As consumers’ tastes shift toward healthier foods, the appeal of organic products has had companies scrambling to either trot out their own organic offerings or just buy out other businesses that are already in the game. Flowers Foods is taking the latter route, snapping up organic food purveyor Alpine Valley Bread Co. for $120 million, its second acquisition of an organic baking company in a month. [More]
mergers
Company Behind Wonder Bread Shells Out $120M For Alpine Valley Bread Co & Its Organic Offerings
By 9.9.15
Regulators Settle Charges That Reynolds, Lorillard Merger Would Be Anticompetitive
By 7.31.15
A year after the No. 2 and No. 3 cigarette brands in the country first announced they were planning to go all-in on a $27.4 billion merger, regulators have approved an order settling charges that the deal would be anticompetitive for the U.S. cigarette market, paving the way for the merger to move forward. [More]
Anthem Buying Cigna For $54B In Yet Another Mega Insurance Merger
By 7.24.15
What a difference a month makes: Just a few weeks ago, Cigna rejected Anthem as a suitor, citing things like the major data breach the company suffered earlier this year and turning down its $47 billion merger bid. It seems Anthem has been busy a-courtin’, as the company announced this morning that it’s reached a deal to buy Cigna for $54 billion, effectively creating an insurance giant. [More]
Dept. Of Justice Investigating Alleged Collusion By Airlines To Keep Ticket Prices High
By 7.1.15
Just weeks after a legislator voiced concern that a shrinking airline industry has perpetuated potential anti-competitive behavior aimed at keeping the price of airfare high, the Department of Justice revealed it is looking into the possibility of collusion between airlines.
[More]
Sysco Drops Bid To Buy U.S. Foods, Plan To Create Foodservice Supply Voltron
By 6.29.15
After months of battling with federal regulators – including contentious meetings, a lawsuit and a federal injunction – food distributor Sysco has dropped its plan to merge with rival U.S. Foods. [More]
Federal Judge Blocks Formation Of Foodservice Supply Voltron
By 6.23.15
Sysco and US Foods, the two biggest national foodservice suppliers, want to merge, and the meanies at the Federal Trade Commission won’t let them. Regulators think this merger would be bad for the companies’ customers–and their customers are food service institutions ranging from the most humble snack bars to the fanciest restaurants. Back in February, the FTC sued to stop the merger, and today a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking it. [More]
Verizon Completes $4.4B Acquisition Of AOL
By 6.23.15
It’s not often you hear about a shotgun wedding between two tech companies, but that’s apparently what happened for Verizon and AOL, as the recently betrothed said today that they had officially completed a $4.4 billion acquisition proposed just a month ago. [More]
Cigna Rejects Anthem’s $47B Merger Bid, Says It’s “Deeply Disappointed” By Suitor’s Recent Actions
By 6.22.15
After Anthem Inc. unveiled its roughly $47 billion bid to merge with fellow health insurer Cigna Corp. over the weekend, the object of its affections swiftly put the kibosh on that proposal. In a letter to Anthem’s board, Cigna said it was “deeply disappointed” with its suitors recent actions, and that the offer wasn’t in the best interest of shareholders. [More]
Senator Calls For Investigation Into Alleged Anti-Competitive Airline Behavior
By 6.19.15
American Airlines and US Airways, Southwest Airlines and AirTran, Continental and United. These are just a few of the major mergers to hit the airline industry in the last several decades. While airlines contend that such combinations have created more streamlined processes for customers, some legislators are concerned that a shrinking airline industry has perpetrated potential anti-competitive behavior, leading to a request for a federal investigation. [More]
ThinkGeek Parent Geeknet Giving Hot Topic Three Days To Match Rival Suitor’s Offer
By 5.29.15
The love triangle between the parent company of online retailer ThinkGeek and its two suitors continues to heat up, with Geeknet now telling original suitor Hot Topic it has until Monday to match or exceed the higher bid from a new mystery rival. Because like so many real life dating situations, it all comes down to an ultimatum. [More]
Reynolds, Lorillard Must Sell Salem, Kool, Maverick & Winston Brands To Gain Approval Of $27.4B Mega-Cigarette Merger
By 5.27.15
You may recall that last July the No. 2 and No. 3 cigarette brands in the country announced they were planning to go all in on a $27.4 billion merger. This week the two companies received the blessing from federal regulators, as long as they divest four cigarette brands to a UK-based company. [More]
Hormel Gobbling Up Applegate Farms For $775M
By 5.27.15
In a sign of the times, Hormel Foods Corp., the maker of Spam, is trying for that natural foods feeling and has decided that buying Applegate Farms for $775 million is the way to achieve it. [More]
Verizon Buys AOL For $4.4 Billion To Create Video Content, Ad-Sharing Mega-Company
By 5.12.15
Old tech and new tech are coming together in a massive $4.4 billion deal, with mobile service powerhouse Verizon Communications buying the brand of the ’90s AOL — a deal that gives the country’s largest mobile phone operator a stronger foothold in the race to create ad-content that targets customers as they move from desktops to mobile devices. [More]
Netflix To FCC: You Should Block The AT&T/DirecTV Merger Unless Conditions Are Added
By 5.5.15
AT&T and DirecTV announced their big corporate betrothal the better part of a year ago. The planned merger between the two companies has, comparatively speaking, flown under the radar as so much time and attention fell to the now-collapsed Comcast/TWC plans. But now that the 30-million ton elephant has left the merger room, all eyes are swiveling back to the other looming giant. [More]
FTC Challenges Sysco Acquisition Of US Foods
By 2.19.15
Sysco’s in-person meetings with the Federal Trade Commission didn’t have the desired effect. The foodservice supply giant wanted approval for its planned acquisition of competitor U.S. Foods, but the FTC thinks that Sysco wants to gobble up too much of the market. The commissioners voted 3-2 to block the merger. [More]
Sysco Meets With FTC Over Foodservice Voltron Proposal
By 2.12.15
Way back in 2013, we shared the news that Sysco, the country’s biggest supplier to restaurants and other food-service facilities, wanted to acquire its next-biggest competitor, US Foods. Yet the Federal Trade Commission still hasn’t come to a decision about that proposal. FTC officials don’t agree on the question of whether Sysco plans to sell enough of its business to make sure the restaurant supply business stays competitive. [More]
Staples Finally Proposes To Office Depot With $6.3 Billion Merger Deal
By 2.4.15
A day after it was reported that Staples and Office Depot had entered into advanced talks about a merger, it appears one of the companies popped the big question. Staples will buy Office Depot for $6.3 billion in cash and stock in a deal to bring the No. 1 and No. 2 office supply chains together to do battle with big box stores and online retailers. [More]
Is Consolidation On The Horizon For Budget Airlines?
By 1.20.15
In recent years, the airline industry has undergone a rather stark transformation through a series of mega-mergers between legacy carriers. Still, one group has been left relatively untouched: budget carriers. But the Chairman of the Board for Frontier Airlines sees a future with fewer bottom-dollar airline brands. [More]
