“The train to IPO is cancelled, we apologize for the inconvenience”: Infrastructure Fund GIP bids €1.98bn for Italian Railway Group Italo-NTV

Introduction On the 8th of February 2018, the shareholders of the Italian high-speed train operator Italo-NTV (Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori) (“The Company”) have accepted the offer of Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”) for the disposal of 100% of their stake, for an equity value of around €1.94bn. As a result, the plan Read more…

Creating today’s Media Powerhouse: Meredith to buy U.S. publisher Time in Koch-backed Deal

  Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) – market cap as of 02/12/2017: $2.96bn Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME.K) – market cap as of 02/12/2017: $1.85bn Introduction On the November 26, 2017, Meredith Corporation entered into a binding agreement to acquire Time Inc., Meredith’s former rival and one the biggest incumbents in the media sector, Read more…

GGP Receives Unsolicited Proposal from Brookfield Property Partners

Brookfield Property Partners (NYSE:BPY) – market cap as of 17/11/2017: $5.59bn General Growth Properties (NYSE:GGP) – market cap as of 17/11/2017: $22.38bn Introduction On November 13, 2017, Brookfield Property Partners made a non-binding proposal to acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of General Growth Properties. Brookfield Property Partners Read more…

Broadcom bids $130bn for Qualcomm in the largest pure technology deal

Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) – market cap as of 11/11/2017: $108.10bn Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) – market cap as of 11/11/2017: $95.19bn Introduction On November 3, 2017, Broadcom publicly announced an unsolicited $130bn offer to acquire Qualcomm, its California chip-making rival, which is backed by a strong portfolio of intellectual property that Read more…

Transaction cleared: consolidation trend in the Payments Processing sector

Introduction The payment processing industry has witnessed sincere interest from strategic and financial investors. Low barriers to entry have enabled newcomers to quickly establish themselves and net high valuation multiples. As a result, the sector is currently highly fragmented and presents good consolidation opportunities. What do we mean by Payment Read more…

The Best Defense is Good Offense: Siemens and Alstom Merge Rail Operations to Prepare for Chinese Competition

Siemens AG (SIE:ETR) – market cap as of 29/09/2017: €101.32bn Alstom SA (ALO:EPA) – market cap as of 29/09/2017: €7.92bn Introduction The French rail transport company Alstom SA and the German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG announced on Tuesday 24 September 2017 that they agreed to merge their rail operations. The Read more…