Sabin Piso - blog | Business as usual

Coca- Cola Co. Will Purchase China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd. For $400.5 Million

April 24, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Coca-Cola Co. announced that it is ready to buy China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd, a Chinese drinks business. This is Coca-Cola’s first attempt to purchase a Chinese company after it was rejected Beijing of its bid for a company that was making juices and nectars six years ago.

Coca-Cola is buying China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Ltd. for an enterprise value of $400.5 million. The Chinese drinks firm revealed this information in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Friday. China Culiangwang drinks operation makes “multigrain beverages” with unique flavors such as red bean, walnut and oats. Coke management is unavailable for comment regarding the acquisition.

To recall, Coke had been steadily acquiring juice, water, and other noncarbonated drinks around the world to improve its portfolio. However, its intention of becoming the biggest beverage manufacturer in China through a $2.4 billion bid for China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd in 2009 was turned down by China’s Ministry of Commerce on antitrust grounds. This deal would have been deemed as the largest takeover by a foreign company of a Chinese food or beverage maker.

But Coca- Cola is not yet completely out of the woods yet, the China Culiangwang’s multigrain drinks transaction is also subject to the approval by the Ministry of Commerce. The popular Chinese healthy beverage company said it expects to book a gain of 1.12 billion yuan ($181 million) from the disposal and will utilize this to repay the outstanding bonds and other debt.

China Culiangwang’s multigrain beverages are very popular in the country. Branded as health drinks, these have a huge market in China. China Culiangwang mentioned in a report that its multigrain beverage business’s unaudited net profit on a pro forma basis was 193 million yuan last year and this was 17% higher from 164.9 million yuan in 2013. China Culiangwang also manufactures snacks, biscuits and cereals.

Coca- Cola’s acquisition of the grain-drinks maker is when the beverage company is coping with slow sales in China. Coke has posted a 55% reduction in its fourth-quarter profit amid weak sales in markets including China, Europe and Mexico in February. The company also mentioned that its fourth-quarter volumes also diminished at 1% in Europe and in Mexico These regions consumes more Coke products per capita than any other country. An increase in volume was seen in Asia; however there were declines of 1% in Japan and 3% in China. The Atlanta beverage company was not available for immediate comment regarding the matter.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company or Coke is from Atlanta, Georgia. It produces Coca- Cola or Coke which is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines all over the world as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, It was purchased by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing strategies helped Coke dominate the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century.

The Coca – Cola Company manufactures concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers world. The bottlers have territorially exclusive contracts with the company and these companies produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers will be able to sell The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food service distributors.

The Coca-Cola Company has introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Vanilla. There are also flavors that are available during versions with lemon, lime, or coffee. It was estimated that in 2013, Coke products is available in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking billions of Coca- Cola products every day. According to Interbrand’s best global brand study of 2011, Coca-Cola was the world’s most valuable brand. Coca-Cola stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ko

About China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited

China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited, formerly China Green (Holdings) Limited, is an investment holding company. The Company is focused on growing, processing and sale of agricultural products, consumer food and beverage products. China Culiangwang has three divisions: fresh produce and processed products segment, which grows and processes and sells agricultural products; branded beverage products segment, which manufactures and sells branded beverage products, and branded food products and others segment, which processes and sells branded food products. The Company’s subsidiaries include China Green (Jiangxi) Food Science Technique Limited, China Green (Fujian) Food Import & Export Co. Limited, China Green Resources (Xiamen) Sales Company Limited, China Green Harvest (Xiamen) Frozen Food Company Limited, Zhonglu (Fujian) Food Industry Limited and Zhonglu (Fujian) Agriculture Comprehensive Development Company Limited, among others. China Culiangwang Beverages Holdings Limited stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/0904

Groupon Sells Stake in TMON for $360 Million to KKR and Anchor Equity Partners

April 23, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Groupon has agreed to sell a controlling 46 percent fully diluted stake in Ticket Monster (TMON). TMON is Groupon’s South Korean e- commerce site. The Groupon shares are worth $360 million and were sold to a partnership between KKR and Anchor Equity Partners with offices in Hong Kong.

The investments valued the Korean e – commerce site at $782 million on a fully diluted basis, assuming a full vesting of management’s 13 percent stake. At closing, Groupon will retain a fully diluted 41 percent stake in TMON. Groupon’s gain on the sale is expected to be between $195 million and $205 million which are values on a pre-tax basis and will be recorded at the close of the transaction. According to the transaction, Groupon will receive $285 million in cash; the remaining amount will be paid to TMON. Groupon acquired TMON in January 2014 for $260 million.

Eric Lefkofsky, Groupon CEO said in an interview about the sale “As the Korean market developed, it became obvious that TMON would benefit from additional resources and local expertise in its drive to be the leading social commerce company in Korea,” he added “We looked forward to watching TMON’s success as a continued large shareholder in the company.”

The TMON sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory and customary closing conditions. On the other hand, Groupon intends to use the proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes and share repurchases. Groupon will report results for its 2015 first quarter on May 5, 2015.

Further information about the transaction will be reported on the coming weeks as well as included in Groupon’s report for its first quarter performance in May.

About Groupon

Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that provides information on discounted gift certificates that are honored locally. Groupon was launched in November 2008, and the first market for Groupon was Chicago, then Boston, New York City, and Toronto. By October 2010 Groupon served more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia, and South America, and had 35 million registered users. The idea for Groupon was created by now-ousted CEO Andrew Mason. The idea subsequently gained the attention of his former employer, Eric Lefkofsky, who provided $1 million in “seed money.” Groupon stock market evolution. http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/grpn

About Eric Lefkofsky

Eric Paul Lefkofsky is a U.S.-born entrepreneur. He is co-founder and CEO of Groupon, co-founder of Lightbank founder & director of InnerWorkings Inc., Echo Global Logistics, Inc., Mediaocean. In March 2011, Eric was named one of the new millionaires in 201 by Forbes.

About TMON

Ticket Monster (티켓몬스터) is a Korean e-commerce platform that provides customers with a wide range of daily deals. It caters to the needs of over five million people and employs about 850 workers all over the world. Ticket Monster offers deals on a wide range of products and services, such as food and beverage, clothing, accessories, cosmetics, personal care, consumer electronics, home appliances, kitchenware, sporting goods, and travel and tour offers. Ticket Monster was founded in February 2010. On January 2, 2014, it was acquired by Groupon, a global leader in local commerce. – See more at: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ticket-monster-korea#sthash.tYWgvMnm.dpuf

About KKR

KKR & Co. L.P. (formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.) is an American multinational private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts, headquartered in New York. The firm sponsors and manages private equity investment funds. Since its inception, the firm has completed over $400 billion of private equity transactions and was a pioneer in the leveraged buyout industry. The firm was founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., and cousins Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, all of whom had previously worked together at Bear Stearns, where they completed some of the earliest leveraged buyout transactions. Since its founding, KKR is headquartered in New York City with 13 additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. In October 2009, KKR listed shares in the company, through KKR & Co. an affiliate that holds 30% of the firm’s ownership equity, with the remainder held by the firm’s partners. In March 2010, KKR filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), with trading commencing four months later, on July 15, 2010. KKR stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/kkr

About Anchor Equity Partners

Anchor Equity Partners is a private equity firm specializing in middle market and consolidation investments. It targets investing in growing opportunities in Korea. Anchor Equity Partners was founded in August 2012 and is based in Seoul, South Korea.

Summit Materials to Acquire Lafarge North America’s 1.2 Million Short Ton Capacity Davenport Cement Plants and More

April 22, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Summit Materials announced signed a definitive agreement with Lafarge North America (“Lafarge NA”) to acquire Lafarge NA’s 1.2 million short ton (1.1 million metric ton) capacity Davenport, IA cement plant and seven cement distribution terminals (“Davenport Assets”) for $450 million. The transaction is subject to certain post-closing adjustmentsSummit’s Bettendorf, Iowa cement distribution terminal. The transaction is expected to close in July 2015, after final regulatory approval and the closing of the Lafarge-Holcim global merger.

The Davenport Assets will be combined with Summit’s Continental Cement Company business based in Chesterfield, MO. The businesses will have 2.45 million short tons of cement capacity which are from two plants in Hannibal, MO and Davenport, and eight cement distribution terminals along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis, MN to New Orleans, LA.

