(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
By Larry C. Paxton
The summer months of July and August were busy ones with lots of deals affecting The PBR1000, some of them with some significant controversy. Unless specified otherwise, the ranking(in parentheses after the company name) is based on The PBR1000 3rd Quarter Progress Report. Here’s the recap, sorted by the most recent news date:
August 25, 2013: Amgen Inc(PBR151) to acquire Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc(NASDAQ: ONXX, $362 million in revenues in 2012) for $125/share, $10.4 billion all cash deal, expecting to close during early 4th quarter 2013. Will give Amgen some additional cancer medications and research.
August 23, 2013: Steve Ballmer, CEO since 2000 for Microsoft Corporation(PBR34), announced today that he will be retiring sometime within the next 12 months.
August 20, 2013: After filing for protection in January, 2012, today Eastman Kodak Company(PBR527) received approval from the US Bankruptcy Court of its Chapter 11 Reorganization Plan. According to CEO Antonio Perez the goal is to emerge from bankruptcy on September 3, 2013, and focus on being a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets such as commercial printing, packaging, functional printing, and professional services.
August 7, 2013: AOL Inc(PBR807) to acquire Adap.tv, Inc., a leading global, programmatic video advertising platform for the world’s largest brands, agencies, and publishers. Deal valued at $405 million, $322 million in cash, $83 million in AOL common stock. Deal expected to close during 3rd quarter 2013.
August 5, 2013: The Washington Post Company(PBR542) announced today that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, Inc.(PBR47), in a separate personal transaction valued at $250 million, will be acquiring the company. The transaction includes the main paper and some other smaller publications, but not all entities of the company. It is expected that the deal will be completed before the end of 2013.
August 2, 2013: The New York Times Company(PBR870) agreed to sell off its New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe and related holdings, to John W. Henry, sports entrepreneur and principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, for $70 million cash. The deal is expected to close in 30-60 days.
July 30, 2013: KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) completes acquisition of Gardner Denver, Inc(PBR773) for $3.9 billion, plus assumption of debt.
July 30, 2013: Community Health Systems(PBR174) to buy Health Management Associates(PBR354) for $13.78/share, deal valued at $7.6 billion, which includes HMA debt of $3.7 billion. Deal expected to close by end of 1st quarter 2014.
July 29, 2013: US drug maker Perrigo(PBR620) to buy Ireland based biotech firm Elan(NYSE: ELN) in $8.4 billion deal.
July 29, 2013: Canadian retailer giant Hudson Bay(parent of Lord & Taylor) to buy Saks, Inc(PBR646) for $2.6 billion.
July 28, 2013: Omnicom Group Inc(PBR182) and Publicis Groupe SA(Paris, France) announce definitive agreement to merge and form Publicis Omnicom Group, a holding company based in the Netherlands with head offices in Paris and New York City. It will be the largest communications, advertising, marketing and digital services company in the world. Transaction valued at $35 billion, expected to close during 4th quarter 2013 or 1st quarter 2014.
July 24, 2013: HanesBrands Inc(PBR489) to buy Maidenform Brands, Inc(NYSE: MFB, $600MM revenues in 2012) for $23.50/share, $575 million total deal value.
July 12, 2013: AT&T(PBR12) reaches agreement to acquire LEAP Wireless(PBR625) for $15/share, $1.2 billion, expected to close in 6-9 months.
July 10, 2013: Japan’s SoftBank Corp completes its $21.6 billion acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp(PBR83-2Q13), renames it to Sprint Corporation(PBR82), will continue trading under stock symbol S.
July 9, 2013: Kroger Co(PBR26) announced that it is acquiring the upper end 212 store chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets(PBR487) for $49.38/share, $2.44 billion transaction value, to close during 2013.
July 2, 2013: Coinstar, Inc.(PBR807-2Q13), changes name to Outerwall, Inc.(PBR804), still trading on NASDAQ with new symbol OUTR, new website, continues to provide Coinstar, ATM, and RedBox services.
Larry Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. The marketing research division, www.PBRMarketTools.com, produces the popular The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report.
