into networking closes a chapter of sorts. Then-Hewlett-Packard Co. acquired Aruba Networks for about $3 billion in March 2015, months before Silicon Valley’s original garage startup split in half, resulting in the formation of HPE, which sells servers and other equipment for data centers, and HP Inc.
    HPQ,
    -2.71%    ,
    which makes PCs and printers.

    The Wall Street Journal reported the possibility of a deal on Monday, sending shares of Juniper higher.

    Shares of Juniper
    JNPR,
    +21.81%
    rose 0.5% after hours, after jumping 21.8% during regular trading hours. Hewlett Packard
    HPE,
    -8.92%
    shares were down 0.4% after hours, after falling 8.9% during the day.

    As of Tuesday’s close, Juniper had a market cap of $9.64 billion, while HPE’s was $23.04 billion.

    The companies hope the deal can provide a much-needed jolt after a series of lackluster quarterly earnings. Juniper shares have gained 15.7% over the past 12 months, while HPE shares are down 5.4% over that span. The S&P 500
    SPX,
    in comparison, is up about 21.4% over the past year.

    For decades, Juniper has lagged rival Cisco Systems Inc.
    CSCO,
    -1.09%
    in the networking-equipment market. In its most recent quarter, Juniper reported net income of $76 million on revenue of $1.4 billion, down 1% from the same quarter a year earlier.

    Source link

  • WSJ News Exclusive | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Near Deal to Buy Juniper Networks

    WSJ News Exclusive | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Near Deal to Buy Juniper Networks

    Updated Jan. 8, 2024 6:31 pm ET

    Hewlett Packard Enterprise is in advanced talks to buy Juniper Networks for about $13 billion, in a bid to better position the nearly 100-year-old technology company in the era of artificial intelligence. 

    A deal between the two companies could be announced as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter, assuming the talks don’t fall apart. 

    Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Source link

  • Bristol Myers to Acquire RayzeBio in Deal Valued at $4.1 Billion

    Bristol Myers to Acquire RayzeBio in Deal Valued at $4.1 Billion

    Bristol Myers Squibb will acquire radiopharmaceutical therapeutics company RayzeBio for $62.50 a share in cash.

    Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription.

    View Options
    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • Synopsys and Ansys in talks to merge: report

    Synopsys and Ansys in talks to merge: report

    Shares of Ansys Inc. soared 18% in trading Friday on reports the company is in discussions to be acquired by Synopsys Inc. in a deal that would create a design-software behemoth.

    The potential deal would kick off 2024 with a mega-merger, even as the Federal Trade Commission attempts to crack down on such transactions. Talks remain fluid and a third party might still emerge as a possible suitor of Ansys, according to a Wall Street Journal report, which cited people familiar with the situation.

    Ansys
    ANSS,
    +18.08%    ,
    which has a market value of nearly $26.3 billion, makes software that helps predict how products in aerospace, healthcare and automotive applications will work in the real world. A deal could be struck early in 2024, according to people familiar with the matter. Ansys reported revenue of $2.1 billion in 2022.

    Synopsys
    SNPS,
    -6.34%    ,
    with a market value of $85.1 billion, makes software that engineers use to design and test silicon chips used in smartphones, self-driving cars and other forms of artificial intelligence. Its stock has climbed 65% this year as investors have hopped on the AI bandwagon boom. Shares of Synopsys dipped 6% in late trading Friday.

    Synopsys’s customers include Nvidia Corp.
    NVDA,
    -0.33%    ,
    Intel Corp.
    INTC,
    +1.95%
    and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
    AMD,
    -0.22%    .

    Representatives from Synopsys and Ansys were not immediately available for comment.

    Should the companies strike a merger, it would offer a fresh test for the FTC and its chair, Lina Khan, who have opposed large tech mergers and acquisitions. The agency unsuccessfully sued Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
    META,
    -0.20%
    in its pursuit of VR developer Within, as well as Microsoft Corp.’s
    MSFT,
    +0.28%
    $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc.

    Source link

  • U.S. Steel Stock Soars on $14.9 Billion Acquisition by Nippon Steel

    U.S. Steel Stock Soars on $14.9 Billion Acquisition by Nippon Steel

    U.S. Steel Stock Soars on $14.9 Billion Acquisition by Nippon Steel

    Source link

  • Activision Blizzard to pay $55 million to settle California civil-rights lawsuit

    Activision Blizzard to pay $55 million to settle California civil-rights lawsuit

    Videogame maker Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay nearly $55 million to settle a California civil-rights lawsuit brought over complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and pay disparities by women employees that helped trigger the company’s acquisition by Microsoft.

    The settlement, announced by the California Civil Rights Department on Friday evening, resolves the lawsuit filed against the “Call of Duty” videogame studio by the agency in 2021 over claims that it “discriminated against women at the company, including by denying promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for doing substantially similar work,” CRD said.

    The agreement, subject to court approval, will see Activision pay nearly $46 million into a settlement fund dedicated to compensating women employees and contract workers at the company, plus more than $9 million in attorneys’ fees and costs. Additionally, Activision will take steps “to help ensure fair pay and promotion practices at the company,” including retaining an independent consultant to evaluate its compensation and promotion policies.

