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The PBR1000: The February 2014 Breaking News Recap!

March 3, 2014 by admin

(Did February help us better understand the business and economic puzzles?)

By Larry C. Paxton

There was much activity in February, more than expected for the shortest month of the year.

The stock market recovered a lot of ground from the losses in January, some indices closing at record levels.

But because of severe winter weather across much of the US, the attention to the Olympics, and then the unrest in the Ukraine at the end of the month, there continues to be a lot of uncertainty.

The US housing market, which was showing signs of recovery is once again a question mark. The jobs market is still confusing and difficult to accurately measure.

FY2013 earnings reports started flooding in with mixed results. There are experts who say the stock market has a lot of play left for advancement, others are predicting a major adjustment. The earnings from the major retailers started coming in towards the end of the month.

Congress seems to be more active, but concerns remain, especially with midterm elections coming up. The norm is that we will be flooded with a lot of negative campaigning. What effect will that have on business and on the markets?

ObamaCare seems to be gathering momentum with the end of March deadline looming for signups, which will be the true test. But it’s still to early to know what the real short term and long term impacts of ObamaCare will have on the economy.

As usual, following are the breaking news recaps for February that PBRMarketTools followed from The PBR1000, starting with the most current items.

Friday, February 28, 2014:
Chesapeake Energy(PBR206) is selling its midstream compression units for $520 million. Click here for the Chesapeake Energy press release.

Mattel(PBR366) to acquire Canadian toy construction sets company MEGA Brands(NR) for $460 million. Click here for the Mattel press release.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014:
General Electric(PBR8) to pay $1.7 billion to Japan’s Shinsei Bank for Grey Zone claims. Click here for the GE press release.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014:
SandRidge Energy(PBR699) completes $1.2 billion Gulf of Mexico operations sale to Fieldwood Energy(NR). Click here for the SandRidge press release.

Simon Property Group(PBR464) names Mark Ordan as CEO of soon to be REIT spinoff Washington Prime Group. Click here for the SPG press release.

Alcoa(PBR115) reaches power agreement for Quebec smelters, secure 3,000 jobs. Click here for the Alcoa press release.

Monday, February 24, 2014:
Eli Lilly(PBR119) animal health Elanco division is acquiring Germany based international poultry vaccine & feed additives company Lohman SE. Click here for the Lilly press release.

VMWare(PBR481) completes acquisition of mobile management & security solutions vendor AirWatch(NR) for $1.54 billion. Click here for the VMWare press release.

Sunday, February 23, 2014:
Comcast(PBR44) agrees to provide Netflix(PBR582) services to US broadband customers. Click here for the Netflix press release.

Friday, February 21, 2014:
Brookdale Senior Living(PBR689) acquiring Emeritus Corp(PBR961) for $2.8 billion. Click here for the Brookdale press release.

3M(PBR91) acquiring healthcare data analytics & business intelligence firm Treo Solutions(NR). Click here for the 3M press release.

Verizon(PBR16) completes its acquisition of Vodafone’s 45% interest in Verizon Wireless. Click here for the Verizon press release.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014:
Zale Corporation(PBR898) being acquired by Bermuda based Signet Jewelers(NR, NYSE: SIG) for $21/share, $1.4 billion. Click here for the Signet press release.

Facebook(PBR448) acquiring mobile messaging company WhatsApp(NR) for $19 billion. Click here for the Facebook press release.

Devon Energy(PBR267) announces $2.8 billion sale of Canadian assets to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd(NR). Click here for the Devon Energy press release.

Stryker Corp(PBR286) acquiring private hip arthroscopy company Pivot Medical, Inc(NR). Click here for the Stryker press release.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014:
Specialty pharmaceutical Actavis(PBR400) is acquiring Forest Labs(PBR483) for $25 billion. Click here for the Actavis press release.

Ameren(PBR351) elects Warner Baxter as president & board member, to become CEO 04/24/14. Click here for the Ameren press release.

Stryker Corp(PBR286) acquiring Germany based surgical infrastructure company Berchtold Holding AG for $172 million. Click here for the Stryker press release.

Broadcom(PBR309) selling its Ethernet controller assets to QLogic(NR) for $147 million. Click here for the Broadcom press release.

MetLife(PBR39) sells Assurance UK subsidiary with $5 billion in assets to UK’s Rothesay Life(NR). Click here for the MetLife press release.

Ashland(PBR301) is selling its Ashland Water Technologies unit for $1.8 billion. Click here for the Ashland press release.

Monday, February 17, 2014:
Anadarko(PBR192) is selling its Chinese subsidiary to Brightoil Petroleum(NR) for $1.075 billion. Click here for the Anadarko press release.

Sunday, February 16, 2014:
Google(PBR55) acquires Israeli security login startup SlickLogin. Click here for the SlickLogin announcement.

Friday, February 14, 2014:
Minerals Technologies(PBR1075) bids $42/share for AMCOL International Corp(NYSE: ACO), up from $41/share bid by France’s Imerys. Click here for the Minerals Technologies press release.

Apollo Global Management(PBR677) completes acquisition of CEC Corp(NR) & its 577 Chuck E Cheeses for $54/share. Click here for the Apache press release.

Thursday, February 13, 2014:
Time Warner Cable(PBR124) to merge with Comcast(PBR44) in all stock deal valued at $45.2 billion. Click here for the Comcast press release.

Wednsday, February 12, 2014:
Amazon.com(PBR46) hiring 2,500 full time employees w/benefits for US fulfillment centers. Click here for the Amazon.com press release.

FirstEnergy Corp(PBR169) completes sale of 11 hydroelectric power stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings(NR) for $395 million. Click here for the FirstEnergy press release.

Colfax Corp(PBR553) to acquire welding solutions firm Victor Technologies(NR) for $947.3 million. Click here for the Colfax press release.

Apache Corp(PBR156) selling Argentina operations for $852 million. Click here for the Apache press release.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014:
Time Warner’s(PBR94) TV Group acquiring 15 country TV production company Eyeworks. Click here for the Time Warner press release.

Monday, February 10, 2014:
The Carlyle Group(PBR654) is selling its plastics & rubber technology Veyance unit to Germany’s Continental AG for $1.9 billion. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

The Carlyle Group(PBR654) has sold its majority stake in India’s Cyberoam Technologies Private Limited to Sophos. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Allegheny Technologies(PBR457) has acquired precision flowforming company Dynamic Flowform Corp. Click here for the ATI press release.

Friday, February 7, 2014:
KKR(PBR257) is acquiring optical retailer National Vision from private equity firm Berkshire Partners(NR). Click here for the Berkshire Partners press release.

Thursday, February 6, 2014:
Belden(PBR905) puts in $220 million binding offer for private broadcast equipment company Grass Valley. Click here for the Belden press release.

The Carlyle Group(PBR654) acquiring the Industrial Packaging Group from Illinois Tool Works(PBR145) for $3.2 billion. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Verizon(PBR16) to list $500 million in retail notes on NYSE. Click here for the Verizon press release.

The Jacobsen unit of Textron(PBR208) buys zero-turn radius mower manufacturer Dixie Chopper. Click here for the Textron press release.

First American Financial(PBR486) is buying the Verisk Analytics(PBR969) mortgage fraud analytics unit Interthinx for $155 million. Click here for the FAF press release.

BlackRock(PBR269) acquiring 4th solar power plant from Canadian Solar(NR, NASDAQ: CSIQ). Click here for the Canadian Solar press release.

Mondelez Intl(PBR83) investing $130 million in new biscuit technology, closing Philly bakery by 2015. Click here for the Mondelez press release.

The board of General Dynamics(PBR89) authorizes repurchase of up to 20 million shares. Click here for the General Dynamics press release.

Wednsday, February 5, 2014:
CVS Caremark(PBR13) to stop selling tobacco products in all stores by October. Click here for the CVS press release.

Coca-Cola Co(PBR56) paying $1.25 billion for 10% stake in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters(PBR557) to develop Keurig Cold home beverage system. Click here for the Coca-Cola press release.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014:
Microsoft(PBR34) promotes from within, appoints Satya Nadella as CEO, effective immediately. Click here for Microsoft’s press release.

Morgan Stanley(PBR88) agrees to pay $1.25 billion to Freddie Mac(PBR32) & Fannie Mae(PBR11) to settle mortgage securities litigation. Click here for Morgan Stanley’s Form 8-K.

JPMorgan(PBR18) reaches $614 million settlement with US Dept of Justice, HUD, the VA, and FHA. Click here for JPMorgan’s press release.

The W.R. Grace(PBR623) board authorizes up to $500 million stock repurchase program over 12-24 months. Click here for WR Grace’s press release.

3M(PBR91) authorizes $12 billion share repurchase program. Click here for the 3M press release.

Monday, February 3, 2014:
The PBR1000 January Breaking News Recaps blog post has been published.

Bristol-Myers Squibb(PBR147) completes sale to AstraZeneca(NR) of its global diabetes unit for $3.4 billion. Click here for the BMS press release.

W.R. Grace(PBR623) emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Click here for the WR Grace press release.

