acquisition – News Stories About acquisition - Page 7

Jun 8, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

Hot LBO Market Takes Hit

As big-time deals struggle to manage debt, beware the Trojan piggy bank

(Newser) - The red-hot market for LBOs may be hitting a long-awaited rough patch. Several big deals—including Apollo's $1.3 billion Linens 'n Things buy and the multigroup $17.6 billion acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor Holdings—have turned sour, with the companies struggling to generate enough cash to pay down debt...

Union Seeks Journal Savior

Jun 5, 2007 4:48 PM CDT

Union Seeks Journal Savior

Burkle agrees to talks with Dow Jones employees

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal employees' union, in search of a white knight as Dow Jones and Rupert Murdoch appear to be moving closer to a deal, has enlisted the help of supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle. News Corp. has offered $60 a share for the company, and one analyst tells Bloomberg,...

Murdoch Says He's Flexible, Up to a Point

Jun 4, 2007 8:29 AM CDT

Murdoch Says He's Flexible, Up to a Point

Jousting over editorial independence may derail Dow Jones deal

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch has renewed his vow to maintain the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence should his bid for Dow Jones succeed, but it's unlikely he'll allow the controlling Bancroft family to run an editorial oversight board. That sticking point could be a deal-breaker, the Journal reported hours before today's scheduled...

What Made
the Bancrofts Buckle?

Jun 2, 2007 8:21 AM CDT

What Made the Bancrofts Buckle?

Key Dow Jones director switched sides, eyeing Reuters-Thomson merger

(Newser) - In a surprising about-face Dow Jones director and Bancroft family trustee Michael Elefante shifted from the cons to the pros, advocating putting the company in play at a recent family meeting. His change of position was behind the family's decision that it would meet with Rupert Murdoch and consider other...

Wachovia Nabs A.G. Edwards

May 31, 2007 12:58 PM CDT

Wachovia Nabs A.G. Edwards

Deal takes aim at small investors, creates country's No. 2 retail brokerage

(Newser) - Wachovia will buy A.G. Edwards for $6.8 billion, forming the nation's number two retail brokerage. Wachovia's $89.50 per share offer for the historic Midwest brokerage—it survived the crash of '29—helps the bank further expand its growing securities arm. The combined company will manage over $1...

Tishman, Lehman Close REIT Deal

May 29, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Tishman, Lehman Close REIT Deal

$13.5B offer for apartment giant marks major privatization

(Newser) - In a penthouse-level play, real estate developer Tishman Speyer Properties and investment bank Lehman Brothers will spend $13.5 billion to buy the nation's second-largest apartment owner. The $60.75 per share offer for real estate trust Archstone-Smith, confirmed this morning, will take the company private in a deal worth...

RBS Consortium Renews Bid
for ABN Amro

May 29, 2007 9:02 AM CDT

RBS Consortium Renews Bid for ABN Amro

$96B offer dwarfs Barclays proposal, but legal woes persist

(Newser) - Refusing to take no for an answer, a coalition led by Royal Bank of Scotland today submitted a renewed $95.6 billion bid for ABN Amro. The offer overshadows a competing $86 billion offer from Barclays, but legal wrangling over the sale of LaSalle Bank continues to bog down the...

Coke Takes Swig of Glacéau

May 25, 2007 9:12 AM CDT

Coke Takes Swig of Glacéau

Soft drink giant tries to boost its offerings with $4.1B VitaminWater buy

(Newser) - Coca-Cola is adding some fizz to its line of non-soda offerings, acquiring the maker of Glacéau VitaminWater today in its biggest purchase ever. The $4.1 billion purchase of Energy Brands will give Coke a strong foothold in the market for non-carbonated products and help it close the gap...

Sallie Mae
Chief Quits

May 23, 2007 5:52 AM CDT

Sallie Mae Chief Quits

Equity firm pressured loan giant CEO to step down, ease buyout

(Newser) - The CEO of student loan giant Sallie Mae resigned unexpectedly yesterday in the midst of a $25 billion buyout by a private equity firm. The Wall Street Journal reports that Thomas J. Fitzpatrick was pressured out to stave off Congressional criticism of the buyout by J.C. Flowers and Co,...

Alcan Steels Itself Against Alcoa Bid

May 22, 2007 6:17 PM CDT

Alcan Steels Itself Against Alcoa Bid

Canadian aluminum producer rejects US rival, says it will seek other offers

(Newser) - Canadian aluminum maker Alcan has rejected the $24.7-billion bid from rival Alcoa that would have been the biggest takeover in the metals industry, and signalled its intention to look elsewhere. Alcoa’s $74.60-per-share bid was inadequate, Alcan’s CEO said today, reigniting rumors that both companies may be...

