Barbarians at the Fortress Gate: SoftBank Shows its Global Ambitions

SoftBank Group Corp (TYO:9984)—market cap as of 17/02/17: ¥88.84tn (€74.19bn) Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG)—market cap as of 17/02/17: $3.08bn Introduction On February 14, 2017, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. announced the acquisition of Fortress Investment Group LLC for $3.3bn in cash. The deal represents a radical departure from Read more…

Allergan Wants to Get You back in Shape and Make Money Out of It.. : Allergan to Acquire Zeltiq Aesthetics for $2.5bn

Allergan PLC (NYSE: AGN) – market cap as of 16/02/2017: $82.86bn Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) – market cap as of 16/02/2017: $2.23bn Introduction On February 13, 2017, the biopharmaceutical giant Allergan PLC announced that it entered into an agreement to purchase the medical technology company Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. in Read more…

Trumponomics: Feeding the Bull Steroids

Donald Trump’s economic policies focus on three key areas; protectionism, loose fiscal policy and deregulation. In this summary report, we will give an overview of Trump’s policies before exploring the effects that they have had on financial markets. For conciseness, we will not look at Trump’s immigration policies and plans Read more…

A Five-calories Drink a Day Keeps the Doctor Away…or not? Dr Pepper Snapple Acquires Bai Brands for $1.7bn

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE: DPS) — market cap as of 24/11/2016: $16.031bn Introduction On November 22, 2016, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., an American beverage producer, agreed to acquire Bai Brands, another American beverage producer focused on antioxidant beverages, for $1.7bn. The deal emerges as traditional customers sway Read more…

Chinese European Shopping Still Hot: Ctrip.com to Acquire Skyscanner

Ctrip.com International Ltd. (CTRP:US) – Market Cap as of 26/11/2016: $22.4bn Introduction On November 23, 2016, Ctrip.com announced the acquisition of the UK travel website, Skyscanner, for £1.4bn. Ctrip looks to consolidate its position in the European market providing services for an increasing number of Chinese people flying to Europe Read more…