Summit CEO, Tom Hill, commented, “The Davenport Assets are an excellent fit with our materials-based growth strategy and a continuation of Summit’s proven track record of value-added acquisitions. The combination of the Davenport Assets and Continental Cement creates a strategically compelling and complementary multi-plant cement business in very attractive markets along the Mississippi. We are looking forward to welcoming the Davenport plant and terminal employees to Summit, and to servicing new and existing customers with high quality product from our expanded cement operations.”

Furthermore, the transaction stated that the purchase price of $450 million is expected to be funded by Summit Materials with a combination of debt and equity.

Summit hosted a conference call at 11:00 am eastern time (9:00 am mountain time) on April 17, 2015 to further discuss the contents of the transaction.

About Summit Materials

Summit Materials was created to acquire and improve heavy-side building materials companies in various construction industries such as aggregates, ready-mix concrete, cement, asphalt paving and so on. Summit Materials partner with established local businesses and is committed to creating value, provide access to growth capital, implement best practices, and provide a safe place to work while striving to exceed the company’s environmental and social responsibilities. Summit Materials stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/sum

About Tom Hill

Tom Hill is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Summit Materials. Tom was Chief Executive Officer of Oldcastle from 2006 to 2008. Oldcastle was one of the world’s leading building materials companies based in Dublin, Ireland. Tom served on the CRH Board of Directors from 2002 to 2008. Tom also held a variety of leadership roles in the transportation industry with the most prominent one as Chairman of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association from 2002 to 2004. He helped develop legislative proposals to address the transportation infrastructure and testified before the US Congress on the need for increased Federal investment in transportation infrastructure. Tom received his MBA from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland in 1980. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Duke University in 1978.

About Lafarge

Lafarge is a French industrial company that produces three major products: cement, construction aggregates, and concrete. It is a world leader in building materials. The group conducts its operations through more than 1,000 subsidiaries, out of which 82% are consolidated. To improve its gypsum assets and the fundamental changes to its management structure, the group has fully refocused on its core businesses of cement, aggregates and concrete. This change will accelerate growth and innovation of the company. Lafarge has an organizational structure according to its three divisions along with decentralized local operations and strong corporate expert departments, which are involved in strategic decisions. Lafarge has 155 cement plants in 56 countries. When it comes to aggragates and concrete there are 141 production sites and sales offices in 37 countries. Lafarge has headquarters in Paris, France.

On April 7, 2014, Lafarge and Holcim partnered into what was called a “merger of equals”.The merger was all about Lafarge stock being converted into Holcim stock on a 1:1 basis. Former Holcim shareholders would own 53% of LafargeHolcim. The new company would be based in Switzerland and have a manufacturing capacity of 427 million tons a year would vastly exceed the 227 million ton capacity. Anhui Conch is the current industry leader in that category. Lafarge Chief Executive Officer Bruno Lafont and Holcim’s Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle will be co-Chairmen of the new Group. Executives from both companies said the deal would save the new company 1.4 billion euros annually and create “the most advanced group in the building materials industry.” Lafarge stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/laf

About Continental Cement Company

Continental Cement Company is a privately held, American-owned cement manufacturer. It has a single manufacturing facility located south of Hannibal, MO along with additional distribution facilities in St. Louis, MO and Bettendorf, IA. Continental Cement Company headquarters are in Chesterfield, MO.

58.com Acquires a Strategic Part of Ganji.com Improving Delivery of Services to Local Customers

April 21, 2015 by Sabin Piso

58.com has announced that it has purchased a huge stake in Falcon View Technology Limited or “Ganji.” This is the holding company of the PRC entities known also as Ganji.com, a major online local services marketplace platform in China.

According to the definitive agreement with shareholders of Ganji (“the 58.com-Ganji Strategic Transaction”), and according to the intended long-term, strategic combination transaction, 58.com has agreed to purchase approximately 43.2% fully diluted equity stake in Ganji. This is a transaction that is a combination of share consideration and cash, along with more or less 34 million newly issued ordinary shares of the Company (one American Depositary Share, or “ADS”, represents two class A ordinary shares) and US$412.2 million in cash.

583com and Ganji will continue to operate their respective brands, websites and teams, which will improve business synergies from this new strategic relationship. The two successful companies will capitalize on opportunities which will help them further expand their businesses.

Ganji.com started in 2005 in Beijing, China and has become one of country’s leading online local services marketplaces. Hundreds of millions of users come to Ganji.com every month to access a wide range of location-based services that are offered by millions of active merchants specifically in areas such as jobs, housing, local services information and in purchasing second hand items. The 58.com-Ganji Strategic Transaction is expected to close within a few days, subject to customary closing conditions.

Mr. Michael Jinbo Yao, Chairman and CEO of 58.com, commented on the transaction, “We are pleased to make this large-scale strategic investment in Ganji.com to jointly realize major cost, revenue, and strategic business synergies. This transaction is part of our larger plan to execute our vision of integrating our respective businesses and creating a larger and more effective local services internet platform to help consumers around China find the services that they need in their local area. Ganji.com has done a tremendous job building a talented team, and we look forward to working more closely with them as we continue to expand in this growing and underserved market.”

Mr. Mark Haoyong Yang, Chairman and CEO of Ganji.com, added, “After extensive discussions, we are pleased to reach this strategic agreement with 58.com. Both Ganji and 58.com are leading players in the online classified market and have developed unique capabilities in O2O. Personally and on behalf of Ganji, I look forward to taking advantage of the great chemistry between Ganji and 58.com, and leveraging our respective resources and advantages. We have seen and continue to see the mobile internet enabling a transformative opportunity in the classified industry and across O2O categories. Ganji has been built on the DNA of mobile connectivity. Together with 58.com, we will continue to build a leading platform offering our customers the best experience and localized service.”

About 58.com

58.com operates the largest online marketplace serving local merchants and consumers in China, The Company’s online marketplace enables local merchants and consumers to connect, share information and conduct business. With a large and growing user base, merchant network and massive database of local information, 58.com has created a powerful network effect that enables it to maintain its leadership position.58.com’s online marketplace contains a vast amount of credible and up-to-date local information in approximately 380 cities, across diverse content categories, including housing, jobs, used goods, autos, pets, tickets, yellow pages and other local services. The Company conducts automatic and manual screening using proprietary technology and processes to ensure the relevance and accuracy of information provided on the online marketplace. The Company’s broad, in-depth and high quality local information, combined with easy-to-use website and mobile applications, has made it a trusted marketplace for consumers. 58.com stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wuba

About Yao Jinbo

Yao Jinbo (Michael) graduated from university in 2000. He founded EachNic.com. which later became the biggest domain trading website in China. EachNic.com was sold to NET.CN for several hundred thousand RMB. Yao was later appointed as the vice-president of marketing in NET.CN. He has won several awards: The Annual Internet Innovative and Influential Figure Award in 2009, Annual Internet Influential Figure of the New Forces Award in 2012 and the Annual Internet Innovation Leadership Award also in 2012.

About Ganji.com

Ganji is China’s leading online and mobile classified ads provider, focusing on local and business service ads. Top Ganji categories include house rental information, second goods and vehicles, job opportunities, event tickets and pet selling, training, social events and data, restaurants, etc.

About Haoyong Yang

Haoyong Yang is the founder and CEO of Ganji.com. He worked in Silicon Valley for various technology companies such as Juniper Networks and was also the co-founder of Triomphe Networks. Yang is the President and Chairman of Google China joint venture. He graduated from Yale University with a Master Degree in Computer Science and University of Science and Technology with a Master’s Degree in Engineering.

Nokia and Alcatel – Lucent Will Merge to Create Industry Leader in Next Gen Tech

April 20, 2015 by Sabin Piso

A memorandum of agreement between Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent has been created. Witnesses of the merger said that the transaction mentioned that Nokia will make an offer for all of the equity securities of Alcatel-Lucent. This is through a public exchange offer to be made in France and in the United States. This is on the basis of 0.55 of a new Nokia share for every Alcatel-Lucent share.

