Walgreens’ path to bring Ride Aid under its wing passed one hurdle on Thursday, as shareholders for the latter chain of drug stores approved a $9.4 billion merger plan. [More]
merger
Staples Cuts Jobs In Preparation For Life With Or Without Office Depot Merger
By 1.26.16
It appears that Staples is adhering to the adage, “hope for the best, prepare for the worst,” when it comes to their challenged billion-dollar merger with rival Office Depot. This week, the retailer took steps to streamline its operation, changing its management team and reportedly laying off hundreds of employees at its headquarters. [More]
Coalition Forms To Fight “Mega Cable” Merger Between Charter, TWC, & Bright House
By 1.21.16
Last year a group of unlikely allies came together to create the coalition called Stop Mega Comcast to, well, stop the creation of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable mega company. This year, a similar group of improbable allies have come together to oppose the latest big-cable merger between Time Warner Cable, Charter, and Bright House Networks. [More]
Staples, Office Depot Extend Merger Deadline To Fight Antitrust Lawsuit
By 1.20.16
Just because the Federal Trade Commission went to court in an effort to block the pending merger of Staples and Office Depot, doesn’t mean the companies are putting the mega-deal behind them. In fact, the office-supply chains have extend the contract for their proposed $6.3 billion merger to allow more time to placate antitrust regulators. [More]
10 Things We Learned About United Airlines’ Efforts To Not Annoy Customers
By 1.14.16
Five years after United Airlines and Continental finalized their mega-merger, the resulting carrier has struggled to deal with both unhappy passengers and employees, and remains at the back of the customer satisfaction pack among the nation’s major airlines.
[More]
Fiat Chrysler CEO: Forget About All That GM Merger Talk
By 1.11.16
A month after Fiat Chrysler said it would drop its hostile bid to merge with General Motors, the carmaker’s chief executive says he’s officially shelved talks of consolidating with any other manufacturer for the rest of his tenure at the company. [More]
Icahn Reportedly Wins Pep Boys Bidding Battle For $1B; Bridgestone Leaves Race
By 12.30.15
And just like that, it appears the auto parts retailer love triangle has ended: Bridgestone, the one-time preferred suitor of Pep Boy, reportedly bowed out of the months-long bidding war with Icahn Enterprises. [More]
Auto Parts Retailer Love Triangle Reaches $1B With Icahn Once Again Topping Bridgestone In Bid For Pep Boys
By 12.29.15
The auto parts retailer love triangle continues to take new twists and turns as the year comes to an end, with Icahn Enterprises once again upping the ante – to the tune of $1 billion – in its bid to steal Pep Boys away from suitor Bridgestone. [More]
Anheuser-Busch Buys Breckenridge Brewery, Third Craft Brewer In One Week
By 12.22.15
As if the pending $107 billion merger with SABMiller wasn’t enough of a portfolio boost for Anheuser-Busch InBev, the beer giant has purchased not one, but three craft brewers in the last week. The company’s most recent holiday gift for itself is Breckenridge Brewing of Colorado. [More]
Maker Of Sharpie To Buy Maker Of Crock-Pot For $13B, Creating A Consumer Product Smorgasbord
By 12.14.15
All of those storage containers, Sharpies, coolers, and crockpots you have dotting the insides of cupboards now have a lot more in common than one might think: Newell Rubbermaid, the company behind Sharpie and Rubbermaid storage products Jarden, the company behind the Coleman and Crock-Pot brands, for $13.2 billion. [More]
Pep Boys Concedes That Icahn’s Offer May Be “Superior” To Bridgestone, Will Explore The Deal Further
By 12.8.15
When Dollar General entered an unsolicited billion dollar bid for Family Dollar last year, the smaller company said thanks but no thanks. The latest merger-love triangle appears to be taking a different path: auto parts retailer Pep Boys seems to be mulling the idea of ditching its already agreed upon deal with Bridgestone in favor of more money from Auto Plus owner Icahn Enterprises. [More]
Auto Parts Love Triangle: Icahn Offers $837M For Pep Boys, One-Upping Bridgestone’s $835M Bid
By 12.7.15
Love triangles are generally a plot device used in movies and television shows to keep viewers’ eyes glued to the screen, screaming for their preferred suitor to win out. Recently, though, the messy affairs have infiltrated the mergers and acquisitions realm with the months-long dollar store war – Dollar General and Dollar Tree fighting over Family Dollar. Today, that trend continued with the company behind Auto Plus offering to buy the already betrothed Pep Boys retail operations out from under Bridgestone. [More]
FTC Says Staples-Office Depot Deal Is A No-Go, Files Antitrust Lawsuit To Stop Mega-Merger
By 12.7.15
The nightmare dream of the formation of the $6.3 billion StaplesMaxDepot Voltron has officially hit a (very big) speed bump: federal regulators unsurprisingly filed a complaint today charging that the proposed mega-merger’s affect on commercial businesses would violate antitrust laws. [More]
Consumers Sue To Stop $107B Mega-Beer Merger
By 12.4.15
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s formal $107 billion bid to acquire SABMiller is far from a done deal: federal regulators will likely be combing through the details of the proposal for quite some time to determine how it will affect the global beer markets, and consumers’ wallets. But it looks as if lovers of the sudsy drinks are a bit ahead of the game, filing a lawsuit to stop the mega-merger. [More]
Regulators Reportedly Poised To Block Staples, Office Depot Mega-Merger
By 12.1.15
Providing office supplies for commercial businesses could be the final nail in the coffin of the would-be formation of the $6.3 billion StaplesMaxDepot Voltron, with regulators reportedly poised to block the mega-merger next week. [More]
Marriott To Buy Starwood Hotels For $12.2B
By 11.16.15
Less than a month after Hyatt Hotels was reported to be in talks to buy rival Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, it was a different lodging industry giant that popped the $12.2 billion question. [More]
Hyatt In Talks To Buy Rival Starwood Hotels Brand
By 10.28.15
A merger craze seems to be taking hold this month: first there was the mega beer merger between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, then news this morning that pharmacy giants Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid were headed down the aisle. Now, it looks as if the need to grow by expanding one’s portfolio has trickled into the lodging industry. [More]
American Airlines, US Airways Merge Reservation Systems This Weekend
By 10.14.15
American Airlines and US Airways officially become one on Saturday. Okay, they finalized their $17.7 billion merger nearly two years ago, but this weekend they integrate their reservations systems. As we all know from experience, that can be a pain for travelers. [More]
