Royal Dutch Shell plc.; market cap (as of 17/04/15): $200.1bn BG Group plc.; market cap (as of 17/04/15): $61.1bn Introduction On Wednesday 8, Royal Dutch Shell announced the acquisition of BG Group for $70.1bn for a mix of cash and stock, which would make Shell the largest producer of Read more…
General Electric; Market Cap (as of 17/04/2015): €276,45bn Introduction On April 10, General Electric Company made an enormous restructuring announcement to spin out the majority of financial services division, GE Capital, in a strategic effort to shift the company’s overall direction. The decision was made on the premise of Read more…
NOKIA Corporation; Market Cap (as of 17/04/2015): €26.3bn Alcatel-Lucent; Market Cap (as of 17/04/2015): €10.5bn Introduction On April 15, the Finnish multinational company Nokia agreed to buy the French company Alcatel-Lucent in an all-shares transaction valued at €15.6bn. The deal aims at creating a future innovation leader in the technology Read more…
Virtu Financial Inc.; market cap (as of 17/04/2015): $3.2bn Introduction On April 16, Virtu Financial, one of the world’s largest high-frequency trading companies, commenced trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VIRT”. The initial public offering, first ever in the HFT sector, proved successful as the company raised close Read more…
Holcim Ltd: Market Cap (as of 13/03/2015): CHF24.52bn Lafarge SA: Market Cap (as of 13/03/2015): €18.6bn Introduction Back in April 2014 Holcim and Lafarge, the two most prominent players in the global cement industry, agreed to consolidate into LafargeHolcim Group, in a merger of “equals” worth $41.0bn in total. Through Read more…
Endo International Plc; Market Cap (as of 13/03/2015): $15.4bn Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd; Market Cap (as of 13/03/2015): $10.8bn Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl, Inc.; Market Cap (as of 13/03/2015): $63.9bn The pharmaceutical sector has turned into a war-zone again with of the bidding war between two aggressive dealmakers and two ex-colleagues: Mr. Read more…
Apple Inc.; Market Cap. (as of 13/03/2015): $719.88bn A Record Company Apple is a company of excesses. With fiscal reports exceeding even bullish estimates more often than not, the Cupertino-based company has become synonymous with exuberance. In its most recent quarterly earnings, Apple reported $18bn of net profit, setting a Read more…
Citigroup Inc.; Market Cap (as of 06/03/2015): $160.98bn Springleaf Holdings Inc.; Market Cap (as of 06/03/2015): $5.58bn Introduction On March 3, 2015, Springleaf Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LEAF), a leading personal finance company focused on consumer lending, credit insurance and other credit relating products, entered into a definitive agreement with Citigroup Inc. Read more…
AbbVie Inc.; market cap (as of 06/03/2015): $88.7bn Pharmacyclics Inc.; market cap (as of 06/03/2015): $19.3bn Introduction On March 4, the pharmaceutical company AbbVie, outbidding the competitor Johnson & Johnson, agreed to buy the cancer biotech company Pharmacyclics in a $21bn transaction. The Chicago based company will pay $261.25 per Read more…
Altice SA; Market Cap (as of 06/03/2015): €24bn Altice’s use of high levels of debt to fund its consolidation of the cable and telecoms sector in Europe has raised many eyebrows among investors and analysts, but so far the risks seem to be paying off. Since it’s initial public offering Read more…
Citigroup Inc.; Market Cap (as of 06/03/2015): $160.98bn Springleaf Holdings Inc.; Market Cap (as of 06/03/2015): $5.58bn Introduction On March 3, 2014, Springleaf Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LEAF), a leading personal finance company focused on consumer lending, credit insurance and other credit relating products, entered into a definitive agreement with Citigroup Inc. Read more…
NXP Semiconductor NV; Market Cap (as of 06/03/15): $22.7bn Freescale Semiconductor Ltd; Market Cap (as of 06/03/15): $12.3bn Introduction On March 2, NXP Semi announced it will acquire Freescale Semi in a $11.8bn transaction. Amalgamating the Eindhoven-based chip manufacturer with its American rival will create the leader in both Auto Read more…
This week, we are proud to publish an in-deep analysis on the Italian Popolari banks situation, one of the most discussed topics since the announcement of the AQR done by the ECB. Thanks to the recent rumors of an Italian decree, which changes the voting powers’ structure of the above Read more…
UIL Holdings Corp.; market cap (as of 27/02/15): US$2.86bn Iberdrola SA; market cap (as of 27/02/15): US$43.5bn Introduction On February 26, Iberdrola SA, Spain’s largest electricity company, agreed to buy UIL Holdings Corp. in a deal valued at about US$3bn in cash and shares. With the acquisition, Iberdrola plans Read more…
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.; market cap (as of 26/02/2015): US$76.68bn Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.; market cap (as of 26/02/2015): US$10.07bn Introduction The pharmaceutical industry has undergone an intense period of consolidation in the past 18 months which is far from over as the big players take advantage of the Read more…