    Yet the settlement also sees CRD withdraw its initial claims alleging a culture of widespread, systemic workplace sexual harassment at Activision, according to a copy of the agreement provided to MarketWatch. The document notes that the department is filing an amended complaint that removes the sexual-harassment allegations against the company and focuses on the gender-based pay and promotion claims.

    CRD made no note of its prior sexual-harassment claims against Activision in its announcement Friday. A spokesperson for the department said the statement “largely speaks for itself with respect to the historic nature of this more than $50 million settlement agreement, which will bring direct relief and compensation to women who were harmed by the company’s discriminatory practices.

    Representatives for Activision declined to comment.

    The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the settlement Friday.

    The California agency’s complaint was one of several high-profile investigations by both state and federal regulators in recent years into alleged workplace misconduct at Activision and failures by its leadership to respond appropriately. 

    While Activision repeatedly denied the allegations, they ramped up pressure on the Santa Monica, Calif.-based company and its CEO, Bobby Kotick, and eventually led to a $68.7 billion takeover bid by Microsoft
    MSFT,
    +1.31%
    in January 2022. The acquisition closed this October after receiving approval by U.K. and E.U. antitrust regulators, though the U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to challenge the deal in court. Kotick is expected to leave the company, which he led for more than three decades, at the end of this year.

    The settlement would be the second-largest ever for the California Civil Rights Department, according to the Journal, after its $100 million agreement with another Los Angeles-area videogame developer, Riot Games, to resolve gender-discrimination allegations in 2021. The agency had initially sought a much-larger settlement with Activision, the publication reported, citing how the state had estimated the company’s liability at nearly $1 billion to some 2,500 employees with potential claims.

    Source link

  • WSJ News Exclusive | Cigna Calls Off Humana Pursuit, Plans Big Stock Buyback

    WSJ News Exclusive | Cigna Calls Off Humana Pursuit, Plans Big Stock Buyback

    Updated Dec. 10, 2023 4:47 pm ET

    Cigna Group abandoned its pursuit of a tie-up with Humana after shareholders balked at a deal that would have created a roughly $140 billion giant in the health-insurance industry.

    The companies couldn’t come to agreement on price and other financial terms, according to people familiar with the matter. In the near term, Cigna is turning its focus toward smaller, so-called bolt-on, acquisitions.

    Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Source link

  • The Cost of Doing Business With China? A $40,000 Dinner With Xi Jinping Might Be Just the Start

    The Cost of Doing Business With China? A $40,000 Dinner With Xi Jinping Might Be Just the Start

    Updated Nov. 28, 2023 12:54 am ET

    Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan shelled out $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinping’s table for the Chinese leader’s recent dinner in San Francisco with the heads of American businesses. Tan had a lot more at stake—a $69 billion deal he was waiting on China to approve.

    For months, Chinese regulators wouldn’t clear the U.S. chipmaker’s bid to buy enterprise software developer VMware, leading Broadcom to put off its date for completion of the deal—first announced in May 2022—three times. Beijing had held up previous mergers involving U.S. companies. Intel’s planned acquisition of Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor, for more than $5 billion, was scuttled in August after Chinese regulators failed to approve it.

    Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Source link

  • Bayer CEO Says Breakup Wouldn’t Fix All of the Company’s Ills

    Bayer CEO Says Breakup Wouldn’t Fix All of the Company’s Ills

    BERLIN—Bayer Chief Executive Bill Anderson said the company would bounce back quickly from a recent spate of bad news, and warned that a breakup of the pharmaceutical and agricultural company was no universal cure for its ailments.

    A stream of negative news has rekindled calls from investors for Bayer to unlock value by spinning off its units into separate businesses. But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, Anderson said the company couldn’t be distracted from the tough restructuring to fix the businesses.

    Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Source link

  • Walmart, Nvidia, Novo Nordisk, Vista Outdoor, GM, and More Stock Market Movers

    Walmart, Nvidia, Novo Nordisk, Vista Outdoor, GM, and More Stock Market Movers

    Stock futures pointed higher Friday as Wall Street returned for a shortened trading session following the Thanksgiving holiday. Retailers will be in focus on Black Friday, which marks the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season.

    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • UBS Issues $3.5B in AT1 Bonds in First Issuance Since Credit Suisse Acquisition

    UBS Issues $3.5B in AT1 Bonds in First Issuance Since Credit Suisse Acquisition

    By Miriam Mukuru

    UBS Group issues $3.5 billion in Additional Tier 1 bonds in the first issuance since the acquisition of Credit Suisse.
    

    It is comprised of two tranches of $1.75 billion of 9.25% perpetual notes redeemable at the option of UBS after five years and $1.75 billion of 9.25% perpetual notes redeemable after 10 years.
    

    

    “Each issue is a direct, unsecured and subordinated obligation of UBS Group AG,” it said.
    

    “The notes provide that, following approval of a minimum amount of conversion capital by UBS Group AG’s shareholders, upon occurrence of a trigger event or a viability event, the notes will be converted into UBS Group AG ordinary shares rather than be subject to write-down,” UBS added.
    

    Write to Miriam Mukuru at miriam.mukuru@wsj.com
    

    

    


    Source link