Endo Health(PBR643) completes its acquision of specialty generics company Boca Pharmacal for $225 million. Click here for the Endo Health press release.

Regency Energy Partners(PBR1009) completes acquisition of midstream assets of Hoover Energy Partners. Click here for the RegencyEP press release.

Altria Group(PBR110) subsidiary Nu Mark buying e-vapor company Green Smoke(NR) for $130 million. Click here for the Altria press release.

Forest Laboratories(PBR483) completes the $2.9 billion acquisition of gastrointestinal & cystic fibrosis pharmaceutical Aptalis(NR), which will operate as a subsidiary. Click here for the Forest Labs press release.

AMC Networks(PBR1004) completes $1 billion buy of Liberty Global’s(PBR239) international content division Chellomedia. Click here for the AMC press release.

The The PBR1000 March Update Reports, the MS Excel reports with raw data, should be available in a few days.

What surprises are in store from The PBR1000 in March? Will it be a smooth ride? Probably not, but hopefully it is not too much of a roller coaster!

(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.)

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Business, Investing, mergers, Rankings, The PBR1000

The PBR1000: The January 2014 Breaking News Recap!

February 3, 2014 by admin

(Guess what? Many questions remain after the first month of 2014!)

By Larry C. Paxton

The New Year started with a lot of mixed signals.

Earnings reports for companies with fiscal years ending in December, 2013, started coming in with both encouraging and discouraging results. Economic indices like job growth, housing starts, consumer spending, and GDP were also mixed. The stock market exchanges were all down, as were most key commodities.

Janet Yellen takes over from Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman starting in February. What changes will she make, how will she handle the taper? Mid term election campaigns are already starting. President Obama in his State of the Union address didn’t seem to close any gaps between the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. Will Congress pass any really meaningful laws regarding the debt ceiling, job creation, and immigration? Some severe cold snaps hit the US in January, what role will the weather and other nature related events play in the US and world economies?

Then there are the foreign influences. Significant tensions remain in the Middle East, China‘s economy is changing, there is some uncertainty about The European Union direction, compounded by revelations of the US NSA operations.

So, will February give us a better picture of the year ahead? The economy is still too fragile and there are too many variables for anyone to forecast with any accuracy. Prepare to hang onto your hats and enjoy what could be a rather rocky ride through 2014!

Here’s a recap on the stock exchanges and some key commodities for January. After the stock/commodity name is the December 31, 2013, price, then the January 31, 2014, price, and finally the percent change.

DJIA: 16,576.66, 15,698.85, Down 5.30%
NASDAQ: 4,176.59, 4,103.88, Down 1.74%
S&P500: 1,848.36, 1,782.59, Down 3.56%
Gold: 1,202.30, 1,245.60, Up 3.60%
Silver: 19.37, 19.15, Down 1.14%
Oil: 98.42, 97.46, Down 0.98%

As usual, there were a lot of mergers & acquisitions, selling and acquiring of assets, and other activities in The PBR1000. Following are the January Breaking News Recaps with hotlinks to the press releases. The PBR 1000 Ranking is in parenthesis after the company name, based on the The PBR1000 ranking at the end of December, 2013. An NR means No Ranking. The order of the Breaking News items is from most current to oldest.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014:
Google(PBR55) selling Motorola unit to Lenovo(NR) for $2.91 billion. Click here for the Google press release.

Hess Corp(PBR71) selling its Utica Shale dry gas acreage to an undisclosed 3rd party for $924 million. Click here for the Hess Corp press release.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014:
Verizon Communications(PBR16) & VodaFone(NR) shareholders okay Verizon’s $130 billion buy of Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. Click here for the Verizon press release.

Martin Marietta Materials(PBR850) is buying cement & concrete producer Texas Industries(NR) for $2.7 billion, to close 2nd quarter 2014. Click here for the MMM press release.

Monday, January 27, 2014:
KKR & Co(PBR257) is acquiring majority ownership in Sedgwick Claims Management Services(NR) for $2.4 billion. Click here for the KKR press release.

Liberty Global(PBR239) is buying Dutch cable operator Ziggo(NR) for $13.7 billion. Click here for the Liberty Global press release.

Friday, January 24, 2014:
Global Payments(PBR799) is acquiring PayPros(NR) for $420 million. Click here for the Global Payments press release.

Thursday, January 23, 2014:
IBM(PBR20) is selling its x86 Server Business to Lenova for $2.3 billion. Click here for the IBM announcement.

AOL(PBR803) acquiring Instant Graph creator Gravity(NR) for $83 million. Click here for the AOL press release.

Vulcan Materials(PBR729) selling its Florida cement & concrete business to Cementos Argos(NR) for $720 million. Click here for the Vulcan press release.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014:
Wells Fargo(PBR24) selling $39 billion of residential loans servicing to Ocwen Loan Servicing(NR). Click here for the Wells Fargo press release.

American Eagle Outfitters'(PBR629) exec chairman Jay Schottenstein appointed Interim CEO immediately, succeeding leaving CEO Robert Hanson. Click here for the AEO press release.

The Federal Trade Commission has agreed to let the Community Health Systems(PBR174) $7.6 billion acquisition of Health Management Associates(PBR353) proceed. Click here for the CHS press release.

VMWare(PBR481) acquiring mobile management & security solutions vendor AirWatch(NR) for $1.54 billion. Click here for the VMWare press release.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014:
Endo Health(PBR643) & NuPathe(NR) terminate merger agreement per NuPathe/Teva agreement. Click here for the Endo press release.

General Electric(PBR8) to acquire workforce management software developer API Healthcare(NR), terms not disclosed. Click here for the GE press release.

Monday, January 20, 2014:
Annheuser-Busch InBev(NR) to reacquire South Korea’s Oriental Brewery(NR) from KKR & Co(PBR257) & Affinity Equity Partners(NR) for $5.8 billion. Click here for the KKR press release.

Friday, January 17, 2014:
Actavis(PBR400) selling generics operations in 7 Western Europe countries to Aurobindo Pharma Ltd(NR). Click here for the Actavis press release.

IBM(PBR20) completes acquisition of privately held large data file transfer developer Aspera. Click here for the IBM press release.

Thursday, January 16, 2014:
The Carlyle Group(PBR654) to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s(PBR40) Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics for $4.15 billion. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Brown & Brown Insurance(PBR1036) to acquire The Wright Insurance Group(NR) for $602.5 million. Click here for the B&B press release.

Wednesday, January 15,2014:
JC Panney(PBR151) to close 33 underperforming stores, eliminate 2,000 positions. Click here for the JCP press release.

Monday, January 13, 2014:
Japan based beverage company Suntory Limited(NR) to acquire Beam, Inc(PBR748) for $83.50/share, $16 billion total value. Click here for the Beam press release.

The Time Warner Cable(PBR123) board unanimously rejects the the third acquisition offer by Charter Communications(PBR321). Click here for the TWC press release.

Google(PBR55) is acquiring Nest Labs(NR) for $3.2 billion cash. Click here for the Google press release.

Friday, January 10, 2014:
Target(PBR37) updates holiday credit/debit card breach to 70 million, updates financials. Click here for the Target press release.

Thursday, January 9, 2014:
The European Commission gives unconditional clearance for the Publicis Groupe(NR) & Omnicom(PBR182) international merger. Click here for Omnicom’s press release.

Endo Health(PBR643) selling its urological Healthtronics unit to Altaris Capital for up to $130 million. Click here for the Endo Health press release.

JPMorgan Chase(PBR18) is exploring sale of its corporate & public prepaid card business. Click here for JPMorgan Chase’s press release.

Mondelez Intl(PBR83) announces $1 billion cash tender offer for certain notes. Click here for the Mondelez press release.

IBM(PBR20) to invest over $1 billion in new cloud-based big data services unit Watson Group. Click here for IBM’s press release.

Alcoa(PBR115) agrees to $384 million settlement with the Dept of Justice over the Alba suit. Click here for Alcoa’s press release.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014:
Barnes & Noble(PBR339) appoints Mike Huseby as CEO, effective immediately. Click here for Barnes & Noble’s press release.

Forest Laboratories(PBR483) acquiring privately held gastrointestinal & cystic fibrosis pharmaceutical Aptalis for $2.9 billion. Click here for the Forest Labs press release.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014:
Microsoft Corp(PBR34) acquires Parature to add leading customer self-service suite to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Click here for Microsoft’s press release.

Reuters reports that JPMorgan Chase(PBR18) agrees to $2.6 billion settlement per its management of Madoff funds. Click here for the Reuters article.

Honeywell Intl(PBR74) to sell its Friction-Materials unit to Federal-Mogul Corp for $155 million. Click here for Honeywell’s press release.

Macy’s(PBR102) outlines cost-reduction initiatives. Click here for Macy’s press release.

SandRidge Energy(PBR699) selling its Gulf of Mexico operations to Fieldwood Energy LLC(NR) for $1.2 billion. Click here for SandRidge’s press release.

A. Schulman(PBR836) acquires custom colors & additive concentrates manufacturer Prime Colorants(NR) for $15.1 million. Click here for Schulman’s press release.

