The Battle of Dragons – Recent Acquisitions and Investments in China amid the Rivalry between Alibaba and Tencent

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) – market cap as of 20/04/2018: $462.0bn Tencent Holdings Ltd. (HKG:0700) – market cap as of 20/04/2018: HK$3,780bn Introduction The first two weeks of April 2018 have seen a string of aggressive acquisitions and the announcement of financing rounds by companies backed by the Chinese Read more…

When “subject to regulatory approval” means troubles: forms of government intervention in M&A transactions

Introduction A persistent financial crisis, the rising of regional tensions, the concerns of a trade war and many other facts have recently been catching up with the M&A-friendly international environment. Protectionism seems now to pervade the new world order. Rising economic nationalism is threatening to impact M&A activity across all Read more…

Cigna Corporation and Express Scripts: a $67bn deal for their survival in the US healthcare industry

CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) – market cap as of 09/03/2018: $42.7bn Express Scripts Holding Co (NASDAQ:ESRX) – market cap as of 09/03/2018: $45.7bn Introduction On March 8, 2018, Cigna Corporation announced the acquisition of Express Scripts Holding for a cash and stock consideration of $67bn. The combination of Cigna – a Read more…

Albertsons and Rite Aid to merge in the latest move to contrast the growing threat posed by online e-commerce

Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) – market cap as of 23/02/2018: $2.22bn Introduction  On the 20th February, Rite Aid Corporation, one of the leading US drugstore chains, entered into a definitive merger agreement with Albertsons Companies, one of the largest American private equity-backed grocery retailers. The deal will result in the creation of a Read more…