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Tag: business deals

  • 8 of the Biggest (and Most Interesting) Deals of 2025

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    When it came to investments, mergers and acquisitions, 2025 was a particularly busy year. More importantly, perhaps, it was also a year with some very interesting deals.

    In the first nine months of 2025, global M&A activity was up 10 percent over what it was in the same period in 2024, despite the headwinds of geopolitical tensions and tariff policies that seemed to change every few weeks. The tech sector was especially busy with deal-making this year as companies looked to find a way to leverage the AI boom.

    But some activity stood out from the rest. Here’s a look at the deals that made this year so unique.

    Intel and the U.S. government

    The Trump Administration surprised both the tech world and Wall Street in August, announcing that the federal government was taking a 10 percent stake in the chipmaker. (That was especially astonishing, as Trump had, just weeks before, strongly criticized Intel’s CEO on social media, saying he was “highly CONFLICTED and must resign.”)

    The government picked up 433.3 million shares of non-voting stock priced at $20.47 apiece, making it one of the company’s largest shareholders. The deal has already paid off, with the government’s stake now worth nearly $9 billion more than it paid for the stock.

    Stargate

    OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle, in January, jointly announced a massive AI data center project called “Stargate,” in which the companies plan to invest up to $500 billion over the coming years to develop AI infrastructure in the U.S. 

    Stargate, the companies said, will create 100,000 jobs. Plans were announced in September for five new AI data centers. Stargate will be set up as a separate company, which OpenAI said in a social media post “will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies.”

    OpenAI and Oracle

    In September, OpenAI signed a contract with Oracle to purchase $300 billion in computing power over the next five years, one of the largest cloud contracts ever. The contact will begin in 2027, but it did draw some concern from some analysts, who noted the value of the deal was much greater than OpenAI’s current revenue and Oracle will need to take on substantial debt to build out the hardware and infrastructure for the project. News of the agreement sent Oracle stock up 43 percent when it was announced. (It has since lost all of those gains.)

    Pepsi and Poppi

    Founded in 2020, Poppi started as an experiment in Allison Ellsworth’s kitchen, an attempt to make gut-healthy drinks that tasted good. The probiotic soda quickly grew into a popular, nationally recognized brand during the pandemic, landing Poppi at No. 148 on this year’s Inc. 5000 list, with a three-year growth rate of 2,638 percent. In May, Ellsworth and her husband Stephen, who is also a co-founder, sold the company to Pepsi for $1.95 billion.

    Prada and Versace

    The news in April that Prada would buy Versace for $1.51 billion was the ending to a very long story. Prada began chasing the luxury fashion house during the pandemic, but the parties couldn’t make the deal work. When Versace parent Capri’s sale to Tapestry was scuttled due to antitrust concerns, Prada tried again and was able to negotiate a price that was lower than the $2 billion Capri paid for the brand in 2018. The acquisition closed earlier this month.

    Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker

    Dick’s Sporting Goods had a strong 2025, raising its full-year sales growth guidance last month to a range of 3.5 to 4 percent up from 2 to 3.5 percent previously. Its acquisition of struggling competitor Foot Locker in May for $2.4 billion gave it a competitive advantage in the Nike sneaker market as well as access to international markets and a wider customer base. Foot Locker will continue to operate as a standalone business, though Dick’s does plan to close an undisclosed number of stores to protect the company’s profits.

    Sycamore Partners and Walgreens Boots Alliance

    Private equity firm Sycamore’s $10 billion purchase of the pharmaceutical chain in March ended almost a century of Walgreens being a publicly traded company. Walgreens, at one point in time, boasted a market cap of nearly $100 billion, but changes to the healthcare industry, acquisitions of rivals and reduced margins on drug sales shrank that number precipitously. Sycamore has a history of buying distressed companies, with other holdings including Staples, Nine West and Talbots.

    Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peets

    Keurig Dr Pepper’s U.S. coffee business needed some help, so it made an $18 billion bet in August that the Dutch coffee and tea company could boost earnings. Keurig Dr Pepper owns Green Mountain Coffee (as well as Dr Pepper, 7Up and Snapple), which has seen sales decline in recent years. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, after which Keurig Dr Pepper will split its coffee and other beverage units into two separate companies, both of which will remain listed on U.S. stock exchanges. 

    Go inside one interesting founder-led company each day to find out how its strategy works, and what risk factors it faces. Sign up for 1 Smart Business Story from Inc. on Beehiiv.

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    Chris Morris

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  • How to Avoid Extreme Positions and Strike a Balance While Negotiating

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    One of the most important communication strategies I learned for negotiating came from my former therapist, Keith Witt. Up till then, my communication style had gotten me into trouble in my relationships with romantic partners, family members, and business colleagues. Witt later did a TED talk on the topic: “Two Rules for Guys.” If you want to have a successful conversation with someone, avoid extreme positions. Basically, don’t be a bully or a doormat.  

    I took the wisdom to heart and now I have successful, better relationships with partners and my children, and a great rapport with my business partners and clients. In fact, people often call me the “people whisperer” in tense situations and business deals because of my calm, focused, and empathetic communication style, which took years to learn. 

    As a talent agent, media attorney, and professor at USC Gould School of Law, I teach my students and clients how to effectively communicate in their negotiations. I’m also working on a new book—TILT the Room, coming out in 2026—which explains how you can use timing, influence, leverage, and trust to better negotiate. 

    Avoid being a doormat. 

    This idea seems obvious at first. Doormat is what you call people you walk over to get your way. No one aspires to be a doormat. So, how do people become doormats? People pleasers want to be nice. They don’t want to disappoint people. When you’re a doormat, you give away all your leverage in a negotiation.  

    Once you lose that, it’s really hard to get it back. Ever say yes to your child who is begging for another lollipop? Well, if you say yes once, they’ll keep on asking. Check out random intermittent reinforcement studies, and this will make even more sense. 

    However, you can be nice—as in polite, courteous, and respectful—while still being strong. As one of my business partners says, “Clear is kind.” I always advise my students, “Be firm yet gracious” when they are asking for something, stating a position, or negotiating. 

    Avoid being a bully. 

    The other extreme in negotiating is being a bully. These people take, take, and take from doormats and everyone else. Many people perceive the bully as having a strong negotiating stance because the bully often gets what they want. 

    Being a bully can work in the short run. However, in the long run, being a bully will cause problems. Sometimes, taking too strong a stance can kill the deal, and winning the deal with strong-arm tactics the first time can kill trust, along with any future deals. 

    Strike a balance in your communication style. 

    When negotiating, I advise clients and students to strike a balance between being a bully, or strong, and a doormat, or nice. You can be firm and kind at the same time. How do you do this? 

    For example, when in negotiations, whether it’s a business deal or a legal mediation, I’m always positive. I use gracious language. When things aren’t going well, I will say something like, “Hey, we’re halfway through the day. We’ve barely made any progress. It feels like we’re butting heads on this, and I’m concerned we’re not going to get this done today.” 

    It’s way better than being a bully and saying, “Hey, take it or leave it,” and walking out the door. Also, it’s better than the alternative of being a doormat and saying, “Let’s just get this done. What do you need?” 

    I also practice listening to everyone thoroughly to show I understand. That means rephrasing what they say to show understanding and asking probing questions about their ideas. This way, you can understand their position, call some things out that might be causing differences, and do it all in a different way. It’s a great way to keep everyone on track. 

    If you avoid extreme positions in negotiating, you’ll have more success in the long term. Moreover, you’ll build better relationships—and not just in your business life. It can also help strengthen your relationships with friends and family. 

    The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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    Ken Sterling

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