Oracle(PBR76) to acquire software-defined networking WAN developer Corente. Click here for Oracle’s press release.

Monday, January 6, 2014:
Time Warner Cable Inc(PBR123) completes its purchase of Duke Energy’s(PBR133) DukeNet regional fiber optic unit for $600 million. Click here for TWC’s press release.

T-Mobile US(PBR446) buying 700 MHz A-Block spectrum from Verizon Wireless(PBR16) for $3.315 billion. Click here for T-Mobile’s press release.

FedEx(PBR61) announces $2 billion notes offering for shares repurchase. Click here for the FedEx press release.

Crown Castle Intl(PBR755) to operate as an REIT effective 01/01/14. Click
here for Crown Castle’s press release.

Thermo Fisher Scientific(PBR204) to sell its cell culture & other businesses to General Electric(PBR8) for $1.06 billion. Click here for TFS’s press release.

Saturday, January 4, 2014:
Boeing(PBR31) comments on Seattle area IAM union approving an 8 year contract extension for 777X work. Click here for the Boeing statement.

Thursday, January 2, 2014:
Advance Auto Parts(PBR379) completes its $2.04 billion acquisition of General Parts International Click here for the AAP press release.

Macy’s(PBR102) & Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia settle legal dispute. Click here for the Macy’s press release.

Motorola Solutions(PBR285) acquires privately held Twisted Pair Solutions, known for its push-to-talk over broadband applications. Click here for the Motorola press release.

The February The PBR1000 Monthly Update Reports should be available in a few days.

Let’s see what adventures are in store for The PBR1000 in February!

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with 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.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Business, Investing, mergers, Rankings, The PBR1000

The PBR1000: January Monthly Update Report Summary

January 14, 2014 by admin

By Larry C. Paxton

2014 promises to be another adventurous year for The PBR1000, with lots of fireworks and uncertainty among the many variables that affect these companies. That creates both challenges and opportunities for business professionals. Hopefully The PBR1000 Monthly Reports can be of assistance as we move through the year.

The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report for January includes 1,074 companies.

Total worldwide revenues in 2012 from these 1,074 companies was $12.975 trillion, net profits $.917 trillion, or 7.07% of revenues. They employed 31.4 million full time and part time employees worldwide in 2012.

At the end of 2013 The PBR1000 enjoyed a 5.70% increase in stock price over the last quarter, a 33.13% increase over the year. At the end of 2013 total market capitalization was $19.394 trillion.

The following companies have been dropped since the publication of The PBR1000 4th Quarter Progress Report of 2013(Rankings are for 4th quarter, 2013):

– Smithfield Foods(PBR199): Acquisition completed by China’s Shuanghui International in late September, 2013

– Boise, Inc(PBR730): Acquired by Packaging Corporation of America(PBR674) in October, 2013

– Dell, Inc(PBR79): Completion of buyout and privatization by Michael Dell and investment partners in October, 2013

– The Washington Post Company(PBR545): Sold to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in October, 2013. Remaining interests now held by Graham Holdings Company

– Dole Food Company(PBR516): Completion of purchase and privatization by Chairman/CEO David Murdock in November, 2013

– Edgen Group, Inc(PBR854): Acquired by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation in November, 2013

– Nash-Finch Company(PBR470): Merger with Spartan Stores(PBR725) to form SpartanNash in November, 2013

– NYSE Euronext(PBR571): Acquisition completed by Intercontinental Exchange Inc(PBR1013) in November, 2013

– OfficeMax, Inc(PBR349): Merger with Office Depot(PBR235) completed in November, 2013

– Saks, Inc(PBR653): Acquired by Canada’s Hudson Bay in November, 2013

– AMR Corporation(PBR109): Completion of merger with US Airways(PBR189) to form the new American Airlines Group in December, 2013

– US Airways(PBR189): Completion of merger with AMR Corporation(PBR109) to form the new American Airlines Group in December, 2013

– Molex, Inc(PBR600): Acquired by privately held Koch Industries in December, 2013

– NV Energy, Inc(PBR662) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) in December, 2013

– Patriot Coal Corporation(PBR890): Emerges from bankruptcy as a privately held company in December, 2013

While there were a significant number of deletions, we also added in a few new companies. They are(Rankings for January):

– Acxiom Corporation(PBR1048): Business information and data processing services

– AMC Networks(PBR1004): Cable and other pay television services

– American Airlines Group(PBR108): Air transportation services. From merger of AMR Corp & US Airways in December, 2013

– Crocs, Inc(PBR1051): Rubber & plastics footwear

During the 4th quarter of 2013 17 new CEOs were appointed in The PBR1000. This does not reflect in the report because the month is not provided. We hope to add the month field in the future, however. There will be a number of new CEOs appointed in January, most of which will be reflected in the February report.

Earnings reports for all of 2013 will now start flowing in over the next few months. We will be adding those to future reports as they become available.

Other reports and opinion pieces for January will be out soon.

Enjoy the start of the New Year! We look forward to helping you by keeping good track of these key companies throughout the year.

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with 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 Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net)

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Business, Investing, mergers, Rankings, The PBR1000

The PBR1000 December Breaking News Recap!

January 3, 2014 by admin

(The PBR1000 Says Welcome To The New York Stock Exchange. Other than DisneyLand, Maybe the Happiest Place on Earth in 2013!)

By Larry C. Paxton

First of all, Happy New Year from the staff of PBRMarketTools! We sincerely wish you and your family the best year yet. Hopefully The PBR1000 can be a part of your success and happiness.

We are also sure that 2014 will be an interesting year for The PBR1000. For that reason we are also pleased to announce that The PBR1000 will move from a quarterly to a monthly release starting with the January report, which should be released in the next business day or so.

This will make it easier for subscribers to keep up to date. Rather than update and sync The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report with each month’s recap, they can just get The PBR Monthly Update Report which includes those news releases.

This decision is based on the feedback from several of The PBR1000 subscribers. As always, your comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated. This is an example where we were able and happy to respond to subscriber wishes. In the coming months we look forward to also providing additional fields of helpful information.

Like the snowstorms that are crossing the US today, there was a big flurry of year end activity from The PBR1000. However, the big news was Wall Street itself where stock indices closed at record highs for the year, far higher than most people predicted at the beginning of 2012. Here are the stats. The first number is the closing price, the first percentage is the change from the quarter ending 09/30/13, and the second percentage is the change for the year:

Dow Jones Industrial Average, 16,576.66, up 9.56% over 09/30/13, up 26.50% over 12/31/12;
NASDAQ, 4,176.59, up 10.74% over 09/30/13, up 38.32% over 12/31/13;
S&P 500, 1,848.36, up 9.92% over 09/30/13, up 29.60% over 12/31/12;
Gold, 1,202.30/ounce, down 9.40% over 09/30/13, down 28.52% over 12/31/12;
Silver, 19.37/ounce, down 10.78% over 09/30/13, down 36.20% over 12/31/12;
Oil, 98.42/barrel, down 3.82 over 09/30/13, up 5.04% over 12/31/12.

In the next few days we will be publishing The PBR1000 Forecast for 2014. This is always a little risky, no one has consistently done this successfully, which is why only those few who came close mention it at the end of a year. But we will give it our best shot, hope it is a little entertaining for you, too, and that we get a chance to gloat at the end of 2014!

Following are the many news summaries involving The PBR1000 for December, 2013, by descending date order. Please note that The PBR1000 ranking in parentheses is from The PBR1000 2013 4th Quarter Report:

Monday, December 31, 2013:

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co(PBR521) terminates its $2.5 billion merger with India’s Apollo Tyres. Click here for Cooper’s press release.

Reuters reports that Hewlett-Packard(PBR15) to lay off 5,000 more people in 2014, total 34,000. Click here for the Reuters article.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Mondelez International(PBR84) has sold its majority stake in Snackwell’s to private equity firm Brynwood Partners.

Monday, December 30, 2013:

Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) to acquire flow improver Phillips Specialty Products Inc. from Phillips 66(PBR4). Click here for the Phillips 66 press release.

Wells Fargo(PBR24) agrees to pay Fannie Mae(PBR11) $541 million for loan liabilities prior to 2009. Click here for the Wells Fargo press release.

Sunday, December 29, 2013:

Crocs(NR) announces Blackstone Group(PBR544) to buy $200 million in Class A Preferred stock, Crocs CEO to retire in April, 2014. Click here for the Crocs press release.

Friday, December 27, 2013:

Tribune Co(NR) announced completion of its acquisition of Local TV Holdings, LLC. Tribune Co is now the largest US independent broadcast group.Click here for the Tribune press release.

Thursday, December 26, 2013:

Textron(PBR210) acquiring Beechcraft for $1.4 billion, to close in 1st half of 2014. Click here for the Textron press release.

Tuesday, December 24, 2014:

Time Warner Cable(PBR124) & Viacom(PBR188) reach long-term multi-platform distribution agreement. Click here forViacom’s press release.