The transaction further states that: all-share transaction values Alcatel-Lucent at EUR 15.6 billion on a fully diluted basis, corresponding to a fully diluted premium of 34% (equivalent to EUR 4.48 per share), and a premium to shareholders of 28% (equivalent to EUR 4.27 per share), on the unaffected weighted average share price of Alcatel-Lucent from the past three months. This transaction is from Nokia closing share price of EUR 7.77 on April 13, 2015.

Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent Board of Directors have approved the terms of the proposed transaction. This transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016. This transaction is for approval by Nokia’s shareholders, completion of relevant works council consultations, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

According to the merger, the combined company aims to create a foundation of seamless connectivity no matter where the user is located. This is important for changes that will happen in the future as well as the “Internet of Things” and the potential transition of data to cloud storage. Because of Alcatel – Lucent’s Bell Labs and Nokia’s FutureWorks and Nokia Technologies, will stay as separate entities which are known to foster changes in the future.

The two companies have decided that the combined company will be called Nokia Corporation, and will be headquartered in Finland and a strong presence in France. Risto Siilasmaa is planned to serve as Chairman, and Rajeev Suri as Chief Executive Officer. The combined company’s Board of Directors is planned to have nine or ten members, including three members from Alcatel-Lucent, one of whom would serve as Vice Chairman

Rajeev Suri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia, said “Together, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia intend to lead in next-generation network technology and services, with the scope to create seamless connectivity for people and things wherever they are. Our innovation capability will be extraordinary, bringing together the R&D engine of Nokia with that of Alcatel-Lucent and its iconic Bell Labs. We will continue to combine this strength with the highly efficient, lean operations needed to compete on a global scale. We have hugely complementary technologies and the comprehensive portfolio necessary to enable the internet of things and transition to the cloud. We will have a strong presence in every part of the world, including leading positions in the United States and China. Together, we expect to have the scale to lead in every area in which we choose to compete, drive profitable growth, meet the needs of global customers, develop new technologies, build on our successful intellectual property licensing, and create value for our shareholders. For all these reasons, I firmly believe that this is the right deal, with the right logic, at the right time.”

Michel Combes, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, added: “A combination of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent will offer a unique opportunity to create a European champion and global leader in ultra-broadband, IP networking and cloud applications. I am proud that the joined forces of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent are ready to accelerate our strategic vision, giving us the financial strength and critical scale needed to achieve our transformation and invest in and develop the next generation of network technology. This transaction comes at the right time to strengthen the European technology industry. We believe our customers will benefit from our improved innovation capability and incomparable R&D engine under the Bell Labs brand. The global scale and footprint of the new company will reinforce its presence in the United States and China. The proposed transaction represents a compelling offer for our shareholders both in terms of upfront premium and long term value creation potential. Shareholders of Alcatel-Lucent now have the opportunity to participate in the future upside of the industrial project that they have supported during the last two years, through a stronger combined business with greater global scale and a better position for the longer term. The new company will also provide our employees exciting opportunities to be part of a global leader.”

About Nokia

Nokia Oyj is a Finnish multinational communications and information technology company. Nokia has headquarters in Espoo, Helsinki metropolitan area. In 2014, Nokia employed 61,656 people across 120 countries, conducts sales in more than 150 countries and reported annual revenues of around €12.73 billion. Nokia is a public limited-liability company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange It is the world’s 274th-largest company measured by 2013 revenues according to the Fortune Global 500. Nokia stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/nok

About Alcatel – Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent is a French global telecommunications equipment company, with headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It major lie up focuses on fixed, mobile, and converged networking hardware, IP technologies, software, and services. Alcatel-Lucent has operations in more than 130 countries. Alcatel – Lucent stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/alu

CollabRx and Medytox Solutions, Inc., in a Definitive Merger Agreement Strengthens Health Care Delivery to Customers

April 19, 2015 by Sabin Piso

CollabRx and Medytox Solutions, Inc. announced today that they have decided to a definitive merger agreement. Closing of this agreement is subject to stockholder approvals from both companies, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The terms of the agreement states that CollabRx equity holders will own a 10% stake in the combined company and Medytox equity holders will own 90% of the combined company, according to the number of equity securities outstanding immediately following the merger, and excluding convertible preferred shares and notes that have been issued by Medytox, as well as option grants that are expected to be made pertaining to the closing. The agreement has been unanimously approved and adopted by the Boards of Directors of both CollabRx and Medytox,

Medytox is one of the owners and operators of the largest healthcare companies. The health care giant has clinical testing laboratories, an electronic medical records provider, a laboratory information systems company and a medical billing company under its supervision and ownership. On the other hand, CollabRx is a leading informatics company that has complex molecular and genetic testing interpretation for cancer.

Seamus Lagan, CEO of Medytox Solutions, Inc. provided his comment regarding the merger: “We expect that this merger will dramatically speed up our growth,” He added “Furthermore, the addition of CollabRx adds great depth to our company and places Medytox among the most elite, most innovative healthcare enterprises operating in the industry today. Together, we will show the world how state-of-the-art technology and vertical integration can improve health outcomes, and return value to shareholders in the process.”

Thomas Mika, CEO of CollabRx, mentioned in a special interview regarding the merger “I cannot be more enthusiastic about this outcome for all CollabRx stakeholders, including our shareholders, customers, team members and advisors. CollabRx will continue its mission to better inform decision-making in cancer within a high-growth, profit-oriented company, while being able to support several exciting Medytox initiatives in precision medicine.”

Seamus Lagan will be CEO of the combined company. Thomas Mika and Dr. Paul Billings will be appointed to the combined company’s seven-member board, along with the five current directors of Medytox. Thomas R. Mika will serve as Executive Chairman and CEO of CollabRx, Inc. He will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the combined companies.

About CollabRx

CollabRx, Inc. is a company that provides cloud-based systems in determining clinical treatments for molecular diseases such as cancer. It uses dynamically updated molecular disease models that form the basis of the expert systems. CollabRx is a Delaware corporation, formed with the formerly named Tegal Corporation, which acquired the privately held company, also known as CollabRx, on July 12, 2012. The company uses technology specially created for DNA testing laboratories, with goals of translating patient-specific genetic characterization to patient-specific clinical treatment advice for molecular diseases. CollabRx is partner to Life Technologies, OncoDNA and Sengenics. CollabRx sponsors the Lung Cancer Therapy Finder on Medpagetoday.com. CollabRx stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/clrx

About Thomas R. Mika

Thomas R. Mika, MBA is the President & CEO of CollabRx. He also holds the positions of Chairman, President and Acting Chief Financial Officer of CollabRx, Inc. Previously; Mika founded IMTEC, a boutique investment firm focused on health care, pharmaceuticals, media and information technology. Mika was a managing consultant with Cresap, McCormick & Paget and a policy analyst for the National Science Foundation, where he was a member of the initial three-person team that developed and published the landmark Science Indicators, the biennial report of the National Science Board to the President of the United States. Thomas R. Mika holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

About Medytox Solutions, Inc.

Medytox Solutions, Inc. is a developer of technology and systems for medical testing thereby an affordable and superior service to medical providers. Medytox offers its clients a complete solution, with faster turnaround times and more reliable and accurate results, in a manner that is safe, secure and HIPAA-compliant. Medytox Solutions, Inc. stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/mmms

About Seamus Lagan

Seamus Lagan is the Chief Executive Officer of Medytox Solutions. His services are according to a consulting agreement with Alcimede LLC. Mr. Lagan was instrumental in forming the structure of and securing the funding for the Company to develop its current business plan. Mr. Lagan has been the CEO of the two main Subsidiaries of the Company: sales and marketing and the other that enters into agreement with or completes the acquisitions and development of Clinical Laboratories.

Nokia is in Merger Discussions with Alcatel – Lucent for a Future Tie – Up

April 18, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Finland’s Nokia revealed that it is in “advanced” merger discussions with Alcatel-Lucent, after the two companies have been rumored to be discussing a potential partnership. Nokia’s shares have fallen up to 6 percent after the news of the potential merger and on the other hand, Alcatel-Lucent stocks were up to 15 percent higher.

According to a reliable source, the potential merger would be in the form of a public exchange offer by Nokia for Alcatel – Lucent. The statement also included some words of caution: “There could be no certainty at this point that these discussions will result in any agreement or transaction.”

