Facebook announced it will buy WhatsApp for $19 billion on February 19, 2014. There is no way that I can, in any credible means, justify or explain the purchase price because it’s absurd in my opinion. WhatsApp has no advertising revenues and charges each of its 450 million active users a yearly fee of just …
Tag: mergers
The Greatest Hurdle Facing Tech Mergers
The biggest tech M&A disasters were the Time Warner-AOL $350 billion merger and Google’s $12.3 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. In my observations, the greatest hurdle facing tech mergers is integration. Even where the strategy of the acquisition is solid, if the integration of the two workforces and assets is not executed properly, it will fail. Even …
Lessons From the Suntory – Beam Acquisition
Japan’s Suntory is making a big investment in buying the makers of Jim Beam for $13.6 billion. Jim Beam is a highly branded U.S. company and this deal is second largest acquisition of a U.S. company by a Japanese buyer. The underlying concept is the folks in Japan have recognized their domestic markets are not …
Verso Paper – NewPage Acquisition: Capstone CEO David Braun Weighs In
Verso Paper Corp announced it will acquire NewPage Holdings, Inc. in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. While the coated paper industry is in decline due to the rise of digital media, this acquisition could make Verso Paper and NewPage stronger, according to CEO David Braun. Read his entire analysis in the Memphis Business Journal. Photo …
Sharing Successful Acquisitions with the Chief Executives Club
The Chief Executives Club of Rhode Island has invited me to speak at its breakfast meeting on November 7 in Providence, Rhode Island. The club, whose members are senior executives, annually hosts 10 of these meetings, where America’s top business thought leaders and authors share their views on a wide variety of leadership topics. I …
How to Increase Success of M&A
A recent Deloitte survey noted frequent misalignment between CFOs and company directors about the strategic rationale of M&A. The study concludes that CFOs and board members should align their M&A strategy for greater success. Naturally, I’m not surprised by these findings. The likelihood of successful acquisition would increase if all parties shared the same strategy. …
Top 5 Strategic Drivers of Oil and Gas M&A
Mergers and acquisitions in the oil and gas industry oscillated from a high of $84.8 billion in the first half of 2012 to just $51.5 billion in the first half of 2013. The total deal value for Q2 2013 was $23.6 billion, the lowest since Q3 2009. Expect a new swing given the rumors that …
Can We Expect More Private Equity Transactions?
Neiman Marcus has been sold by private equity groups TPG and Warburg Pincus for $6 billion to Canadian PE firm Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Group (CPPIB). TPG and Warburg filed for an IPO earlier this summer but kept their options open, Forbes reports. This transaction is not really surprising given the conditions …
“Go-Shop Clause”
Edelman Financial Group agreed to sell their business for $258 million which is reported to be a 43% premium over their stock price. The interesting thing is the agreement includes a 40 day “go-shop clause” where the company can seek higher bids. I have been talking about these provisions for several years and expect you’ll …
Monkey See, Monkey Do
While visiting my brother’s family and partaking in a delicious cupcake during my niece’s one year milestone birthday celebration, I had a valuation thought…she was doing what most kids at that age do: copying the older kids’ movements. Waving, smiling, stuffing cake in her face and, of course, throwing everything. Adults, some very experienced, tend …