Monday, December 23, 2013:

Kinder Morgan(PBR252) announces acquisition of US Jones Act Shipping Containers for $962 million. Click here for the Kinder Morgan press release.

Bloomberg News reports that W.R. Grace(PBR630) has reached an agreement with banks, to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy probably around January 31, 2014. Click here for the Bloomberg article.

Tribune Co(NR) announces agreement with Sony Corp of America to purchase its Gracenote subsidiary, the largest source of music data in the world, for $170 million, to close 1st quarter 2014. Click here for the Tribune press release.

Regency Energy Partners(PBR1010) to acquire Eagle Rock Energy Partners midstream assets for $1.3 billion. Click here for Regency’s press release.

Regency Energy Partners(PBR1010) to purchase the midstream assets of Hoover Energy Partners LP for $290 million. Click here for Regency’s press release.

Service Corp Intl(PBR770) announces completion of Stewart Enterprises acquisition based on FTC settlement. Click here for SCI’s press release.

Pall Corp(PBR717) acquiring ATMI’s LifeSciences business for $185 million. Click here for Pall’s press release.

Sunday, December 22, 2013:

Apple(PBR6) and China Mobile announce multi-year agreement to make iPhones available on world’s largest mobile network. Click here for Apple’s announcement.

In arbitration ruling Tiffany & Co(PBR582) to pay Swatch Group Ltd $449.5 million. Click here for Tiffany’s announcement.

Tribune Co & Time Warner Cable(PBR124) announce new multi-year retransmission agreement. Click here for the Tribune press release.

Friday, December 20, 2013:

Cathay Pacific orders 21 777-9X Boeing Co(PBR31) airliners for $7+ billion, first Asia customer, part of Dubai show anticipated purchases. Click here for Boeing’s announcement.

Morgan Stanley(PBR89) to sell its Global Oil Merchanting business to Russia’s Rosneft. Click here for the Morgan Stanley announcement.

Oracle Corp(PBR77) to buy cloud-based B2C marketing company Responsys for $27/share, $1.5 billion transaction value, to close in 1st half of 2014. Click here for Oracle’s announcement.

Thursday, December 19, 2013:

Facebook(PBR451) CEO Mark Zuckerburg to include 41+ million Class A shares as part of a 70 million Class A shares public offering. Click here for Facebook’s announcement.

NV Energy(PBR662) becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway’s(PBR5) MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.

Briston-Myers Squibb(PBR148) is selling its global diabetes business to alliance partner AstraZeneca for $3.4 billion, to close 1st quarter 2014. Click here for the BMS press release.

The Hershey Co(PBR363) to acquire private China based Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Joint Stock Co. Click here for the Hershey press release.

MetLife(PBR39) to acquire stake in Malaysia based AMMB’s AMLife and AMTakaful units for $249 million. Click here for MetLife’s press release.

Darden Restaurants(PBR312) announces plan to enhance business, will spin-off Red Lobster. Click here for Darden’s press release.

Target Corp(PBR37) confirms unauthorized access to 40 million credit/debit cards, issue resolved. Click here for the Target announcement.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013:

Patriot Coal(PBR890) emerges from bankruptcy well capitalized & as a private company. Click here for Patriot’s press release.

Privately held Harland Clarke Holdings Inc to acquire Valassis Communications(PBR823) for $34.04/share, transaction valued at $1.84 billion, to close in 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for the Valassis press release.

Blackstone Group(PBR544) to acquire 3 Texas power stations with 1295MW capacity from Centrica plc for $685 million. Click here for the Centrica press release.

Boeing Co(PBR31) announces key leadership promotions. Click here for the Boeing announcement.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013:

3M(PBR92) ups plan, to spend $17-22 billion in 2013-2017 for share repurchases. Click here for the 3M press release.

Monday, December 16, 2013:

General Motors(PBR7) announces it is investing $1.3 billion in 5 US plants. Click here for the GM press release.

KKR(PBR259) to acquire KKR Financial Holdings in stock-for-stock deal valued at $2.6 billion. Click here for the Boeing press release.

Endo Health(PBR650) to acquire NuPathe Inc (NASDAQ: PATH) for $2.85/share, $105 million. Click here for the Endo press release.

Boeing(PBR31) board okays $10 billion stock repurchase program, raises dividend. Click here for the Boeing press release.

Archer-Daniels-Midland(PBR27) board approves increased dividend, buyback of 18 million shares by end of 2014, valued at around $725 million. Click here for ADM’s press release.

American International Group(PBR42) to sell its International Lease Finance Corporation to AerCap Holdings NV for $5.4 billion. Click here for AIG’s press release.

Intel(PBR53) to acquire the MindSpeed Technologies Wireless Infrastructure division. Click here for Intel’s press release.

LSI Corp(PBR746) to be acquired by Singapore based Avago Technologies for $11.15/share, $6.6 billion, to close during 1st half of 2014. Click here for LSI’s press release.

SingularityHub reports on Google(PBR56) buying military robots developer Boston Dynamics, 8th robots acquisition in 6 months. Click here for the SingularityHub article.

Friday, December 13, 2013:

Simon Property(PBR467) to spin off strip center & smaller malls business. Click here for Simon’s press release.

Las Vegas Sands Corp(PBR226) stops pursuing $30 billion Spain development, will focus on Asian markets. Click here for the Sand’s announcement.

Reuters reports US judge says Anadarko(PBR194), Kerr-McGee liable for $5+ billion spin-off Tronox(PBR919) cleanup costs. Click here for the Reuters article.

QUALCOMM(PBR137) announces Pres/COO Steve Mollenkopf to become Pres/CEO in March, 2014. Click here for the QUALCOMM announcement.

Thursday, December 12, 2013:

Ford(PBR10) announces new jobs, plants, and product plans for 2014. Click here for Ford’s press release.

The Coca-Cola Co(PBR57) announces that the North America unit will be split into North American & Refreshments operating units. Click here for Coca-Cola’s press release.

General Motors(PBR7) announces the sale of its 7% equity stake in Peugot. Click here for the GM press release.

The Merrill Lynch unit of Bank of America(PBR21) agrees to pay $132 million for misleading investors in CDOs. Click here for the SEC announcement.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013:

UNS Energy(PBR990) agrees to be acquired by Canada based energy company Fortis, Inc. for $60.25/share, $4.3 billion total transaction value, to close by end of 2014. Click here for the UNS press release.

Avon(PBR234) provides details on $400 million cost savings plan, 650 positions to be eliminated. Click here for the Avon press release.

AECOM Technology(PBR302) announces that Michael Burke to succeed John Dionisio as CEO on March 6, 2014. Click here for the AECOM press release.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings (No PBR ranking yet) announces IPO, opening at $20.00 share, NYSE: HLT. Click here for Hilton’s press release.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013:

MasterCard(PBR328) announces 10:1 stock split, dividend, $3.5 billion stock repurchase plan. Click here for MasterCard’s press release.

Outerwall(PBR809) announces organizational & capital restructuring. Click here for the Outerwall press release.

General Motors Co(PBR7) announces Dan Ackerson to retire as Chairman/CEO, Mary Barra to become CEO, other C level staff changes. Click here for the GM press release.

Monday, December 9, 2013:

Sprint(PBR82) offering $2.5 billion in 2024 notes to institutions & non US persons. Click here for the Sprint press release.

WhiteWave Foods(PBR791) to acquire organic produce company Earthbound Farm for $600 million. Click here for the WhiteWave press release.

Abercrombie & Fitch(PBR527) announces new agreement to extend term of Michael Jeffries as CEO. Click here for A&F’s press release.

Privately held Koch Bros completes its acquisition of Molex(PBR600), which is now de-listed.

The US Treasury announced that it has sold all remaining shares in General Motors(PBR7). Click here for the US Treasury announcement.

Hologic(PBR871) appoints former Pres/CEO of Stryker Corp(PBR288) Steve MacMillan as its new CEO. Click here for the Hologic press release.

Sysco Corp(PBR64) & private equity owned US Foods to merge, $8.2 billion total transaction, expected to close 3rd quarter 2014. Click here for the Sysco press release.

Alpha Natural Resources(PBR347) exchanging its interest in Alpha Shale Resources joint venture for $300 million. Click here for the AlphaNR press release.

Reuters-Incoming Time Warner Cable(PBR124) CEO Robert Marcus says not in a hurry to sell company. Click here for the Reuters article.

AMR Corp(PBR109)/US Airways(PBR189) merger completed, now American Airlines Group, now trading as NASDAQ: AAL. Click here for the AAL press release.

Friday, December 6, 2013:

On Assignment(PBR1037) completes its acquisition of $55 million in revenues CyberCoders Holdings Inc for $94 million + $11 million incentives. Click here
for On Assignment’s press release.

Sears Holding Corp(PBR68) files SEC paperwork to separate Land’s End from its holdings. Click here for the Sears announcement.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 203,000 non-farm new jobs in November, unemployment rate drops to 7.0%. Click here for the US BLS press release.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013:

ADP(PBR236) reports that private sector employment rose 215,000 in November. Click here for the ADP press release details.