It is unclear at this point if Nokia would acquire all of Alcatel-Lucent’s assets, or it is only eyeing its wireless arm. Credit Suisse rated stock of both Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent on Monday, and mentioned that a fair value for the Alcatel – Lucent company’s wireless business would be 2-2.5 billion euros ($2.1-2.7 billion). Credit Suisse representative mentioned: “We believe that such a potential deal would allow Nokia to significantly improve its presence in the U.S. with AT&T and Verizon (where Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent are key suppliers).”

Indeed, combining Nokia and Alcatel – Lucent would result in a major powerhouse in Europe and potentially a potential entry to US markets but could affect jobs. In response to this uncertainty, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that if ever a deal with transpire between the two companies, there will be no job cuts in France. This announcement followed a meeting at the French Elysee between the chief executives of Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent and French President Francois Hollande.

“It’s a good move for Alcatel-Lucent because it is a move for the future, because we are building, with this tie-up, a new conquest for Alcatel-Lucent, which was a company in great difficulty two years ago,” Macron also commented.

About Nokia

Nokia Oyj is a Finnish multinational communications and information technology company. Nokia has headquarters in Espoo, Helsinki metropolitan area. In 2014, Nokia employed 61,656 people across 120 countries, conducts sales in more than 150 countries and reported annual revenues of around €12.73 billion. Nokia is a public limited-liability company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange It is the world’s 274th-largest company measured by 2013 revenues according to the Fortune Global 500.

Nokia is also a significant contributor to the mobile telephony industry, having assisted in development of the GSM and LTE standards, and was, for a period, the largest vendor of mobile phones in the world. It is the biggest supplier of the smartphone industry through its Symbian platform, but it was soon overshadowed by the growing dominance of Apple’s iPhone line and Android devices. Nokia eventually entered into a pact with Microsoft in 2011 to exclusively use its Windows Phone platform on future smartphones. Nokia stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/nok

About Alcatel – Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent is a French global telecommunications equipment company, with headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It major lie up focuses on fixed, mobile, and converged networking hardware, IP technologies, software, and services. Alcatel-Lucent has operations in more than 130 countries. Alcatel-Lucent has been named Industry Group Leader for Technology Hardware & Equipment sector in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices review ^]and listed in the 2014 Thomson Reuters Top 100 Global Innovators for the 4th year in a row.

Alcatel-Lucent’s chief executive officer is Michel Combes and the non-executive chairman of the board is Philippe Camus. After seven consecutive years of negative cash flows, in October 2013 the company announced plans to slash 10,000 employees, or 14% of the total current 72,000 workforce, as a part of a €1 billion cost reduction effort.

In June 2013, Michel Combes has announced a new strategy calling it “The Shift Plan is a three-year plan including portfolio refocusing on IP networking, ultra-broadband access and cloud; 1 billion Euro in cost savings; selective asset sales intended to generate at least 1 billion Euro over the period of the plan and the restructuring of the Group’s debt. On October 1, 2014, Alcatel-Lucent has announced its take to improving employee training and this is through the Post & Telecommunication Economy Development Center.

Alcatel-Lucent is the o Bell Laboratories. Belli has the largest research and development facilities in the industry. Bell Labs has more than thousands of employees and has been awarded eight Nobel Prizes and the company holds over 29,000 patents. Alcatel – Lucent stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/alu

Jana Partners LLC Asks Qualcomm to Consider Spinning off Chip Unit from Its Licensing Arm to Improve Its Stock Market Price

April 17, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Activist investor Jana Partners LLC is asking Qualcomm to consider spinning off its chip unit from its patent-licensing business to save its dropping stock market price. This was a report from The Wall Street Journal from a quarterly letter which will be sent to Jana Partners investors.

Jana Partners LLC is one of Qualcomm’s largest shareholders. The activist investor is calling on the company to reduce costs and improve stock buybacks. Changes should also be done to its executive pay structure, financial reporting and board of directors according to the report.

Qualcomm mentioned last month that it would buy back more than $15 billion of shares and raise its quarterly dividend. Qualcomm also promised that it would continue to return at least 75 percent of its free cash flow to its shareholders year after year.

According to the letter, Jana Partners LLC mentioned that the buyback is a positive step however Qualcomm should gradually capitalize on its decisive position in the chip market. Jana Partners pointed out that Qualcomm’s chip business has no value at present at the company’s present market value. A huge portion of Qualcomm’s revenue is from selling so-called baseband chips which are essential for mobile phones to communicate with carrier networks. Most of its earnings mostly come from licensing patents for Qualcomm’s widespread CDMA cellphone technology. To remember that earlier this year, Samsung Electronics decided to use another mobile chip rather than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. This was for its Galaxy S6 smartphone.

The executives of Jana Partners LLC and Qualcomm’s management have initiated private discussions since 2014. According to a person that is familiar with the conversations held by the two companies, the talks were very constructive. According to Reuters, Jana Partners LLC and Qualcomm were not available for comments regarding their deal outside regular U.S. business hours.

Since the beginning of the year, shares of Qualcomm, which has a market capitalization of $114.08 billion, have fallen about 7 percent.

Jana Partners LLC considers a breakup as well as other options to improve the giant chip maker’s stock price. The spin off from its patent-licensing business amounts to most of Qualcomm’s profits. Jana Partners has purchased a stake of more than $2 billion. This makes Jana Partners LLC the largest shareholder of Qualcomm.

About Jana Partners LLC

Jana Partners is a hedge fund created in 2001 by Co-Founders and Managing Directors Barry S. Rosenstein and Gary Claar. Before Jana was founded, founder Mr. Rosenstein was a Principal of Sagaponack Partners, which is a private equity fund. Jana has headquarters in New York City.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated is a global semiconductor company that creates and markets wireless telecommunications products and services. The company has headquarters in San Diego, California, United States. It has 157 worldwide locations with the parent company Qualcomm Incorporated (Qualcomm), which includes the Qualcomm Technology Licensing Division (QTL). Qualcomm’s wholly owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QTI), operates substantially all of Qualcomm’s R&D activities, plus its product and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf announced at the company’s annual analyst day meeting in New York City that it is targeting the data center market with new server chips using ARM technology. These chips will soon be commercially available by the end of 2015. Qualcomm stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/qcom

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a South Korean multinational electronics company with headquarters in Suwon, South Korea. Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group, with 70% of the group’s revenue in 2012. It is also the world’s largest information technology company by revenues since 2009. Samsung Electronics has manufacturing plants and sales networks in 80 countries with 370,000 employees. Kwon Oh-Hyun is the CEO of Samsung Electronics since 2012.

Samsung is a major manufacturer of electronic components such as lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, chips, flash memory and hard drive devices for Apple, Sony, HTC and Nokia. Recently, Samsung Electronics has diversified into consumer electronics. At present, it is one of the largest manufacturers of mobile phones and smartphones. Samsung has been highly popularized by its Samsung Galaxy phones and line of devices. Samsung is also a manufacturer of tablet computers, especially its Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab collection. Samsung is also the world’s largest manufacturer of LCD panels, the world’s largest television manufacturer and world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones. Samsung Electronics displaced Apple Inc. as the world’s largest technology company in 2011 and plays a huge role in the South Korean economy.

Ford Motor Company Plans to Partner with Sollers While Russian Auto Sales Are Down

April 15, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Ford Motor Co. said on a statement on Friday said it would take interest in a joint venture with Sollers OJSC. The American automaker mentioned that this move will provide additional funding to the venture and will also open doors for a better partnership. This plan was conceived at a time when auto sales in Russia are plummeting.

Looking back, Ford’s latest investment strategy contrasts the one made by General Motors Co. The company mentioned last month said it was closing its Russian plant and is holding most of its products in the market. This was GM’s strategy in meeting its European profit targets. Latest markets show that Russian car sales fell 43% last month. The numbers were the latest in repeated declines starting from early 2014. Russian car sales have collapsed despite larger problems in the economy and political turmoil in the country.

Ford did not make any comment on the matter yet and has not revealed the size of its planned investment. In 2011, it has acquired its joint-venture stake in Sollers for a hefty $364 million.

