By Larry C. Paxton
The Art of the Big Deal was very much in evidence in May. Highlights include a lot of drama in Pfizer’s attempt to acquire AstraZeneca, the pursuit of Allergan by Valeant Pharmaceuticals, GE’s bid for Alstom, Hillshire Brands desire to acquire Pinnacle Foods only to find itself being chased by Pilgrim’s Pride, then by Tyson Foods. It appears that the Men’s Wearhouse/Jos. A. Banks dance will finally end with a hopefully nicely dressed merger, while the “Deal of Equals” between Omnicom and Publicis fell apart.
Here are the May recaps by most current date first:
Friday, May 30, 2014:
Allergan(PBR391) acknowledges new unsolicited bid by Valeant & Pershing Square Capital Management for $72.00/share. Click here for the Allergan press release.
Men’s Wearhouse(PBR773) acquisition of Jos A Banks expected to close within 30 days upon FTC waiting period expiration. Click here for the Men’s Wearhouse press release.
Thursday, May 29, 2014:
Tyson Foods(PBR87) makes $50/share $6.8 billion all cash bid to acquire Hillshire Brands(PBR569). Click here for the Tyson Foods press release.
Microsoft’s(PBR35) Office & Windows systems to connect with Salesforce(PBR557) CRM per strategic partnership. Click here for the Salesforce press release.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that GDP for 2014 1st quarter has been revised downward to a -1% on an annual basis. Click here for the BEA press release.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014:
Apple(PBR6) to acquire Beats Music & Beats Electronics for $3 billion. Click here for the Apple press release.
Allergan(PBR391) confirms receipt of unsolicited Valeant increased bid to $58.30/share. Click here for the Allergan press release.
McDonald’s(PBR95) announces it plans to return $18-20 billion to shareholders over 3 years. Click here for the McDonald’s press release.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014:
Pilgrim’s Pride proposes to acquire Hillshire Brands(PBR569) for $45.00/share, $6.4 billion. Click here for the Pilgrim’s Pride press release.
Intuit(PBR544) to acquire mobile pay company Check for $360 million cash. Click here for the Intuit press release.
KKR(PBR270) to acquire Singapore based packaging company Goodpack for $1.1 billion. Click here for the KKR press release.
Boeing(PBR30) acquiring Netherland’s airplane maintenance & leasing records management firm AerData BV. Click here for the Boeing press release.
Monday, May 26, 2014:
Memorial Day Observed
After the AstraZeneca board rejects the Pfizer(PBR53) $118 billion bid, no additional offer will be made at this time. Click here for the Pfizer press release.
Friday, May 23, 2014:
The US Dept of Commerce reports new single-family home sales rose 6.4% in April to a 433,000 annual rate. Click here for the USDOC press release.
Thursday, May 22, 2014:
Hess Corp(PBR113) selling 1,300+ locations retail business to Marathon Oil(PBR184) for $2.6 billion cash, will use proceeds in stock repurchase plan. Click here for the Hess press release.
General Electric(PBR9) agrees to French govt request to extend $16.9 billion bid for Alstom to 06/23/14. Click here for the GE press release.
Johnson & Johnson(PBR39) moves $1+ billion US media buying from Interpublic(PBR351) to Omnicom(PBR192). Click here for the Ad Age article.
Reuters reports on the Hewlett-Packard(PBR17) announcement that it will cut up to 16,000 more jobs. Click here for the Reuters article.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014:
Netflix(PBR523) to expand services into 6 European countries by the end of 2014. Click here for the Netflix press release.
eBay(PBR167) asking users to change passwords because of limited account information data breach. Click here for the eBay press release.
KKR’s(PBR270) Brickman Group landscape service merges with snow services ValleyCrest to form $2 billion/yr company. Click here for the Brickman press release.
Monday, May 19, 2014:
Yahoo!(PBR492) Japan & SoftBank agree to cancel $3.17 billion agreement for mobile service eAccess. Click here for the Yahoo! Japan press release.
MasterCard(PBR306) to acquire India based global software & electronics payment services company ElectraCard. Click here for the MasterCard press release.