Career Education Corp(PBR987) completes the sale of its European operations to private equity firm Apax Partners. Click here for Career Education’s press release.

The Wall Street Journal reports that General Motors(PBR7) is selling its remaining stake in Ally Financial for around $900 million. Will focus on using GM Financial for loans.

Deere & Co(PBR81) board authorizes purchase of up to $8 billion of additional common stock. Click here for the Deere press release.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013:

The Carlyle Group’s(PBR663) Paradigm Precision unit completes purchase of 8 units of GE Aviation’s subsidiary Unison Engine Components. Click here for Carlyle’s press release.

Monday, December 2, 2013:

Blackstone Group’s(PBR544) Hilton Worldwide Inc looking at $2.37 billion IPO this month. Click here for the Reuters article.

Calpine Corp(PBR428) to acquire Guadalupe County, TX, 1050MW power plant for $625 million from MinnTex Power Holdings. Click here for Calpine’s press release.

Cognizant Technology(PBR334) to hire 10,000 people in US over next 3 years. Click here for the Reuters article.

In 2 agreements Hess Corp(PBR72) has sold its Indonesian assets for $1.3 billion. Click here for the Hess press release.

Forest Laboratories(PBR487) announces operations streamlining and stock repurchase plans. Click here for Forest Lab’s press release.

Dow Chemical(PBR51) to carve out $5 billion in revenues from its chlorine segment. Click here for the Dow announcement.

Bank of America Corp(PBR21) to pay Freddie Mac(PBR32) $404 million to settle residential mortgage claims through 2009. Click here for the BofA press release.

AAR Corp(PBR851) to acquire the cargo loading systems assets from German based PFW Aerospace GmbH. Click here for the AAR press release.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Investing, mergers, Rankings, Sales, The PBR1000

The PBR1000 November Breaking News Recap!

December 3, 2013 by admin

By Larry C. Paxton

For November a major breaking news stream was AMR Corporation emerging from taxiing down the long runway of bankruptcy, getting the go ahead from the tower(aka the US government) to complete the merger with US Airways, and now we are all waiting for the December 9th takeoff of the new entity known as the American Airlines Group. Controversies remain. It will be interesting to see how the C-level pilots handle some of the inevitable rough weather ahead, the effect on other carriers and supporting industries, and the impact on travelers. As for me, I hope they decrease prices but also increase the amount of legroom and seat width in the economy cabins. Maybe I should be happy if either one happens.

The many news items with links to the articles and press releases on this and the other The PBR1000 members are below.

But first here’s a recap of some stock indices and commodity prices at the month end closing on Friday, November 29:

– The Dow Jones Industrial Average: 16,086.41, up 3.5% from 10/31/13, and up 22.8% from 12/31/12.

– NASDAQ: 4,059.89, up 4.1% from 10/31/13, and up 34.5% from 12/31/12.

– S&P 500: 1,805.81, up 2.8% from 10/31/13, and up 26.6% from 12/31/12.

– Gold: 1,250.40, down 5.6% from 10/31/13, and down 25.7% from 12/31/12.

– Silver: 20.03, down 8.6% from 10/31/13, and down 34.0% from 12/31/12.

– Oil: 92.72, down 4.1% from 10/31/13, and down 1.0% from 12/31/12.

Here are the news items PBRMarketTools tracked during November:

Thursday, November 28, 2013:
Archer Daniels Midland’s(PBR27) $3.4 billion bid for GrainCorp is prohibited by Australia’s Treasurer. Click here for ADM’s comment.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013:
AMR Corp(PBR109) settles bankruptcy suit, reorganization plan & merger with US Airways(PBR189) as American Airlines Group to be completed on 12/09/13. Click here for the AMR press release.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013:
CVS Caremark(PBR13) is buying Apria Healthcare Group’s specialty infusion services & enteral nutrition business unit Coram LLC for $2.1 billion. Click here for the CVS press release.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013:
NASDAQ breaks through the 4,000 mark, closes at 4,017.75, up 2.5% month-to-date(3,919.71 on 10/31/13), and up 33.1% year-to-date(3,019.51 on 12/31/12).

Tuesday, November 26, 2013:
Aeropostale(PBR781) adopts a limited term stockholder rights plan to avoid a potential coercive or abusive takeover attempt. Click here for the Aeropostale press release.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013:
The Carlyle Group(PBR663) is acquiring Toronto, Canada, based global hedge fund manager Diversified Global Asset Management Corporation, which has $6.7 billion in managed & advised assets. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Monday, November 25, 2013:
Aetna Inc(PBR80) to acquire 65,000 worldwide medical members UK based InterGlobal Group. Click here for the Aetna press release.

Monday, November 25, 2013:
The Carlyle Group(PBR663) closed its Carlyle Partners VI fund with $13 billion for US corporate buyouts & strategic minority investments in 6 industries. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Monday, November 25, 2013:
Walmart Stores(PBR2) elects Doug McMillon to become CEO on 02/01/14. Click here for the Walmart announcement.

Friday, November 22, 2013:
The S&P500 closes at a record high of $1,804.76, up 26.54% year-to-date(from 1,426.19 on 12/31/12).

Friday, November 22, 2013:
J.C. Penney Co(PBR152) is moving from the S&P500 to the S&P MidCap 400 on 11/29/13. Click here for the S&P Dow Jones Indices article.

Friday, November 22, 2013:
Bloomberg News reports that Charter Communications(PBR323) & Comcast(PBR44) are considering a joint bid for Time Warner Cable(PBR124). Click here for the Bloomberg article.

Thursday, November 21, 2013:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at a record $16,009.99, up 22.18% year-to-date(from 13,104.14 on 12/31/13).

Thursday, November 21, 2013:
Reuters reports US jury awards Apple, Inc(PBR6) $290 million in retrial against Samsung. Click here for the Reuters article.

Thursday, November 21, 2013:
KKR’s(PBR259) Asset Management unit is acquiring LBO France’s Winoa Group, a worldwide provider of abrasion & cutting technologies for the metal & stone industries. Click here for the KKR press release.

Thursday, November 21, 2013:
Reuters reports US Treasury to sell stock in General Motors(PBR7) by year end. Click here for the Reuters article.

Thursday, November 21, 2013:
Hologic, Inc(PBR871) adopts 1 year stockholder rights plan upon hearing that a Carl Icahn unit is acquiring a stake in the company. Click here for the Hologic press release.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013:
Today PBRMarketTools released The PBR1000 4th Quarter Rankings Report to the general public. Click here for the PBRMarketTools blog post summarizing some observations as we near the end of the year.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013:
The Carlyle Group(PBR663) announced the selling of its German based software developer P&I Personal & Informatik AG to HgCapital by year end. Click here for Carlyle’s press release.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013:
Boeing Co(PBR31) announces $101.5 billion in commitments from Dubai Airshow. Click here for Boeing’s press release.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013:
Devon Energy Corp(PBR269) is acquiring the Eagle Ford assets of GeoSouthern Energy for $6 billion. Click here for the Devon Energy press release.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013:
Johnson & Johnson’s(PBR40) DePuy unit agrees to $2.5 billion settlement for ASR hip systems issues. Click here for Johnson & Johnson’s press release.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013:
US Dept of Justice reports that Sysco(PBR64) unit FreshPoint Inc to pay $4.2 million for overbilling the Dept of Defense for produce. Click here for the USDOJ announcement.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013:
JPMorgan Chase & Co(PBR18) agrees to $13 billion settlement on bad residential mortgage backed securities. Click here for the JPMorgan press release.

Monday, November 18, 2013:
The Washington Post Co(PBR545) changing name to Graham Holdings Company effective 11/29/13, stock symbol GHC. Click here for The Washington Post press release.

Friday, November 15, 2013:
Forbes reports on BerkshireHathaway’s(PBR5) end of 3rd quarter holdings. Click here for the Forbes article.

Friday, November 15, 2013:
JPMorgan Chase & Co(PBR18) agrees to $4.5 billion settlement with 21 institutional investors. Click here for the JPMorgan announcement.

Friday, November 15, 2013:
Pershing Square acquires 10% share in Freddie Mac(PBR32) & Fannie Mae(PBR11) stocks. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

Friday, November 15, 2013:
AMR Corp(PBR109) to be renamed American Airlines Group Inc, trade on NASDAQ, symbol AAL. Click here for the AMR press release.

Thursday, November 14, 2013:
The US International trade deficit was $41.8 billion in September. Click here for the press release from The Bureau of Economic Affairs.

Thursday, November 14, 2013:
Lockheed Martin Corp(PBR59) to close some US facilities, reduce workforce by 4,000. Click here for Lockheed’s press release.