“We’ve made a bet on Russia,” Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks mentioned in a meeting with financial experts. “It’s being hurt right now for what’s going on in terms of oil prices, as well as the geopolitical issues. But we still have confidence that over time it could be an attractive market.”

The latest investment is a consolidated joint-venture intended for financial-reporting purposes. Ford will work with Sollers which is a company that has partnerships with foreign car companies. This will expand Ford’s business in Russia and expand into local parts manufacturing. However, the company has stated that all these changes will have no impact on its first-quarter results which will soon be available later in April.

“We welcome the intentions of Ford Motor Co. to provide the necessary financial support to the joint enterprise, which will create a platform for subsequent growth,” said Sollers Deputy Chief Executive Nikolai Sobolev in an exclusive statement about the potential merger.

About Ford

The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker with headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. It was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903. The company manufactures and sells automobiles as well as commercial vehicles under the Ford brand while its luxury cars line under the Lincoln brand. The company also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller and Australian FPV. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and controlled by the Ford family. According to Forbes, Ford is “the most important industrial company in the history of the United States.” According to the latest market information, Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world according to 2010 vehicle sales. At the end of 2010 Ford is considered one of the largest auto company in Europe and is the eighth-ranked American-based company in the 2010 according to a Fortune 500 list, according to global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion. Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles in 2008 and employed about 213,000 employees. These numbers are according to Ford’s 90 plants and facilities all over the world. Ford stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/f

About Bob Shanks

Bob Shanks is Ford Motor’s executive vice president and chief financial officer in April 1, 2012. He has overall responsibility for Ford financial operations, including the controller’s office, treasury and investor relations. He has a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1975 and a master’s in international management from the American Graduate School of International Management in 1976.

About Sollers

Sollers formerly known as OAO Severstal-Auto is a Russian company holding controlling blocks of shares of OAO Ulyanovsk Automobile Works (UAZ), Zavolzhye Motor Works (ZMZ) and OAO ZMA. The enterprises of Severstal-Auto are well-known automobile brands and occupy stable positions in their market segments. Sollers stock market evolution: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SVAV.MM

About Nikolai Sobolev

Nikolay Sobolev is the member of Sollers board of directors. He is the first Deputy Director General and Chief Financial Officer of Sollers. He earned his degree from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation, MBA Kingston (UK), Candidate of Economic Sciences. In 2000 he received his MBA from Business School of Kingston University (UK), 2002 he was a Candidate of Economic Sciences, Moscow State University. Since January 2005 he was a Financial Director of Sollers OJSC and since May 2009 he is the First Deputy General Director of Sollers OJSC.

Intel Corp Fails to Acquire Altera After Stocks Prices Rose

April 14, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Discussions on a potential purchase by Intel Corp of Altera Corp have ended as the companies fail to agree on price. Apparently Altera shares rose making the company still a potential target.

Looking at Altera’s current shares, the market closed up 3.2 percent at $43.33 on NASDAQ after it fell to as much as 8 percent. On the other hand, Intel shares closed down slightly at $31.24 and this was noted after falling earlier in the day.

According to the transaction, Intel’s offer was in valued at the low end of $50 per share range. This value represented a 50 percent premium to Altera’s price which was initially reported on March 27.

As the news of the failure of the two companies to come up with a decision has spread, Intel was asked to make a comment however, till today, and the company declined an offer to provide a statement regarding the matter. Altera was also not available for any comment regarding the matter as well. Experts say that Altera’s refusal to deal with Intel adds pressure on its board.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman commented on the matter: “Investors are going to demand some explanations,” he said. “If the board and management can’t show a plan that would create a value at or above what Intel is offering, they are going to have to justify why they are saying no.”

To recall, Intel was reported to be in talks to buy Altera late last month in a deal that could have been worth more than $10 billion. If the deal has gone through, this purchase would have been Intel’s largest acquisition in the company’s history basically bigger than the $7.7 billion purchase of security software maker McAfee in 2011. Altera is important to Intel. The company produces superb quality programmable chips which are important in data centres and are developed for functions such as web-search results and in managing social networks.

Market analysts Peter Jankovskis, co- chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC commented on the failure. He however said that they expect M&A chip to boom despite Intel and Altera ending talks of any acquisition. “Perhaps it impacts those two stocks but I don’t see it offsetting the major trend, which is certainly for more deals,” said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC

About Intel

Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. It is considered “one of the world’s largest and highest valued semiconductor chip makers” according to revenue. There are many firsts for Intel; it is creator of the x86 series microprocessor that is used in personal computers. According to the 2013 rankings of the world’s 100 most valuable brands by Millward Brown Optimor showed the company’s brand value at number 61.

The most successful microchip company begun research into electrical transmission and generation. It is also the leader in 3-D transistor which is used to improve performance and energy efficiency. The Tri-Gate is a 3-D transistor that was also a first for Intel and this had 22 nm process used in their 3rd generation core processors which was released on April 29, 2012. Intel unveiled its fourth generation of Intel Core processors (Haswell) in 2013 in an event named Computex in Taipei. Intel stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/intc

About Altera

Altera Corporation is an American company that manufactures Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) which are reconfigurable complex digital circuits. The company’s main products are the Stratrix, Arria and Cyclone series FPGAs, the MAX series CPLDs; Quartus II design software and Enpirion PowerSoC DC-DC power solutions.

The Stratix series FPGAs are the company’s largest, highest bandwidth devices, Cyclone series FPGAs and SoC FPGAs are the company’s lowest cost, lowest power FPGAs, with variants offering integrated transceivers up to 5 Gbit/s. In between these are Arria series FPGAs, which boasts of a balance of performance, power, and cost for mid-range applications. These devices integrate FPGAs with full hard processor systems based around ARM processors.

In May 2013, Altera acquired embedded power chipmaker Enpirion. Since that time, Enpirion has been incorporated into Altera by becoming its own product offering within the Altera portfolio of products.

Altera offers an embedded portfolio with a broad selection of soft processor core such as the Nios II, Freescale ColdFire v1 core, ARM Cortex-M1 and one hard IP processor core the ARM Cortex-A9 processor. All of Altera’s devices are supported by a common design environment, Quartus II design software. Quartus II software is available in a subscription-based edition and a free Web-based edition. Altera stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/altr .

Informatica to Be Acquired by Permira and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $5.3 Billion

April 12, 2015 by Sabin Piso

The deal that is approximately $5.3 billion states that Informatica will be acquired by a company that is controlled by CPPIB and Permira. According to the terms of the agreement, Informatica shareholders will receive $48.75 in cash for each share of Informatica common stock.

Informatica is known as the leader in several technology categories, including Cloud Technologies, Data Integration for Big Data initiatives, and MDM Solutions. The company’s growth strategy is to be the best in all geographic regions and to grow across customer data initiatives and of course to assume leadership in all things data.

“After careful consideration and deliberation of strategic alternatives, our Board of Directors unanimously concluded that the sale of Informatica to the Permira funds and CPPIB is in the best interest of all Informatica stakeholders,” said Sohaib Abbasi, chairman and chief executive officer, Informatica. “While delivering immediate compelling value to our shareholders, we remain committed to the long-term success of our customers, partners, and employees. Permira and CPPIB share both our vision for Informatica to power the data-ready enterprise and our conviction in sustained long-term growth.”

“Informatica is an outstanding company and a clear leader in the essential field of enterprise data solutions,” said Brian Ruder, a Permira Partner and Co-Head of the firm’s Technology Sector Team. “We are very excited about the Company’s ongoing transition to cloud and subscription based services, as well as its continued pursuit of four separate billion dollar market opportunities in cloud integration, master data management, data integration for next generation analytics, and data security. In addition, we look forward to working with this talented team of dedicated employees and CPPIB to grow the business and achieve Informatica’s highest potential.”

“This transaction represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a market-leading enterprise data integration solutions provider,” said Mark Jenkins, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Private Investments, CPPIB. “Informatica’s differentiated suite of software solutions, stable base of recurring revenues and strong potential for future growth make this a highly attractive investment for CPPIB. We look forward to partnering with the Informatica team and the Permira funds to accelerate the Company’s growth and to support Informatica’s continued market leadership in product innovation.”