Sunday, May 18, 2014:
AT&T(PBR11) to acquire DirecTV(PBR89) for $95.00/share, $67.1 billion total transaction value. Click here for the AT&T press release.
Friday, May 16, 2014:
Abbott Labs(PBR126) acquiring Latin America based CFR Pharmaceuticals for $2.9 billion plus debt. Click here for the Abbott Labs press release.
Darden Restaurants(PBR300) selling Red Lobster chain to Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion cash. Click here for the Darden press release.
Chesapeake Energy(PB151) announces anticipated $4 billion in asset sales in 2014. Click here for the Chesapeake press release.
Thursday, May 15, 2014:
The Indianapolis Power & Light unit of AES(PBR169) gets approval to build 650 MW gas turbine power plant & natural gas conversion of a 200 MW coal plant, $636 million projects total. Click here for the AES press release.
General Motors(PBR7) announces 2.7 million vehicle recall for 5 safety features. Click here for the GM press release.
Germany’s Deutsche Bank selling The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas to a Blackstone(PBR373) real estate unit for $1.73 billion cash. Click here for the Deutsche Bank press release.
Kindred Healthcare(PBR475) proposes to acquire Gentiva Health Services(PBR941) for $14/share, $1.6 billion cash & stock. Click here for the Kindred press release.
Boston Scientific(PBR349) to acquire interventional division of Bayer AG for $415 million cash. Click here for the Boston Scientific press release.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the urban Consumer Price Index for April increased by 0.3%, 2.0% over the past 12 months. Click here for the BLS press release.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014:
American Intl Grp(AIG)(PBR41) completes $7.6 billion sale of its International Lease Finance Corp to AerCap Holdings NV. Click here for the AIG press release.
The Louisiana-Pacific(PBR864) $1.1 billion agreement to buy Canada’s Ainsworth Lumber has been terminiated. Click here for the L-P press release.
Sears Holdings(PBR81) is considering sale of its 51% stake in Sears Canada. Click here for the Sears press release.
Gannett(PBR456) purchasing 6 Texas TV stations from London Broadcasting Co for $215 million cash. Click here for the Gannett press release.
Acxiom(PBR1058) to acquire LiveRamp for $310 million. Click here for the Acxiom press release.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the Producer Price Index for April was up 0.6. Click here for the USBLS press release.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014:
Merck(PBR63) selling it’s opthalmology products unit to Japan’s Santen Pharmaceutical for $600+ million. Click here for the Merck press release.
Meh Labs announces that its self-destruct mobile messaging app Blink is now a part of Yahoo(PBR492). Click here for the Blink press release.
Monday, May 12, 2014:
Hillshire Brands(PBR271) to acquire Pinnacle Foods for $6.6 billion. Click here for the Hillshire Brands press release.
Allergan(PBR391) unanimously rejects Valeant Pharmaceutical $46 billion takeover bid, viewed as undervalued. Click here for the Allergan press release.
Vantiv(PBR857) to acquire POS payment systems vendor Mercury Payment Systems from Silver Lake investment group for $1.65 billion. Click here for the Vantiv press release.
Friday, May 9, 2014:
DR Horton(PBR394) acquiring Atlanta based home builder Crown Communities for $210 million cash. Click here for the DR Horton press release.
Thursday, May 8, 2014:
Omnicom Group(PBR192) & France’s Publicis Groupe agree to terminate proposed $35 billion merger agreement. Click here for the Omnicrom press release.
Liberty Media(PBR564) in 1st quarter 2014 report announces plan to spin off Liberty Broadband Group cable business into separate public company. Click here for the Liberty Media press release.
Fannie Mae(PBR16) reports 1st quarter net income of $5.3 billion, will pay US government $5.7 billion dividend in June. Click here for the Fannie Mae press release.
Freeport-McMoRan(PBR131) buying Apache Corp(PBR166) deepwater gulf assets for $1.4 billion. Click here for the Freeport-McMoRan press release.
Time Warner(PBR92) announces spin-off dividend of Time, Inc, which will become a separate public company. Click here for the Time Warner press release.
