Mergers & Acquisitions

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June 2009
- Supreme Court Won't Block Chrysler Sale
  
  Associated Press | Jun 9, 09 6:48 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Chrysler's sale to Fiat, turning down a last-ditch bid by opponents of the deal. The court late today rejected a plea to block the sale of most of Chrysler's assets to the Italian automaker. With the court's move, the deal can now close as early as tomorrow morning. More »
- Ginsburg Delays Chrysler-Fiat Deal
  
  SCOTUSblog | Jun 8, 09 3:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg today put a temporary stay on the sale of Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat, SCOTUSBlog reports. Ginsburg’s motion allows the justices to further consider the matter, and either postpone the sale or let it go forward. A full postponement of the sale would require five judges to agree. Ginsburg’s decision said the sale was “stayed pending further order.” More »
- GM Strikes Hummer Deal
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 2, 09 7:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - General Motors has announced a "tentative" plan to sell its Hummer brand to a buyer who could take control by the end of the third quarter, says the Wall Street Journal . The firm didn’t say who was buying it or for how much, but noted that the purchaser plans to continue growing the brand portfolio and eventually create alternative-fuel Hummers. GM will keep building Hummers for the new owner “through at least next year,” the Journal notes. More »
May 2009
- Time Warner Set to Spin Off AOL by Year's End
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 28, 09 8:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Time Warner plans to to shed its AOL division by the end of the year, the company said today, spinning it off into a publicly traded firm, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many predicted the move when Time Warner tapped Google ad exec Tim Armstrong as AOL’s CEO, and amended its debt agreements to make the move possible. More »
- Toys 'R' Us Buying FAO Schwarz
  
  New York Times | May 27, 09 10:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One of the biggest names in toys is buying one of the oldest. Toys 'R' Us will announce tomorrow that it has struck a deal to purchase FAO Schwarz for an undisclosed amount, reports the New York Times . The store's name won't change. FAO has been a New York City institution since 1862, and Tom Hanks famously danced on its giant keyboard in the 1988 movie Big . More »
- Chrysler Execs Dodge Bailout Pay Caps
  
  Detroit Free Press | May 13, 09 5:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bankruptcy documents filed by Chrysler show that the chief executives of the bailed-out automaker will avoid executive pay restrictions—by declaring themselves employees of Fiat. Despite new Treasury rules that cap pay at $500,000 for execs whose firms received "extraordinary assistance," but Chrysler's top officers will be able to take pay from its new Italian owner. The automaker is nevertheless trying to cut 3,500 jobs, reports the Detroit Free Press . More »
- Porsche, VW to Merge
  
  BBC | May 7, 09 4:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Porsche has announced it will merge with Volkswagen after weeks of negotiation between the two German carmakers, reports the BBC. The deal puts an end to Porsche's efforts to take over VW. Porsche already owns a majority stake in the company. While details of the merger remain unclear, VW's individual brands—including Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini—will coexist alongside Porsche. Analysts describe the merger as a climbdown for Porsche, which had originally planned to acquire a 75% stake in Volkswagen. More »
- Apple Reportedly Eying Twitter
  
  Gawker | May 5, 09 12:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Apple is closing in on a $700 million, all-cash deal to buy Twitter, Gawker reports. Silicon Valley sources say an agreement could be announced as early as next month at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and the iPhone is reportedly the force behind the deal: Its users already post countless Twitter messages on Tweetie and other Apple apps. More »
April 2009
- Angry Shareholders Pelt Bank Chairman With Shoes
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 28, 09 8:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An emergency meeting of troubled Belgian bank Fortis had to be suspended today after raucous shareholders raided the stage and pelted the bank's chairman with shoes. The bank is attempting to broker a sale to BNP Paribas, the French giant, but angry small shareholders booed, shouted down speakers and demanded the chief's resignation. They even taunted the plans to sell to BNP by singing "La Marseillaise," reports the Financial Times . More »
- Top Hollywood Talent Shops OK Merger
  