The Board of Directors of Informatica has unanimously approved the merger recommend that Informatica shareholders will adopt the agreement. The transaction is expected to be completed in either the second or third quarter of 2015 and is subject to receipt of shareholder approval as well as customary regulatory approvals.

About Informatica Corporation

Informatica Corporation is a software development company which started in 1993. Its headquarters are in Redwood City, California. Founded by Diaz Nesamoney and Gaurav Dhillon. The company’s chairman and CEO is Sohaib Abbasi.The software company has popular products such as Cloud Integration, Complex Event Processing, Data Masking, Data Quality, Data Replication, Data Virtualization, Master Data Management, Ultra Messaging.

The Informatica Marketplace was launched in 2010 with products and services such as data integration eco-system for Informatica and its partners to share and leverage data integration solutions. Informatica features over 1,300 pre-built mappings, templates, connectors and add-ons for data integration and cloud data integration products. Informatica stock market evolution: http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/infa

About Permira Funds

Permira is a European equity company, founded in 1985. Since 1985 the Permira funds have made nearly 200 private equity investments. Permira specializes in five sectors: Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials and TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications). At present there are 25 companies in the Permira portfolio. The firm has approximately 120 professionals. Permira teams are based in Frankfurt, Guernsey, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Menlo Park, Milan, New York, Paris, Stockholm and Tokyo. Permira is led by two co-managing partners Kurt Björklund and Tom Lister.

About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) manages more than C$238 billion in investment assets of Canada Pension Plan which is pension plans for eighteen million Canadians. Under former Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin, the CPP Investment Board started in 1997 as an organization independent of the government. Its job was to monitor and invest the funds held by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The CPP Investment Board created the CPP Reserve Fund. CPP Investment Board is a crown corporation through an Act of Parliament. It presents reports its performance on a quarterly basis and has a professional management team to oversee the operation of all the aspects of the CPP reserve fund. It is important in planning changes in direction, along with a directorial board which is responsible but independent from the federal government.

Ventas Inc. Will Purchase Ardent Medical Services Inc. For $1.75 Billion

April 10, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Ventas Inc. plans to purchase privately held hospital chain Ardent Medical Services Inc. for a whopping $1.75 billion in cold cash. The acquisition will give Ventas 10 Ardent hospitals with about 2,045 beds, hundreds of physicians, tens of thousands of employees, specialty physicians and pharmacies. This greatly enhances Ventas Inc. portfolio as one of the biggest health care real estate investment trust companies in the industry.

Ventas’ shares were up 2 percent at $74.74 in premarket trading on Monday. Ventas will split Ardent’s real estate portfolio from its hospital operations. Afterwards it will sell the hospitals to a new company owned by current Ardent management and other equity sources. Through this financial strategy, Ventas will retain up to 9.9 percent of the new company. The transaction is expected to add 8-10 cents to Ventas’ funds from operations per share in the first year after the transaction closes. This deal is expected to close in mid-2015.

At present, Ardent owns 12 acute-care hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital, three multi-specialty physician groups and retail pharmacies. On the other hand Ventas, which owns seniors housing communities, medical office buildings, skilled nursing facilities and hospitals, also plans to create its own portfolio of skilled nursing facilities. This is expected to be completed in the second half of 2015.

“The addition of Ardent’s platform, which includes high-quality assets with significant market share in three key markets, and a highly-regarded hospital management team, creates a strong avenue for growth in the attractive hospital real-estate market,” Ventas Chief Executive Debra Cafaro said.

About Ventas Inc.

Ventas, Inc. is an S&P 500 company, is a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), with a highly diversified portfolio of more than 1,600 seniors housing and healthcare properties in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Ventas has delivered consistent, superior long-term returns to shareholders for a lot of, outperforming both the S&P 500 and the MSCI US REIT Index. By maintaining an outstanding balance sheet and ample liquidity, Ventas strives to improve the cost of capital and enhance stakeholder value. Ventas Inc. stock market evolution: http://www.google.com/finance?cid=663130

About Debra A. Cafaro

Debra A. Cafaro is Ventas, Inc. Chief Executive Officer since 1999 and as our Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2003. Under her leadership, Ventas’s market capitalization rose to nearly $25 billion, from $200 million. Additionally, Ventas was named the top performing publicly traded financial company for the first decade of this century and Fortune Magazine ranked it as one of its “Most Admired” real estate company globally in 2013. Ms. Cafaro was recognized in 2014 by the Harvard Business Review in its list of “The Best-Performing CEOs in the World,” ranking her in the top 30 global CEOs and by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Business”. She was also named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare.

Ms. Cafaro received her J.D. cum laude in 1982 from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was named its Distinguished Alumna in 2011, and her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1979.

About Raymond J. Lewis

Raymond J. Lewis has been President of Ventas since 2010. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer from 2006 to 2010 and as our Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer from 2002 to 2006. He is also currently a member of the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association where he serves as Secretary and Treasurer on the Executive Committee. Mr. Lewis is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

About Ardent Health Services

Ardent Health Services is a national health care company with headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. Its subsidiaries own and operate hospitals and multispecialty physician practices in three states plus a number of retail pharmacies. Within the industry, Ardent is known for recognizing that every hospital is unique as it serves. Ardent is also known for our investments in people, facilities and technology. As a premier provider of health care services, Ardent seeks highly qualified, highly motivated employees. The Ardent Health system currently includes a total of 13 hospitals in 3 states, 3 multispecialty physician groups employing 325 physicians, 12,000 employees, 11 retail pharmacies, $1.9 billion in revenues projected in 2014 and $701.5 million in capital investment in three systems since acquisition. Ardent is led by President and CEO David T. Vandewater and supported by the financial strength of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, the leading private equity investor in the health care industry.

Concord Music Group Buys Vanguard and Sugar Hill for $120 Million

April 9, 2015 by Sabin Piso

The world’s largest independent music companies combine to form a formidable music group. This deal is no ordinary deal since Concord Music Group — home to Paul McCartney and Paul Simon, has paid $120 million for this huge deal. Concord has announced Wednesday that it had acquired the two record labels, Vanguard and Sugar Hill.

The two record labels Vanguard and Sugar Hill are being sold by the Welk Music Group. These acquisitions will add to Concord’s already amazing collections of folk and country music. Vanguard has been one of the world’s leading labels when it comes to folk music. In its heyday during the 1950s and ’60s, it has released albums by the most popular artists of these times such as the Weavers, Joan Baez and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Vanguard’s current artists are the Indigo Girls and Chris Isaak. On the other hand, Sugar Hill was started in 1978 with formidable artists such as Dolly Parton and Sarah Jarosz.

These acquisitions will provide Concord control of most of Welk’s catalog. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed; however the giant record label said that Kevin Welk, the company’s president, would remain as the chief creative of Vanguard and Sugar Hill.

Concord began in 1972 as a jazz label is concentrated with adult audiences. It has a super collection of about 10,000 albums which includes the music of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stax and Rounder.

Concord also mentioned in its announcement that it was merging with Bicycle Music, an affiliated music publisher, to form Concord Bicycle Music. The two companies have a variety of shared investors and this includes Wood Creek Capital Management. Wood Creek Capital took control of Concord in 2013 as part of a deal estimated at $120 million.

Billboard magazine has estimated that the combined Concord Bicycle Music would have annual revenue of $125 million.

About Concord

Concord Music Group is a wholly owned independent music company with headquarters in Beverly Hills, California. It has a world-wide distribution through Universal Music Group. Concord Music Group’s active roster includes Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Chick Corea, Alison Krauss, Ben Harper, Esperanza Spalding, Christian Scott, Arturo Sandoval, Booker T. Jones, Kenny G, George Benson, Steve Martin and Alejandro Escovedo. The company’s master catalog recordings include John Coltrane, John Fogerty, Frank Sinatra, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Little Richard, Otis Redding, Thelonious Monk, Isaac Hayes, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Albert King.

About Vanguard Records

Vanguard Records is a record label set created in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary label. The label was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music in April 2015.

Sugar Hill Records

Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss with assistance from David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hill in 1980 and owned the label until 1998, when he sold it to the Welk Music Group, owner of Vanguard Records. Poss stayed on as president, and in 2002 was promoted to chairman.

