Just over a year ago, AT&T and Time Warner proposed one of the biggest mergers of all time, a $85.4 billion deal that would bring together the owners of CNN, HBO, and DirecTV in a single company. The merger had a deadline of Oct. 22, which the companies have extended for an unspecified “short period of time” to gain regulatory approval in the United States. [More]
mergers
GrubHub Will Buy Eat24 From Yelp For $287.5M, Free Delivery
By 8.4.17
Just two and a half years ago, Yelp acquired the food delivery site and app Eat24, which seemed like a complementary business at the time. Now GrubHub is buying the site for $287.5 million — a little more than double what Yelp paid for it in 2015 — while the two companies will keep linking to each other and referring customers back and forth. [More]
Amazon’s Likely First Move At Whole Foods: Bring In Warehouse Robots
By 6.26.17 — Updated: 6.27.17
When Amazon and Whole Foods announced that they were getting hitched in the corporate sense, the benefits for both sides were obvious. Amazon would acquire its way into a grocery distribution network and hundreds of stores with upscale customers, and Whole Foods would get a parent company at the forefront of retail technology. What’s likely to be first up for Whole Foods? Warehouse robots. [More]
American Eagle May Team Up With Private Equity Firm To Buy Abercrombie & Fitch
By 5.24.17
Abercrombie & Fitch, the teen-oriented clothing store that you haven’t visited since age 17 because the music is too darn loud, let the world know that it was for sale a few weeks ago. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a prominent private equity firm is interested, but that firm, Cerberus Capital Management, is teaming up with competitor American Eagle. [More]
Walgreens & Rite Aid Willing To Unload More Stores On Fred’s To Make Merger Happen
By 3.14.17
Walgreens and Rite Aid want to merge and become the largest pharmacy chain in the country, and the Federal Trade Commission is the main obstacle in their path. That’s why Walgreens, the much larger partner in this merger, is preparing a new proposal for the regulators, which would include selling off more stores to what’s now a small regional chain. [More]
Walgreens Slashes $2B From Value Of Rite Aid Merger; Up To 1,200 Stores To Be Sold Off
By 1.30.17
Last Friday, Jan. 27, was the deadline for the deal to close in the proposed acquisition of drugstore chain Rite Aid by competitor Walgreens. Today, the companies announced a revised deal with an eye to meeting Federal Trade Commission approval. This deal values Rite Aid at over $2 billion less, and proposes the sale of hundreds more stores to another drugstore chain. [More]
Verizon Acquisition Of Yahoo Still Going Ahead As Planned
By 1.23.17
Since the announcement of data breaches consisting of 1.5 billion Yahoo accounts, Yahoo-watchers have had one question: what’s going to happen to the former internet titan’s agreement to sell its internet operations to Verizon for a mere $4.8 billion? In its quarterly and annual earnings report today, Yahoo announced that the deal is still on. It’s just taking a while. [More]
Did Yahoo Wait Too Long To Disclose Massive 2014 Data Breach? SEC Investigating
By 1.23.17
Yahoo, the online company that hosted your email in 2001, was the victim of two huge account breaches in 2013 and 2014, but didn’t tell customers or investors until last year. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission is one of the government entities investigating the breach, to find out whether Yahoo kept the info from its investors for too long. [More]
With One Week Left, Walgreens-Rite Aid Merger May Be In Trouble
By 1.20.17
The proposed merger of mega-drugstore chains Walgreens and Rite Aid seems like a good idea to the companies, but the Federal Trade Commission remains skeptical. With a week left before the purchase agreement expires, the companies need the antitrust watchdog to sign off, and it looks like they may not get it. [More]
Report: Albertsons In Talks To Acquire Price Chopper, Expand To More States
By 11.30.16 — Updated: 12.1.16
According to those ever-mysterious “people familiar with the matter,” the northeastern grocery chain Price Chopper is in “advanced talks” with national chain Albertsons in an acquisition deal. The acquisition could still fall through, but it would mean that the closely held grocer could have a new owner after more than 80 years as a mostly family-run company. [More]
After Hanjin Bankruptcy Crisis, Shippers Seek Out Large, Stable Companies
By 11.7.16
The sudden bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping left billions of dollars’ worth of cargo, potentially including all of your holiday gifts, floating on container ships in the ocean in legal limbo. Now the companies that ship cargo don’t want to risk having that happen again. [More]
Report: Coach, Burberry Not Actively Discussing A Merger, Despite Rumors
By 10.21.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Though rumors have been swirling that luxury brands Burberry and Coach are considering a merger — leading to a spike in both companies’ stock prices — inside sources say there aren’t any active discussions happening between the two companies at the moment. [More]
What’s Holding Up Merger Of Alaska Airlines & Virgin America?
By 10.21.16
Alaska Airlines’ proposed $4 billion merger with Virgin America is taking longer than either airline anticipated. Days after the companies’ targeted merger completion date passed, federal regulators continue to probe the validity and affect the merger would have on competition. [More]
Report: Kroger Isn’t Interested In Buying A Few Hundred Walgreens Stores
By 10.19.16
If you know anyone who’s interested in buying around 650 grocery stores, Walgreens and Rite Aid would like to hear about it. The two drugstore chains need to find a buyer for between 500 and 1,000 stores to get their merger approved by the Federal Trade Commission, and no one is interested. [More]
Verizon Won’t Walk Away From Yahoo Deal, But May Want A Discount
By 10.11.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Last week there were rumors swirling that Verizon was angling to get $1 billion off the $4.8 billion price it’s agreed to pay to buy Yahoo’s internet business. This week, the company’s CEO says there’s no way Verizon is going to leave Yahoo at the altar after its recent troubles, but that being said, there are some factors to consider when it comes to that final price. [More]
Verizon Reportedly Trying To Get $1B Discount On Yahoo Purchase
By 10.7.16
It’s normal to get cold feet before a wedding, especially if your intended is a technology company that is facing legal action after millions of user accounts were breached, and everyone was saying you’d created a spy tool for the government to snoop on users’ emails. That’s reportedly why Verizon is angling to get $1 billion off the $4.8 billion price it agreed to pay to purchase Yahoo’s internet business. [More]
Steinhoff Announces “Successful Consummation” Of Cash Offer For Mattress Firm Stock
By 9.14.16
South African retailer Steinhoff and Mattress Firm are likely shopping for some new pajamas after announcing the “successful consummation” of a previously announced $64 per share cash tender offer for the U.S. company’s outstanding common stock. [More]
Sprint Owner Softbank Still Dreams Of Buying T-Mobile
By 8.17.16
It doesn’t matter that T-Mobile CEO John Legere said two years ago that he’s heard enough merger talk: the CEO of Softbank, the Japanese company that owns 80% of competitor Sprint, is still interested in buying the carrier. He’s happy to wait until the time is right. [More]