Burgeoning Saudi Firm Snags
GE Plastics

May 21, 2007 1:29 PM CDT

Burgeoning Saudi Firm Snags GE Plastics

$11.6B deal is Gulf region's biggest ever

(Newser) - A Saudi chemical company will take over General Electric's plastics division in a deal worth $11.6 billion, the companies said today. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or Sabic, beat out Dutch-owned Basell for GE Plastics, which was put up for sale in January. The purchase, the largest ever by a...

Private Equity Binge Goes Wireless

May 21, 2007 10:18 AM CDT

Private Equity Binge Goes Wireless

Goldman Sachs, Texas Pacific Group will buy Alltel for $27.5B

(Newser) - A consortium led by the Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs yesterday snapped up the nation's fifth-largest wireless provider for $27.5 billion, the largest telecom buyout ever. The $71.50 per share offer for Alltel awaits shareholder and regulatory approval and comes weeks before a scheduled auction for the...

Microsoft Buys Ad Firm for $6B

May 18, 2007 11:15 AM CDT

Microsoft Buys Ad Firm for $6B

Deal shores up Microsoft's flailing online advertising presence

(Newser) - Microsoft will plunk down $6 billion for aQuantive, a leading digital marketing agency. The $66.50 per share offer—nearly double aQuantive's closing price yesterday—comes on the heels of WPP's 24/7 Real Media purchase. It's Microsoft's biggest acquisition ever, reflecting its growing desperation to regain its status as a...

Blackstone Makes $7.8B Deal for Alliance

May 17, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

Blackstone Makes $7.8B Deal for Alliance

Private equity continues to pour into financial processing

(Newser) - Blackstone has snapped up credit card services provider Alliance Data for $7.8 billion, joining a surge of private equity into dull but profitable back-office firms. The 30% above-market offer for Alliance, which also runs a data processing unit, is the latest in a wave of takeovers in the financial-processing...

KKR Dominates in '07 Buyouts

May 14, 2007 1:18 PM CDT

KKR Dominates in '07 Buyouts

With 44% of this year's private equity deals, is firm spending too much too fast?

(Newser) - Private equity powerhouse KKR has been on a monumental spending spree this year, closing more than $120 billion in deals to date in 2007—more than twice its closest rival. Now the Financial Times wonders whether the veteran PE firm it may be hitting the market too forcefully.

Cerberus Close to Consuming Chrysler

May 13, 2007 10:10 PM CDT

Cerberus Close to Consuming Chrysler

Proving that three heads may be better than one

(Newser) - Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is said to have cut a deal to buy Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler. Cerberus has lots of experience in negotiating for assets in the auto industry, having led the buyout of auto parts maker Delphi, which has not yet closed and may yet fall...

Aluminum Giant Makes Play for Rival

May 7, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

Aluminum Giant Makes Play for Rival

Alcoa's $26.9 hostile takeover bid for Alcan comes after years of merger talks

(Newser) - Aluminum titan Alcoa is hoping to get its largest rival, Alcan, to melt under a hostile takeover bid, after merger talks between the two companies collapsed. Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum company, has offered $26.9 billion for its Canadian competitor in an effort to beat out the emerging market...

Designer's Pals Rally to Keep Label Alive

May 7, 2007 9:17 AM CDT

Designer's Pals Rally to Keep Label Alive

Narciso Rodriguez averts bankruptcy with Claiborne deal

(Newser) - Narciso Rodriguez, the designer of sexy minimalist frocks like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's wedding dress, is one of the darlings of the close-knit fashion community. And it's a good thing: When Rodriguez faced bankruptcy last fall, instead of shuttering his studio he called Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Anna Wintour and Jessica...

Dow Shareholder Duels Murdoch

May 7, 2007 6:51 AM CDT

Dow Shareholder Duels Murdoch

(Newser) - A powerful shareholder in Dow Jones is opposing Rupert Murdoch's takeover bid, saying the tabloid publisher would destroy the Wall Street Journal's integrity. James Ottaway Jr. said Murdoch "has for a long time expressed his personal, political and business biases through his newspapers and television channels."

Qantas Deal Crashes

May 5, 2007 8:00 AM CDT

Qantas Deal Crashes

(Newser) - Qantas Airlines will keep flying solo, after what would have been the biggest airline takeover in history fell through yesterday evening. Airline Partners Australia, the private equity consortium that offered $11.1 billion for the company, failed to secure the 50% of stock it needed to move the deal to...