Thursday, November 14, 2013:
ABM Industries(PBR510) launching a Healthcare Support Business unit. Click here for ABM’s press release.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013:
Juniper Networks(PBR503) announces that Shaygan Kheradpir will become CEO effective 01/01/14, current CEO Kevin Johnson will remain on board. Click here for Juniper’s press release.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013:
Procter & Gamble(PBR29) announce reorganization, some long time key management retiring. Click here for P&G’s press release.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013:
The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) names its Managing Directors for 2014. Click here for the Goldman Sachs press release.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:
Omnicom Group’s(PBR183) Ketchum unit is acquiring Singapore based ICON International Communications. Click here for Omnicom’s press release.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:
Starbucks Corp(PBR195) agrees to arbitration suit, to pay Kraft, now Mondelez International(PBR84), $2.76 billion. Click here for the Starbucks press release.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:
Patriot Coal Corp(PBR890) secures $200 million letter of credit, also preparing for $250 million term loan & a $125 million asset-backed revolving loan. Click here for the Patriot Coal press release.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:
Roland C. Smith is appointed Chairman/CEO of the new Office Depot(PBR235). Click here for the Office Depot press release.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc(PBR434) acquires $500 million secured line of credit. Click here for AMD’s press release.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013:
The US Department of Justice agrees that the AMR Corp(PBR109) & US Airways(PBR189) can merge based on meeting certain conditions. Click here for the transcript of the DOJ press conference announcing the agreement & details of the conditions.

Monday, November 11, 2013:
Amazon.com(PBR47) & the USPS to work together to deliver packages in select cities on Sundays. Click here for Amazon’s press release.

Monday, November 11, 2013:
KKR & Co(PBR259) is acquiring landscaper & snow removal company the Brickman Group for $1.6 billion. Click here for KKR’s announcement.

Monday, November 11, 2013:
T-Mobile US(PBR449) to sell 66+ million shares to buy additional wireless airwaves. Click here for the T-Mobile US press release.

Monday, November 11, 2013:
PepsiCo(PBR43) announced that they and their partners plan to invest $5.5 billion in India through 2020. Click here for PepsiCo’s press release.

Friday, November 8, 2013:
IntercontinentalExchange Inc(PBR1013) to complete its acquisition of NYSE Euronext(PBR571) on 11/13/13. Click here for the IntercontinentalExchange press release.

Thursday, November 7, 2013:
AES Corp(PBR144) provides update on 21 international asset sales totaling $1.4 billion, including Cameroon operations. Click here for the AES press release.

Thursday, November 7, 2013:
The Carlyle Group(PBR663) completes it acquisition of its 11th power generating facility, 823 megawatt Red Oak Power in Sayreville, NJ. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Thursday, November 7, 2013:
Priceline.com(PBR441) announced that Darren Huston, CEO of wholly owned subsidiary Booking.com, will become President/CEO effective 01/01/14. Jeffrey Boyd currently holds those positions, will remain as Chairman. Click here for Priceline’s press release.

Thursday, November 7, 2013:
Toll Brothers, Inc(PBR903) is acquiring California private land developer & homebuilder Shapell Industries, Inc. for $1.60 billion cash. Click here for Toll Brothers’ press release.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013:
DISH Network Corp(PBR181) announces that it is closing down its 300 US owned BlockBuster video rental stores & DVD by mail services by January, 2014. US & foreign franchised & licensed locations to remain open. Click here for DISH’s press release.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013:
General Motors Co(PBR7) opens its online car buying service to its dealers. Click here for GM’s press release.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013:
Court authorizes Patriot Coal(PBR890) to solicit creditor approval for its reorganization plan. Click here for Patriot Coal’s announcement.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013:
Ford Motor Co(PBR10) announces several senior management changes. Click here for Ford’s announcement, includes hotlinks to bios..

Tuesday, November 5, 2013:
The LoyaltyOne unit of Alliance Data Systems Corp(PBR584) is acquiring a 60% stake in Netherland’s based BrandLoyalty($400 million/2012). Click here for Alliance Data’s announcement.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013:
OfficeMax(PBR349) & Office Depot(PBR235) complete merger, new company is Office Depot, Inc.(NYSE: ODP). Click here for the press release.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013:
Endo Health Solutions(PBR650) to acquire Canadian based specialty pharmaceutical company Paladin Labs Inc(TSX: PLB) for $1.6 billion, both to be then acquired by Irish based holding company New Endo. Click here for Endo’s press release.

Monday, November 4, 2013:
Weyerhaeuser Company(PBR344) is transferring its homebuilding & real estate development business to Tri Pointe Homes(NYSE: TPH) in a transaction valued at $2.7 billion. Expected to close during 2nd quarter, 2014. Click here for Weyerhaeuser’s press release.

Monday, November 4, 2013:
Johnson & Johnson(PBR40) agrees to pay $2.2 billion in fines for FDA violations. Click here for the US Dept of Justice announcement.

Monday, November 4, 2013:
Alliant Techsystems Inc(PBR484) completes acquisition of sporting goods company Bushnell Group Holdings for $985 million. Click here for the Alliant Techsystems press release.

Monday, November 4, 2013:
The Carlyle Group(PBR663) completed its acquisition of $2.6 billion in capital commitments Metropolitan Real Estate Equity Management. Click here for the Carlyle press release.

Monday, November 4, 2013:
Allegheny Technologies Inc(PBR460) completes the sale of its tungsten unit to Kennametal Inc(PBR706) for $605 million. Click here for Allegheny’s press release.

Friday, November 1, 2013:
The Omnicom Group Inc(PBR183) & Publicis Groupe SA(Paris, France) merger waiting period in the US has passed with no objections, only a few global regulatory approvals remain. Click here for Omnicom’s press release.

Friday, November 1, 2013:
The US FTC has cleared the merger of equals of OfficeMax, Inc(PBR349) & Office Depot, Inc(PBR235), expected to close on 11/05/13. Click here for the OfficeMax press release.

Friday, November 1, 2013:
Today Hess Corporation(PBR72) completed the sale of its Energy Marketing business to North America subsidiary Direct Energy of Centrica plc for $1.2 billion. Click here for the Hess press release.

Friday, November 1, 2013:
Airgas, Inc(PBR478) completes its acquisition of privately held Encompass Gas Group & its 11 locations. Click here for the Airgas press release.

Let’s see what kinds of surprises business Santa has for us in December.

Have a Happy and Blessed Holiday Season!

(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US. This information is updated quarterly and published in Excel format as The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report. During a quarter several supplementary reports are published as well.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Investing, Leadership, mergers, Rankings, The PBR1000

The PBR1000 4th Quarter Rankings: The Race to the Finish!

November 20, 2013 by admin

By Larry C. Paxton

The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report 2013Q4 was released on October 30th to current subscribers of The PBR1000 and is now available to the general public. Please contact us if you are a subscriber and did not receive the email with the Excel file attached.

The usual questions pop up as we race to the end of the year. Who will have the most revenues and profits? Which companies will have the highest increase in stock prices? How will the retail sector do during the holiday season? What will be the final economic numbers for 2013 and what are the forecasts, or maybe that should be guesses in our still volatile times, for 2014? One of the many purposes of The PBR1000 is to provide some key data to help us with that analysis, and for many of us to help figure out how to position ourselves to be more successful in the future.

Highlights from The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report 2013Q4 include:

Most data is through the end of the 3rd calendar quarter, September 30.
There are some data and Comments/News Briefs from October.
The number of companies included is 1,082.
New fields added include the current CEO and the year they became CEO.
The CEO name is hotlinked to a brief biography, generally from the corporate website.
The “C” column before the “Company Name” column designates the number of comments/news briefs for that company in the “Comments/News Briefs” column.

The Top 10 The PBR1000 Companies by stock price gains year to date are(Name/PBR Ranking/% gain YTD through Sept. 30th/% gain YTD through Nov. 15th):

AMR Corp(dba American Airlines)/109/414%/1371%
Fannie Mae/11/404%/1169%
Freddie Mac/32/385%/1085%
SunPower Corp/768/365%/496%
Zale Corp/908/270%/285%
Rite Aid Corp/104/250%/287%
Netflix/588/234%/278%
SuperValu/149/233%/179%
Best Buy/54/216%/269%
Caesar’s Entertainment/291/184%/187%

Similarly, The PBR1000 reports include some stock exchanges and commodities. Percent changes year to date through Sept. 30th and Nov. 15th are:

DJIA/15%/22%
NASDAQ/25%/32%
S&P 500/18%/26%
Gold/-21%/-23%
Silver/-28%/-32%
Oil/9%/0%

The PBR1000 Index is calculated by totaling up stock prices for a period for all companies tracked. Because Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) has a significant impact on this index it is quoted with and without Berkshire Hathaway(“BH”). It is interesting to compare The PBR1000 Index with the other indices. Here are The PBR1000 index numbers percentage change for September 30, 2013, compared to December 31, 2012:

The PBR1000 with BH: 26%
The PBR1000 without BH: 23%

Note that percents are expressed in whole numbers. In the actual reports they are rounded to the nearest 2 decimal places.

The following additional reports will be released over the next few weeks, and more are being planned based on The PBR1000 subscriber feedback. These are free for The PBR1000 subscribers and available for a nominal fee for non-subscribers.