Sugar Hill remained in Durham until 2007, when Poss moved the label to Nashville, Tennessee. Among the many popular artists of Sugar Hill are Nickel Creek, Doc Watson, Townes Van Zandt, Ricky Skaggs, Guy Clark, Sam Bush and Dolly Parton. One of Parton’s albums for Sugar Hill, Halos & Horns (2002), included a song called “Sugar Hill”, which she wrote as a tribute to the label. In 2008, Welk Music Group appointed EMI as distributor of its labels including Sugar Hill. The label was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music in April 2015.

About Bicycle Music Company

The Bicycle Music Company is a globally influential independent music publisher, record label and rights manager. The company is committed to innovative marketing, creative and administrative practices, promoting exceptional growth on behalf of their songwriters, recording artists and investor partners. Bicycle Music Company is quick to identify opportunity in both hit songs and hidden gems, and provide personalized support to help songwriters and recording artists find greater success in the music and media landscape. The company has a diverse catalog which spans genres, territories and eras and builds an emotional connection with consumers of film, television, terrestrial and satellite radio, interactive games, recordings, downloads and streaming services. Bicycle Music Company influences music users around the globe, and provides thoughtful, personal attention to their songwriters, recording artists and clients. It was founded in 1974 and is continuously innovating till this day.

DP World Will Purchase Fairview Container Terminal for $457 Million

April 8, 2015 by Sabin Piso

DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, will buy Canada’s Fairview Container Terminal from Deutsche Bank for $457 million. This acquisition will invest in a “growth opportunity in a market with attractive and growing demand”.

Fairview Container Terminal is purpose-built terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia under the Prince Rupert Port Authority. This port is one of the most efficient with a sea-rail link and a current capacity of 850,000 TEU which is anticipated to rise to 1.35 million TEU following a just-announced phase-two expansion.

DP World operates in more than 65 marine terminals across six continents. The transaction is subject to Canadian regulatory approval. DP World expects to complete the deal in the second half of 2015.

The Centerm Terminal in Port Metro Vancouver in Canada is already owned by DP World. The Dubai-based ports operator said the concession period runs to 2034 with an extension to 2056 after the completion of phase two. This transaction will have amazing benefits to Canada, including to the Province of British Columbia, to the City of Prince Rupert, to First Nations communities right down to importers, exporters and consumers. These were mentioned in an exclusive statement from DP World.

Mohammed Sharaf, group chief executive officer of DP World mentioned in a statement that Fairview Container Terminal offers the fastest access for vessels travelling between Asia and North America. This terminal also boasts the highest productivity rates on the West Coast. Sharaf is also excited regarding the long-term concession and ability to build beyond the current phase two of the terminal’s expansion since it is a fantastic opportunity for DP World.

“We are delighted to announce this transaction and look forward to further enhancing the port’s operations under DP World management,” he said.

For 2014, DP World posted an 11.8 per cent rise in net profit to $675 million compared with $604 million in the prior year. Last year’s revenue was $3.41 billion, up 11 per cent from 2013. DP World invested $807 million across its portfolio in 2014, adding two million TEU.

About DP World

DP World is an Emirati marine terminal operator. It is based in Dubai and is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world. The company operates more than 60 terminals across six continents, with container handling generating around 80% of its revenue. DP World has 11 new developments and major expansions in 10 countries. It has several expansion projects all over the world including India, China and the Middle East. The company was founded in 2005 by merging Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International. It purchased Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) of the United Kingdom in 2006 for £3.9 billion ($7 billion). The company does not currently operate in the United States where its purchase of a number of U.S. ports led to controversy. DP World stock market evolution: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DPW:DU

About Mohammed Sharaf

Sharaf is the Chief Executive Officer DP World. He has a Degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, Tucson. Sharaf has nearly 20 years’ experience in the transport and logistics business. Began shipping career at Holland Hook Terminal, Port of New York/New Jersey. Currently, CEO, DP World, the global port operator formed in 2005 joining domestic and international arms of the Dubai Ports Organization.

About Prince Rupert Port Authority

The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is a port authority under the Canada Marine Act as an autonomous and commercially viable agency. It has responsibility for all federally owned waterfront properties on Prince Rupert Harbour, located in and around the city of Prince Rupert on the North Coast of British Columbia.

Created on May 1, 1999, it the Prince Rupert Port Corporation (PRPC). PRPC was the successor to the National Harbours Board, which previously operated all federally owned ports in Canada. The port authority reports to the Minister of Transport and has a Board of Directors consisting of local business and community figures. The PRPA port facilities include Atlin Terminal, Northlands Cruise Terminal, Lightening Dock, Ocean Dock, Pinnacle Pellet Terminal, Fairview Terminal, Prince Rupert Grain and Ridley Terminals. All PRPA facilities are serviced by CN Rail.

About Fairview Container Terminal

The Fairview Container Terminal is a 24 hectare (59 acre) port terminal. It is the first dedicated intermodal (ship to rail) container terminal in North America, with an operational capacity to move 750,000 TEUs (Twenty foot Equivalent Units) per year. It is designed to efficiently handle the largest concentration of intermodal rail business. The terminal was completed in September 2007 and commenced operations with the arrival of COSCO’s Antwerp on October 31, 2007.

Diageo Now in Full Control of South African United National Breweries

April 7, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Diageo has taken full control of South African beer business United National Breweries after buying out the other half of the company that it did not already own.

Diageo has purchased the final half of United National Breweries that it did not own and has paid $22m (£14.8m). The brewer has also agreed to pay a $14m in the future should the group meet future earnings targets specified in the transaction.

Diageo first invested in UNB two years ago, it paid $36m to buy half the company. The other half was then owned by Pestello Investments which is a group connected with tycoon Vijay Mallya.

United National Breweries makes a traditional form of African beer known as sorghum. It is also the biggest brewery of its kind in South Africa. The acquisition deal deal is conditional on approval from South African competition authorities. On the other hand Diageo, whose best-known brands include Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky, has focused its expansion in South Africa and other emerging markets in recent years, such as breweries from China, Brazil, India and others. However, Diageo is now facing a slowdown in sales growth in the emerging markets, and these latest business efforts has forced chief executive Ivan Menezes to look for cost-cutting drives to make the company more versatile in the markets its operates in.

United National Breweries Vijay Mallya self-proclaimed “King of Good Times” fell on harder times after his entry to the airline industry was unsuccessful. Diageo took advantage of this situation as it moved in on the assets of Mr. Mallya. The UK group took majority control of Mr. Mallaya’s United Spirits business last year which is the creator of popular liquor brands such as McDowell’s.

According to Diageo: “Once completed, this transaction will give Diageo control of the leading traditional sorghum beer business in South Africa, including the ability to make investment decisions to support the continued growth of United National Breweries brands in the sorghum beer category.” The transaction is expected to complete within the current fiscal year.

About Diageo

Diageo plc is a British multinational alcoholic beverages company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world’s largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine. Diageo’s brands include Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Guinness. Diageo also owns 34% of Moët Hennessy, which owns brands including Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy. The company sells its products in over 180 countries and has offices in around 80 countries. Diageo has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately £48.9 billion as of 7 May 2013, making it the 8th-largest company on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Diageo stock market evolution: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DEO

About Ivan Menezes

Ivan Menezes is an Indian-born American/British business executive. He is the chief executive officer of Diageo. Menezes was born in Pune, Indiaand is the son of Manuel Menezes, who was the chairman of the Indian Railway Board. He was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and the US Kellogg School of Management. Menezes joined Diageo in 1997. He is also a non-executive director of the US-based fashion retailer Coach, Inc.

About United National Breweries

United National Breweries is the leading manufacturer of Traditional African Sorghum Beer in South Africa. It produces and distributes this kind of beer from 6 Breweries and numerous distribution depots situated throughout South Africa. UNB holds the major South African Umqombothi brands in its stable and is compelled to champion the cause of Umqombothi and strives to uphold the image of this amazing product in all of its endeavors.

About Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya is an Indian businessman and politician. He is the son of businessman Vittal Mallya, the chairman of the UB Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests in beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate and fertilizer among others. Mallya is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.