  Variety | Apr 27, 09 6:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two of Hollywood's top talent agencies agreed to merge today amid declining revenues in film and television, Variety reports. Pending government approval, the venerable William Morris Agency will share a new Beverly Hills office with 14-year-old Endeavor—and likely spark a flurry of clients and agents scurrying for new representation. More »
- Thain Accuses BofA of Lying About Bonuses
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 27, 09 8:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In his first lengthy interview since being pushed out as CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain tells the Wall Street Journal that Bank of America—which acquired Merrill in September—is lying about its involvement in the $3.6 billion in bonus payouts that made Thain the poster boy for corporate greed. “Getting fired is one thing,” Thain said. “But nobody has the right to say things that they know aren't true.” More »
- Oracle Buys Sun Microsystems
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 20, 09 7:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Oracle Corp. has agreed to buy Sun Microsystems, swooping in after Sun’s talks with IBM fell apart. Oracle will pay $7.4 billion, or $9.50 a share for Sun, the Wall Street Journal reports, a 42% premium on Friday’s close. Though Sun has been losing money, Oracle expects the deal to tack $1.5 billion onto its profits in the first year, and called Sun’s Java platform “the most important software” it’s ever acquired. More »
- 'I Made a Mistake' Buying Tribune Co.: Zell
  
  Bloomberg | Apr 15, 09 3:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sam Zell is famous for his business acumen. He made a near-psychic call to sell his office-property company for billions just months before the market tanked. But the magnate now tells Bloomberg another deal he made was as boneheaded, in retrospect, as the Equity Office Properties deal was prescient: buying Tribune Co. just before the recession sounded the death knell for the traditional American newspaper. More »
- IBM, Sun Break Off $7B Merger Talks
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 5, 09 6:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - IBM withdrew a $7 billion offer to buy Sun Microsystems this weekend after Sun's board called the bid too low, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sun also worried that IBM sought too much leeway to walk away from the deal if antitrust regulators challenged the merger, insiders say. People expected Sun to fetch around $11 per share, but as the company demanded an ironclad deal, IBM's offer sank to $9.40 per share. More »
- Google Wants Twitter Deal, Not Purchase
  
  Dow Jones | Apr 3, 09 6:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google is aiming to team up with the micro-blogging sensation Twitter, not buy it, Dow Jones Newswire reports. A source close to the talks says Google wants to strike up an AdSense partnership to enable Twitter to show Google ads and profit from them. The benefit for Google: less chance of Twitter emerging as an independent competitor or being snatched up by the likes of Microsoft. More »
- 5 Reasons Twitter's Worth $1B to Google
  
  Business Insider | Apr 3, 09 4:06 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google will look like a twit if it doesn’t snap up Twitter, and Henry Blodget of Silicon Alley Insider gives 5 reasons it should part with $1 billion to do so: Search, Google’s bread and butter, is dwindling, and the company needs a new growth engine to energize the business. If it acts now, it may grab Twitter on the cheap. More »
- IBM to Nab Rival Sun for $7B
  
  New York Times | Apr 3, 09 7:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - IBM looks set to buy rival Sun Microsystems in a $7 billion deal that would make IBM king of the lucrative Unix server market, the New York Times reports. The $9.50-per-share agreement, already approved by IBM’s board, insiders say, could be announced today—though next week is more probable. Sun is a top seller of server computers and a big name in software, but it’s been in a decade-long slump. More »
- Google Near Deal to Acquire Twitter: Insiders
  
  TechCrunch | Apr 3, 09 7:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google is in the last stages of acquiring Twitter for a price well above the microblogging site's recent $250 million valuation, reports industry blog TechCrunch, citing anonymous sources. Twitter recently rejected a $500 million offer from Facebook—although much of that price was in stock that may be overvalued. A rep from Google refused to comment on "rumors and speculation." More »
March 2009
- IBM Trying to Buy Sun Micro
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 18, 09 7:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - IBM is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , in a deal that could be completed as early as this week. IBM would likely dole out at least $6.5 billion for Sun, a premium of more than 100% on yesterday’s closing price. Sun has been shopping itself for months, getting shot down by HP, among others. IBM is hoping the move, potentially its biggest ever, would bolster its online business. More »
- Roche Gets Genentech in $46.8B Biotech Deal
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Mar 12, 09 6:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Swiss drug giant Roche has succeeded in its quest to own biotech firm Genentech outright, and will purchase the 44% of shares it does not already own for $95 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reports today. The $46.8 billion deal comes after months of haggling, wherein Roche offered as little as $86.50 for shares Genentech valued at $112. Roche pledges to maintain Genentech’s San Francisco campus. More »