The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report by Industry
The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report by State

Companies removed from The PBR1000 during the 3rd quarter and reason for removal are(In alpha order, Company/PBR 3rd Quarter Rank/Reason):

BMC Software/816/Taken private by a consortium of equity companies
Gardner Denver/773/Acquired by KKR(PBR259)
Smithfield Foods/199/Acquired by Chinese company Shuanghui International
TMS International/736/Acquired by the Pritzker Organization
Vanguard Health Systems/366/Acquired by Tenet Healthcare(PBR255)

In October and November a lot of activity has already occurred. For example, Dell has gone private, and Office Depot and OfficeMax have merged. Check out The PBR1000 Breaking News on the www.PBRMarketTools.com home page and for recaps on the Blog page.

We are entering the holiday season. We will continue to update the PBRMarketTools homepage with breaking news, make available supplemental reports during the quarter, and look forward to providing the next The PBR1000 Quarterly Rankings Report early in 2014.

Please have a Happy and Blessed Holiday Season!

Filed Under: Rankings Tagged With: acquisitions, Business, Investing, Marketing, mergers, Rankings, The PBR1000

The PBR1000: October News Review

November 5, 2013 by admin

By Larry C. Paxton

All types of investment strategies were utilized by The PBR1000 in October. Companies acquired, merged, split to form new companies, were bought by foreign companies, went private, restructured their financing, or made key management changes. Here are the major October stories from The PBR1000, starting with the most current items. Clicking on the associated link for each item will open a new Window. The PBR1000 rankings are from the just released The PBR1000 4th Quarter Progress Report.

October 31, 2013:

A wholly owned subsidiary of Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc(PBR435) announces that it is concluding its joint venture with Moscow, Russia, based Progresstech Group. Click here for Aerosystems’ press release.

October 31, 2013:

Revlon, Inc(PBR1002) announced that Lorenzo Delpani has been elected President/CEO, to be effective 11/01/13. Click here for Revlon’s press release.

October 29, 2013:

The acquisition of Dell Inc(PBR45) by Michael Dell and investment partners has been completed, the company is now private, stock trading terminated and stock to be delisted. Click here for Dell’s press release.

October 29, 2013:

Sears Holdings Corp(PBR68) announced today some re-organizations, including moving its Land’s End and Sears Auto Centers into separate business entities. Click here for the Sears press release.

October 29, 2013:

Allergan, Inc(PBR411) to sell its lap-band business to Apollo Endosurgery Inc for up to $110 million. Click here for the NASDAQ/WSJ article.

October 28, 2013:

The Mosaic Co(PBR227) is acquiring the Florida Phospate Business of CF Industries(PBR391) for total consideration of $1.4 billion. Expected to close in 1st half of 2014. Click here for Mosaic’s press release.

October 28, 2013:

Liberty Global, Inc(PBR241) announced it is selling its international content division Chellomedia to AMC Networks, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMCX) for $1.04 billion. Click here for Liberty Global’s announcement.

October 25, 2013:

McDonald’s Corporation(PBR100) to end 40 year relationship with Berkshire Hathaway’s(PBR5) recently purchased HJ Heinz unit. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 24, 2013:

E I duPont de Nemours(PBR83) announces that over the next 18 months it will move its Performance Chemicals division into a separate publicly held entity. Click here for duPont’s press release.

October 24, 2013:

Reuter’s reports that The Dow Chemical Co(PBR51) has said that it will be selling $3-4 billion in assets over the next 18-24 months. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 23, 2013:

The international unit of The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) has said that it will immediately start selling to institutional investors its 16 million shares investment in Sports Direct International. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 23, 2013:

Bank of America Corp(PBR21) has been found liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold under its Countrywide unit. US Dept of Justice expected to ask for up to $848 million in fines, adds to $40 billion already paid by BofA to date since financial crisis of 2008. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 23, 2013:

Omnicare, Inc(PBR384) agrees to pay US government $120 million for alleged steep discounting of prescription drugs at nursing homes in exchange for patient referrals. Click here for the Reuter’s article.

October 22, 2013:

Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) announced the sale of its majority stake in UK based pension insurance company Rothesay Life. Goldman Sachs will retain a 36% share after regulatory approval. Click here for the Goldman Sachs press release.

October 21, 2013:

Devon Energy Corp(PBR268), Crosstex Energy, Inc(PBR942) and Crosstex Energy, LP, agree to combine Devon’s midstream assets with Crosstex’s to form a new midstream publicly held company to be named later. Click here for Devon’s press release.

October 21, 2013:

After 20 years at The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67), Michael Evans to retire as Vice Chairman at the end of 2013, will become a senior director. Click here for Goldman Sachs’ press release.

October 21, 2013:

The asset management unit of The Goldman Sachs Group(PBR67) is to acquire the Global Treasury Funds managed by Royal Bank of Scotland’s RBS Asset Management group. The transaction is expected to close in the 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for Goldman Sachs’ press release.

October 21, 2013:

WSJ & Reuters report that GE Capital has extended $835 million in new financing to RadioShack Corp(PBR510). Click here for Reuter’s press release.

October 20, 2013:

Crown Castle International Corp(PBR758) is acquiring the rights to 9,700 AT&T(PBR12) communications towers for $4.85 billion. Click here for Crown Castle’s press release.

October 19, 2013:

Reuter’s reports that JPMorgan Chase & Co(PBR18) in its negotiations with the US Justice Department has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion for bad mortgage loans sold to investors before the 2008 financial crisis. Click here for Reuter’s press release.

October 18, 2013:

NRG Energy, Inc(PBR295) to acquire Edison Mission Energy, with its 40+ electrical energy generating plants, for $2.8+ billion, deal expected to close 1st quarter, 2014. Click here for NRG’s press release.

October 18, 2013:

Occidental Petroleum Co(PBR114) in its initial strategic review is selling off about 1/3 of its holdings in Plains All-American Pipeline(PBR74), $1.3 billion in pre-tax proceeds. Click here for Occidental’s press release.

October 18, 2013:

KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) is acquiring Ireland based Avoca Capital, which manages around $8 billion in European assets as a credit investment manager. Terms not disclosed. Click here for KKR’s press release.

October 16, 2013:

The sale of TMS International Corp(PBR736) to the Pritzker Organization, LLC, for $1 billion, $17.50/share, has been completed. Click here for the TMS press release.

October 16, 2013:

The Marmon Group subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) is acquiring England based IMI plc’s Beverage Dispense and Merchandising divisions for $1.1 billion. Click here for Marmon’s press release.

October 16, 2013:

Advance Auto Parts, Inc.(PBR380) to acquire General Parts International, Inc. for $2.04 billion cash. Expected to close late 2013/early 2014. Click here for Advance Auto Parts’ press release.

October 15, 2013:

Walmart Stores, Inc(PBR2) announced today that in FY2015 it plans to spend $11.8-12.8 billion globally for 33-37 million square feet, over half in the US. Click here for Walmart’s press release.

October 15, 2013:

KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) has signed an agreement with Mid Europa Partners to acquire its SBB/Telemach Group, the leading Pay-TV and broadband operator in Southeast Europe, serving around 1.7 million customers. Financial terms were not disclosed. Click here for KKR’s press release.

October 9, 2013:

CACI International Inc(PBR570) to acquire security services provider Six3 for $820 million. Click here for the transcript of CACI’s presentation.

October 9, 2013:

Hess Corporation(PBR72) is selling its US East Coast and St. Lucia terminal networks to Buckeye Partners, LP(PBR501) for $850 million. Click here for Hess’ press release.

October 9, 2013:

KKR & Co, LP(PBR258) is to acquire The Crosby Group and Acco Material Handling Solutions from Melrose Industries PLC for around $1 billion. Both units provide products and services to the oil/gas industries. Click here for KKR’s press release.

October 7, 2013:

Fifth & Pacific Cos(PBR964) is selling the intellectual property rights to its Juicy Couture brand to Authentic Brands Group for $195 million. The deal is expected to close in November. Click here for Fifth & Pacific’s press release.

October 7, 2013:

Darling International, Inc.(PBR935) has entered into an agreement to acquire the Netherlands based Vion Food Group’s Vion Ingredients division for $2.17 billion, expecting to close in January, 2014. Click here for Darling’s press release.

October 7, 2013:

Time Warner Cable Inc(PBR124) has entered into an agreement with Duke Energy(PBR134) to acquire its regional fiber optic network company DukeNet Communications, LLC for $600 million, with closing expected in 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for Time Warner Cable’s press release.

October 2, 2013:

Revlon Inc’s CEO Alan Ennis resigns to pursue other interests, board selects David L. Kennedy, Vice Chairman, to be Interim CEO. Click here for Revlon’s press release.

October 2, 2013:

Monsanto Company(PBR192) has signed an agreement to purchase for $930 million cash The Climate Corporation, a software technology services and insurance company specializing in helping farmers be more productive. Click here for the Monsanto press release.

October 1, 2013:

Tenet Healthcare Corporation(PBR254) completes its acquisition of Vanguard Health Systems(PBR366) for $4.30 billion, $21.00/share. Click here for Tenet’s press release.

October 1, 2013:

Brent Saunders, former CEO at Bausch + Lomb, today became the president/CEO of Forest Laboratories, Inc.(PBR483), succeeding Howard Solomon who had held the position for 30 years, and who will continue to be chairman.

