Just weeks after China’a Anbang Insurance Group bowed out of its bid for the Starwood Hotel brand, another Chinese hotel group has gobbled up a different group: Carlson Hotels, the operator of the Radisson chain. [More]
mergers and acquisitions
Comcast Reportedly Looking To Buy DreamWorks Animation For $3B
By 4.26.16
Comcast already owns a mammoth cable/broadband company, a major TV and cable TV network, amusement parks, and a movie/TV/video production and distribution company responsible for money machines like Jurassic World and the Despicable Me/Minions movies. But that’s not enough, apparently. The boys and girls from Kabletown are also looking to add DreamWorks Animation to their shelf. [More]
5 Things You Should Know About The Approved Merger Of Time Warner Cable & Charter
By 4.25.16
Earlier today — almost exactly a year after rejecting the merger of Time Warner Cable and Comcast — both the FCC and the Justice Department gave their blessing to the marriage of TWC and Charter. But what does that really mean for the millions of consumers who will be affected by the merger? [More]
FCC, Justice Department Approve Charter / Time Warner Cable Merger
By 4.25.16
Second time’s the charm: where Comcast failed, Charter has succeeded. Time Warner Cable officially has its buyer as of today. [More]
Company Sells $25K Worth Of Windows With Lifetime Warranty, Disappears
By 4.1.16
The trouble with “lifetime” warranties is that they often leave out an important detail: whose lifetime? That’s what a homeowner in California wonders now that her windows are bending away from them frame and generally failing at being windows. Now she can’t find the company that installed $25,000 worth of windows in her home only 9 years ago, or the company that actually manufactured the windows. [More]
Amazon Officially In the Air Freight Business; Acquires 10% Stake In Cargo Partner
By 3.21.16
Only weeks after making a deal with cargo company Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) to lease a fleet of 20 planes to use for shipping packages, Amazon is now a part owner of the company. [More]
Starwood Backs Away From Marriott Deal After New Buyer Offers $13.2B
By 3.18.16
Earlier this week, it looked like the $12 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels — which includes brands like Sheraton, St. Regis, Westin, and W — by Marriott was in doubt after last-minute interest from China-based Anbang Insurance Group. Today, there is no doubt; that original deal is dead and Starwood is going with the higher offer from Anbang. [More]
The TWC/Charter Merger Looks Likely To Happen — And Soon
By 3.16.16
What Comcast spent more than a year failing to do looks to be a victory in the making for Charter: As the Washington rumor mill has it, the three-way mega-cable-merge of Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks could get through a major hurdle and gain approval by the end of the week. In other words, it looks like this one’s going to happen. [More]
General Motors Acquires Self-Driving Car Startup
By 3.11.16
Two months after General Motors unveiled a $500 million investment in Lyft, the mustachioed ride-hailing service, with the hopes of one day providing the masses with rides in a self-driving fleet, the carmaker has taken a step that might help it realize that goal: acquiring self-driving vehicle startup Cruise Automation. [More]
Facebook Buys Photo Filter App To Compete With Snapchat’s Puking Rainbow
By 3.10.16
Your friends’ posts on Facebook are about to get a bit more cartoon-like now that the social media company has acquired selfie-altering startup Masquerade Technologies. [More]
Sagging Sports Authority May Sell Stores To Dick’s
By 3.1.16
Last week, it was reported that Sports Authority is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the hope of restructuring its business and shedding hundreds of million in debt. Now comes news that this rebuild may involve selling some of its retail locations to competitors like Dick’s Sporting Goods. [More]
Essendant Agrees To Buy Commercial Business From Staples And Office Depot If FTC Approves Merger
By 2.17.16
Staples and Office Depot want to merge and form one mega-chain of office supply stores that you mostly visit to drop off UPS packages. The Federal Trade Commission doesn’t approve of this union, because both sell supplies and serve as wholesalers to smaller office suppliers. The companies announced late yesterday that they’ve reached an agreement with Essendant, a smaller national supplier, to take over some of that business if the merger goes through. [More]
Hasbro, Mattel Reportedly Talking About Making One Big Toy Company To End All Others
By 2.4.16
Imagine a world where G.I. Joe marries Barbie (or Ken) and then they both drive off in their Hot Wheels car to their My Little Pony ranch — and all these products come from the same company. It’s a possibility, with Mattel and Hasbro reportedly chatting about merging the contents of their respective toy chests.
[More]
CVS Unveils First Store-Within-Store Pharmacies At Target
By 2.3.16
Target customers will soon see what $1.9 billion can buy, as CVS has officially started rebranding the big box store’s pharmacies into its own mini drugstores. [More]
Poll Sponsored By Charter Says Charter Is Great, More Charter Greater
By 1.20.16
Charter is still pushing very hard to get their pending three-way merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks approved by the FCC and Department of Justice. To that end, they’re happy to push any available evidence that they are not only great, but also working for the public interest. And what better way to gather that evidence than to sponsor their very own poll looking for it? [More]
Univision Reportedly Buys Controlling Slice Of The Onion
By 1.19.16
Why should Comcast have all the fun buying up new media products? Univision Communications –parent company of the Univision TV network and dozens of other radio and TV stations — has reportedly snapped up a controlling stake in Onion Inc. [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]
