Oil Search Ltd has refused the $8-billion takeover bid made by Woodside Petroleum Ltd, the biggest energy company in Australia. The rejection has turned out to be a major hurdle for Woodside Petroleum as the energy major is exploring low-cost LNG assets in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a nearby neighbor of Australia.
Deals
Goldman Sachs leaves rivals far behind in M&A race
Goldman Sachs is racing ahead of its rivals in the global investment banking segment by revenues and fees in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) activity. Goldman Sachs' performance in 2015 so far exceeded while its competitors are not even close to it. With a market share of 12.3 percent, Goldman Sachs recorded $2billion revenues till date, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are left with less than nine percent market share in the M&A space. The mergers and acquisitions activity this year so far was a robust period for Goldman Sachs.
Swiss Re to buy Guardian Financial Services for $2.45B
Switzerland reinsurer Swiss Re AG has decided to acquire the UK-based Guardian Financial Services from private equity (PE) firm Cinven for GBP 1.6 billion ($2.45bn). The acquisition will help in strengthening the British business of the unit.
Sharp Corp explores ways on LCD biz revival, Taiwanese firm offers bid for it
Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co has offered bid to acquire the LCD business of Sharp Corporation. However, the bidding details were not revealed. Without confirming on its plans to offload LCD business or received any bid offer, Sharp Corp continues to explore several options for reviving the trouble-prone liquid panel display business. Sharp has also asked Apple Inc for funding support. Sharp Corp has sought a $1.9-billion revival package from the banks and decided to slash 5,000 jobs as part of the cost-cutting measures. The intense competition in LCD screens for smartphones from Asian companies is taking a toll on Sharp Corp's business.
Altice to buy Cablevision for $17.7bn including debt
Global cable group Altice is acquiring New York-based Cablevision for $17.7bn including debt. This makes Altice as the fourth largest cable provider in the US. Cablevision's CEO James Dolan will hand over the control to a group of Europeans after the Altice deal. Altice will pay $34.90 a share in cash taking the valuation of Cablevision equity to $9.6bn.
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German telecom providers; Tele Columbus and Pepcom, have agreed to consolidate for €608M or $570M. The acquisition will benefit 3.7 million subscribers in Germany. Tele Columbus plans to improve its media service upon the deal.
Flower Foods Inc. has made the decision to acquire Alpine Valley Bread Company which is a family-owned natural bread producer for $120 million in cash and stock as reported by Source Media.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc reportedly made a $2 billion offer to United Launch Alliance, the prime spacecraft launch service provider of Pentagon jointly owned by Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
BlackBerry Ltd announced Friday that it acquired Good Technology for $425 million to improve its position in the Apple world. BlackBerry expects to earn $160 million in revenue during the first year after the acquisition, which will close on November. This is according The Daly Mail UK. BlackBerry's shares listed in Toronto saw a 1.1 percent spike at C$7.97 in early during the trade. BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen promised that their cash flow would remain positive overall. He said he sees a lot of opportunity to drive value for the company's stakeholders.
The $37B worth deal of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. with Precision Castparts Corporation, a major aircraft parts supplier of Boeing had encouraged more investors in the aircraft industry. However, Boeing had been delaying its suppliers' M&A contracts.
Giant South Korean web portal operator Naver Corp is yet to decide on when put its messenger app unit Line Corp on Initial Public Offering (IPO) due to the present volatility of the market.
First NBC Bank Holding Company and State Investors Bancorp, Inc. announced on August 27 that they will extend their merger agreement to December 31 this year.
Wang Jianlin, head of Dalian Wanda Group, agreed to buy the Ironman Triathlon races organizer in a deal amounting to $650 milion. The deal was announced Thursday in a move for Asia's richest man to diversify his sports fortfolio. The developer also mentioned the possibility of another sports related purchase before the year ends.
Schlumberger had announced conclusive merger agreement with Cameron in which both companies shall combine in a stock and cash transaction. The agreement was unanimously confirmed by the boards of directors of both companies on Thursday.