October 1, 2013:

Berry Plastics Group, Inc(PBR470) completes its acquisition of Graphic Packaging’s Flexible Plastics and Film business, and the sale of its Kits and Catering businesses to the WNA division of the Waddington Group, Inc. Click
here for Berry’s press release.

October 1, 2013:

Merck & Co, Inc.(PBR58) reported today that it is refocusing its operating model, will be reducing its 81,000 worldwide workforce by 20% by 2015. Click
here for the Merck announcement.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. He spent several years working for and consulting to many of the largest corporations in the US. www.PBRMarketTools.com is the marketing research division. The PBR1000 is a compilation of key demographic, industry, financial, personnel data, and news summaries on over 1,000 of the largest US publicly traded companies. This list is updated four times a year and published in Microsoft Excel format as The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Reports.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Investing, Leadership, mergers, Rankings, The PBR1000

The PBR1000 September 2013 Recap

October 2, 2013 by admin

By Larry C. Paxton

September was a busy month for The PBR1000. Here are the summaries with links to the the official press releases:

September 30, 2013:
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company(PBR517) stockholders today approved its merger with a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Apollo Tyres Ltd(NSE: ApolloTYRE), will create the seventh largest tire company in the world. It is a $2.5 billion deal, $35.00/share, and is expected to close by 2013 year end. Click here for the Cooper press release.

September 26, 2013:
eBay Inc(PBR183) to acquire startup mobile payments system and Chicago based Braintree for $800 million, will operate under PayPal. Click here for the eBay press release.

September 26, 2013:
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.(PBR263) announced that Chairman/CEO John McGlade will retire in 2014 and a new CEO search will commence immediately. Also, the board will be adding three new independent directors. Click here for the Air Products press release.

September 26, 2013:
The acquisition of Smithfield Foods(PBR199) by Chinese company Shuanghui International Holdings Limited is completed. Smithfield shareholders will receive<$34.00/share, and will be de-listed from the NYSE. Click here for the Smithfield press release.

September 25, 2013:
Stryker Corporation(PBR287) is acquiring MAKO Surgical Corporation, the pioneer in robotic assisted orthopedics surgery, for $30/share, $1.65 billion. Click here for the Stryker press release.

September 24, 2013:
Applied Materials, Inc(PBR284) and Tokyo Electron Limited(TSE: 8035) announced an agreement to merge to form a global company involved in semiconductor and display manufacturing technology. The transaction will be an all stock combination with the market capitalization valued at $29 billion. The deal is expected to close mid to second half of 2014. Click here for the Applied Materials announcement.

September 20, 2013:
David Dillon, Chairman/CEO of The Kroger Company(PBR26) to retire in January, 2014, will be succeeded by COO Rodney McMullen.

September 19, 2013:
Agilent Technologies, Inc(PBR350) announces that it will split into two publicly owned companies. Agilent will keep its name for its life sciences, diagnostics, and applied markets business, and a new company, to be named later, for its electronic measurements business. The split should be accomplished by the end of 2014. Click here for the Agilent press release.

September 18, 2013:
EnerSys(PBR786) has entered into an agreement to purchase privately held Purcell Systems, Inc., of Spokane, WA, for $115 million. Purcell has annual revenues of over $100 million. Click here for the EnerSys press release.

September 17, 2013:
Huntsman Corporation(PBR224) is acquiring the Performance Additives and Titanium Oxides businesses of Rockwood Holdings, Inc(PBR592) for $1.1 billion. The deal is expected to close during the first half of 2014. Click here for the Huntsman announcement.

September 16, 2013:
Kennametal Inc(PBR699) has entered into an agreement to acquire the the $340 million/year Tungsten Materials Business unit of Allegheny Technologies Inc.(PBR457) for $605 million. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2013. Click here for the Kennametal press release.

September 16, 2013:
Packaging Corporation of America(PBR677) will be acquiring Boise Inc(PBR733) for $12.55/share, total deal value of $1.995 billion, inclusive of $714 million of Boise debt. The transaction is expected to close during the 4th quarter of 2013. Click here for the PCA agreement.

September 12, 2013:
Shareholders of computer maker and IT services Dell Inc(PBR45) voted to approve the privatization plan proposed by Chairman/CEO and founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. The deal is valued at $24.9 billion and is expected to close during the 3rd quarter FY2014. Click here for the Dell announcement.

September 10, 2013:
American Express(PBR85) announced today that it is selling its publishing unit to the Time, Inc. division of Time Warner(PBR95). No terms were announced, the deal is expected to close by year end. Click here for the American Express press release.

September 10, 2013:
Cisco Systems, Inc.(PBR60) announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase for $415 million the startup WHIPTAIL, a developer of high performance, scalable solid state memory systems. Click here for the Cisco notice.

September 9, 2013:
Molex Inc(PBR594) has agreed to be acquired by the Koch brothers’ private company Koch Industries for $38.50/share, $7.2 billion deal, expected to close by the end of 2013. Click here for the Molex press release.

September 6, 2013:
American Tower Corporation(PBR674) announced it is acquiring MIP Tower Holdings LLC, a private real estate investment trust, and parent of Global Tower Partners, a major owner/operator of communications towers. The deal is valued at $4.8 billion($3.3 billion in cash, $1.5 billion in debt assumption) and is expected to close by the end of 2013. Click here for the American Tower press release.

September 3, 2013:
Microsoft Corporation(PBR34) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the devices and services business, license patents, and license and use the mapping services of Finland based Nokia Corporation. The deal is valued at $7.2 billion, with the transaction expected to close during the 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for the Microsoft announcement.

September 2, 2013:
Verizon Communications Inc(PBR16) has entered into an agreement with Vodafone Group Plc(London, NASDAQ: VOD) to purchase Vodafone’s US group with the principal asset of 45 percent of Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, consisting primarily of cash and stock. The transaction is expected to close during the 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for the Verizon press release.

September 1, 2013:
Effective today Mario Longhi moves from President/COO to CEO of United States Steel Corporation(PBR136). John Surma moves from Chairman/CEO to Executive Chairman, will retire at the end of the year.

Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research division. The PBR1000 is a compilation of key demographic, industry, financial, and personnel data, and news summaries, on 1000 of the largest US publicly traded companies. This list is updated four times a year and published in Microsoft Excel format as The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Reports.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Investing, Marketing, mergers, The PBR1000

The PBR1000 Breaking News Review: July/August, 2013

September 5, 2013 by admin

(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.

Filed Under: Recaps Tagged With: acquisitions, Business, Investing, Marketing, mergers, Rankings, Research, The PBR1000

Will the US Airways/American Airlines Merger Fly?

August 29, 2013 by admin

(Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

By Larry Paxton

The saga of the US Airways(PBR188) and American Airlines(PBR109) merger continues to drag out with the US Justice Department filing antitrust suits earlier this month against the $11 billion deal.

The primary concerns of the Justice Department are that the merger would provide fewer choices for consumers and drive up fares because of increased costs. Also, with the merger the new American Airlines would also have significantly more gates at some airports, such as the Washington Dulles Airport where they would have three quarters of the gates. A new argument is that American Airlines, which is in bankruptcy, just had its first profitable quarter in quite some time. The thinking is that they are now demonstrating that they are capable of going it alone and don’t need to merge.

Of course, the airlines claim that just the opposite would be true, and that another benefit of the merger is that increased competition would result.

It was anticipated that the merger would be completed during this 3rd quarter. The airlines have said that any delay would provide additional problems because US Airways operations are already in the process of moving to the Dallas-Ft Worth area, personnel are putting in bids for houses there, selling theirs in the Phoenix area, and many other complications.

Because of the suit the next court date is scheduled for November, but the Justice Department has asked for a delay until March, 2014, to adequately prepare their case. The airlines say they are ready to present their case and there is no reason why the Justice Department shouldn’t be ready as well.

There have also been some indications that the Justice Department might be willing to settle. The airlines might have to give up some gates and some other concessions are possible.

As a person who flies a few times a year for both business and pleasure it is hard to know how this should be resolved and the impacts it will have on me and my fellow travelers. The concerns from both sides seem legitimate, but, as usual, the time it takes to negotiate and resolve the issues seem to be taking much too long. It is another classic case of big capitalistic companies clashing with big government to figure out what is best for the confused and sometimes helpless consumer. I wish us well.

(Larry Paxton is President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC, which provides the popular The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report, tracking over 1,000 of the largest US publicly traded companies through its business research arm, www.PBRMarketTools.com.)

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: acquisitions, Business, Investing, mergers

The PBR1000: The February 2014 Breaking News Recap!

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The PBR1000: January Monthly Update Report Summary

The PBR1000 December Breaking News Recap!

The PBR1000 November Breaking News Recap!

The PBR1000 4th Quarter Rankings: The Race to the Finish!

The PBR1000: October News Review

The PBR1000 September 2013 Recap

The PBR1000 Breaking News Review: July/August, 2013

Will the US Airways/American Airlines Merger Fly?

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