Discovery Communications(PBR433) & England based Liberty Global forming 50/50 joint venture to buy TV producer & distributor All3Media for $930 million. Click here for the Discovery press release.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014:
Ford Motor(PBR8) announces $1.8 billion stock repurchase program to offset share dilution; consistent with capital strategy. Click here for the Ford press release.
Mondelez Intl(PBR84) & Netherland’s DE Masters Blenders 1753 to form world’s leading $7 billion in revenues pure-play coffee company. Click here for the Mondelez Intl press release.
Hyatt(PBR542) selling its Residential Group timesharing service & Maui property to Interval Leisure Group(NR) for $136 million. Click here for the Hyatt press release.
The International Olympic Committee awards broadcast rights through 2032 to the NBCUniversal unit of Comcast(PBR44). Click here for the Comcast press release.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014:
The US Dept of Commerce/Bureau of Economic Analysis says March international trade was $193.9B for exports, $234.3B for imports, $40.4B deficit, down from $41.9B in Feb. Click here for the BEA press release.
Merck(PBR63) selling its consumer care business to Germany’s Bayer AG for $14.2 billion. Click here for the Merck press release.
Office Depot(PBR232) in 1st quarter report announces it will close 400 US stores, 150 in 2014. Click here for the Office Depot press release.
AOL(PBR801) buying ad tracker Convertro(NR) for $101 million. Click here for the AOL press release.
Xerox(PBR127) acquiring workers compensation firm ISG Holdings for $225 million. Click here for the Xerox press release.
Boston Scientific(PBR349) is acquiring 100% of gynecological surgery pre-commercial stage firm IoGyn for $65 million. Click here for the Boston Scientific press release.
Monday, May 5, 2014:
Target(PBR37) board announces resignation of Chair/Pres/CEO Greg Steinhafel; CFO John Mulligan named Interim Pres/CEO. Click here for the Target press release.
PBRMarketTools.com releases its The PBR1000 April Stocks/Commodities Recap report. Click here for the PBRMarketTools.com blog post.
The Institute for Supply Management(ISM) reports that in April its Non-Manufacturing ISM index rose to 55.2%, Business Activity Index up at 60.9%, New Orders Index up at 58.2%, and Employment Index down a little at 51.3%. Click here for the ISM press release.
Friday, May 2, 2014:
The US Dept of Labor reports that 288,000 jobs were created in April, unemployment fell from 6.7% to 6.3%. Click here for the USDOL press release.
News Corp(PBR290) acquiring Canada’s Torstar’s fiction publisher Harlequin for $414 million. Click here for the News Corp press release.
Visteon(PBR335) selling majority of auto interiors business to Cerberus Capital Management affiliate. Click here for the Visteon press release.
The Textron(PBR217) E-Z-GO unit acquires aviation ground support manufacturer TUG Techologies. Click here for the Textron press release.
Thursday, May 1, 2014:
Click here for the The PBR1000 April 2014 Breaking News Recap blog post.
Ford Motor(PBR8) announces Pres/CEO Alan Mulally to retire on July 1, COO Mark Fields to become Pres/CEO. Click here for the Ford press release.
Berkshire Hathaway(PBR4) Energy unit acquiring Canadian transmission company AltaLink for $2.9 billion. Click here for the BHE press release.
Telephone & Data Systems(PBR476) buying Oregon based BendBroadband for $261 million. Click here for the TDS press release.
Viacom(PBR201) to acquire UK’s Channel 5 for $757 million. Click here for the Viacom press release.
YUM!(PBR206) Chair/CEO David Novak to become Exec Chair on 01/01/15, Greg Creed to become CEO. Click here for the YUM! press release.
Ferrellgas Partners(PBR885) acquiring private fluid logistics South Texas company Sable Environmental(NR) for $125 million. Click here for the Ferrellgas press release.
The official start of summer is in June. Let’s see what hot deals are made during the month!
(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with the premier key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US, companies that have a huge impact on the US and world economies. This information is updated monthly and published in MS Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.
Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)