Mallya also owns several franchises. He also co-owns the Formula One team Sahara Force India. His major companies own Indian Premier League team Royal Challengers Bangalore, the I-League teams Mohun Bagan A.C. and East Bengal F.C.[citation needed] He is also a member of the World Motor Sport Council representing India in the FIA. Mallya is the Chairman of public companies both in India and the US. He has been the Chairman of Sanofi India (previously Hoechst AG and Aventis) as well as the force behind Bayer CropScience in India as chairman for over 20 years. In addition to being the Chairman of the mentioned companies, he is also the leader of several other companies.

Horizon Pharma to Purchase Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. for $1.1 Billion in Cash

April 6, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Horizon Pharma plc and Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. announced today a definitive agreement wherein Horizon Pharma will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Hyperion’s common stock for $46.00 per share in cash or approximately $1.1 billion based on a fully diluted basis. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors.

“The Hyperion acquisition will expand and diversify our product portfolio by adding two complementary orphan disease products, RAVICTI and BUPHENYL, and leverage as well as expand the existing infrastructure of our orphan disease business,” said Timothy P. Walbert, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Horizon Pharma plc. “This transaction will be immediately accretive to adjusted EPS and we expect the contribution of RAVICTI and BUPHENYL in 2016 will add approximately $100 million to our adjusted EBITDA, including cost synergies contributing greater than $50 million. Additionally, this acquisition further accelerates our near- and long-term sales and adjusted EBITDA growth and provides significant value for both Horizon and Hyperion shareholders.”

“During the last two years, we have solidified our position in the orphan disease space and made significant progress in bringing life-changing medicines to people with urea cycle disorders,” said Donald J. Santel, president and chief executive officer, Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. “I would like to thank my colleagues for their tireless commitment to advancing the clinical development and understanding of RAVICTI, BUPHENYL and urea cycle disorders. Horizon shares our commitment and I’m confident that the strength of its existing orphan business unit will continue to expand the reach of these important medicines to more patients impacted by these disorders.”

This transaction will increase the number of Horizon’s products from five to seven, along with the addition of RAVICTI and BUPHENYL. This provides additional revenue diversification, it leverages Horizon’s orphan business unit with attractive revenue and operating synergies. Along with these there is an expected 2016 adjusted EBITDA of approximately $100 million from the acquired business with expected cost synergies of more than $50 million.

The acquisition states that an all cash tender offer for all the issued and outstanding shares of Hyperion common stock at a price of $46.00 per share will be followed by a merger in which each remaining untendered share of Hyperion common stock would be converted into the $46.00 per share cash consideration paid in the tender offer.

Horizon has created these agreements with certain stockholders of Hyperion, along with certain members of the Hyperion management team and certain funds from members of the Hyperion board of directors. The transaction is pursuant to which each of these stockholders has agreed to tender Hyperion common shares owned of record which in the aggregate represent approximately 21 percent of the outstanding Hyperion common shares according to the date the agreements were made.

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the tender of a majority of the outstanding Hyperion shares and expiration or termination of the HSR. It is anticipated that the transaction will close in the second quarter of 2015. A conference call will transpire today at 8 A.M. ET at 8 a.m. Eastern Time today. Horizon’s management will host the conference call and live audio webcast to discuss the transaction and related matters of the acquisition.

About Horizon Pharma

Horizon Pharma Public Limited Company is a pharmaceutical company that develops and markets medicine through its subsidiaries in the US. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Their products are for the treatment of inflammatory illnesses diseases. As of March 2014, the company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion and an enterprise value of $1.21 billion. Horizon Pharma stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/hznp

About Timothy P. Walbert

Timothy P. Walbert joined Horizon Pharma in June 2008 as president and chief executive officer and has served as chairman of the board of directors since 2010. Mr. Walbert received his B.A. in business from Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About Hyperion Therapeutics

Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops and delivers life-changing treatments for patients suffering from orphan diseases. Hyperion Therapeutics stock market evolution: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=HPTX

About Donald J. Santel

Donald J. Santel has served as CEO since June 2008, and has been a member of the board of directors since 2007. Mr. Santel was previously a member of the board of directors and the CEO of CoTherix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He brought CoTherix public in 2004, when he was responsible for all aspects of the business and led the sale of CoTherix to Actelion in 2007. Mr. Santel holds an MS in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota and a BSE in biomedical engineering from Purdue University.

Aduro Biotech Partners with Novartis for Global Research and Development of Cancer Immunotherapy

April 1, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Aduro Biotech, Inc. has announced today the creation of a collaboration with Novartis for the worldwide research, development and commercialization of novel immuno-oncology products. These cancer therapy products are derived from Aduro’s cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) approach to target the STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) receptor. According to Aduro research, when these receptors are activated this will initiate broad innate and adaptive tumor-specific immune responses.

Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro was interviewed regarding the collaboration and he said “We are extremely pleased to enter into this relationship with Novartis as their strong commitment and spirit of collaboration was evident early in our conversations.” He added “We believe they are an ideal partner not only because of their stature as a premier healthcare company with a major focus in oncology, but also because they demonstrated a keen understanding and appreciation for our novel CDN approach, have synergistic innovation and scientific strengths and of course offer tremendous clinical and commercial expertise which we expect will broaden and accelerate the potential to bring products developed from this novel technology to patients in need.”

The agreement mentions that Novartis will make an upfront payment of $200 million to Aduro and, if all development milestones are complete, Aduro will receive up to an additional aggregate amount of $500 million. Novartis has also made an initial 2.7 percent equity investment in Aduro for $25 million and this includes a commitment for another $25 million investment at a future date.

The collaboration also mentions that Aduro will lead commercialization activities and will promote sales in the United States for any products developed and commercialized as a result of the collaboration. Novartis will lead commercialization activities in all other regions. The companies will share in profits, if any, in the United States, Japan and major European countries. Finally, Novartis will pay Aduro a mid-teens royalty for sales of products from the rest of the world.

Novartis’ Mark C. Fishman, M.D., president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, commented, “We are delighted to collaborate with Aduro. We believe this target is among the most exciting in oncology today, the drug candidate to be of the highest quality, and the talent of our new colleagues from Aduro to be fantastic. We anticipate many clinical opportunities will be explored with the CDN approach, both directly and in combination with other agents.”

The agreement covers the joint research, development and commercialization of CDN-based therapies in the field of oncology. Aduro shall maintain rights to its CDN technology in all other therapeutic areas, including infectious disease and autoimmunity.

About Aduro Biotech, Inc.

Aduro Biotech, Inc. is a private, clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on the development of technology platforms to stimulate an immune response against cancer. Aduro’s lead platform is based on proprietary strains of live-attenuated, double-deleted (LADD) Listeria monocytogenes that induce a potent innate immune response and have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce tumor-specific T cell-mediated immunity. Aduro has received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA for its lead LADD regimen, CRS-207 in combination with GVAX Pancreas in pancreatic cancer.

About Stephen T. Isaacs

Stephen T. Isaacs is Chairman, President and CEO of Aduro BioTech. Before joining Aduro, Mr. Isaacs was founder (1991), President and CEO of Cerus Corporation, a biomedical products company commercializing the Intercept Blood Systems. Mr. Isaacs has published over 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is an inventor on over 40 issued patents. He holds a BA degree in Biochemistry from UC Berkeley, and had graduate training in organic chemistry in the PhD program in the Department of Chemistry at Berkeley.

About Novartis International AG

Novartis International AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number one in sales among the world-wide industry in 2013. Novartis manufactures such drugs as clozapine (Clozaril), diclofenac (Voltaren), carbamazepine (Tegretol), valsartan (Diovan) and imatinib mesylate (Gleevec/Glivec). Novartis is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Novartis International AG stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/nvs

About Mark C. Fishman

Mark Fishman is a noted researcher and clinician in cardiology and the current President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR),[1] the main research arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals with over 6,700 employees and a 2012 budget of more than $9B.[2]Fishman was appointed President of the newly founded Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in 2002 to implement a new strategy in Novartis’ global drug discovery effort.

Dow Chemical Company Merges with Olin Corporation Creating Industry Leader in Chlor – Alkali and Derivatives

March 31, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Dow Chemical Company partners with Olin Corporation to create an industry leader in chlor-alkalia and derivatives. This transaction is highly accretive to Dow, with a tax efficient consideration of $5 Billion. According to the deal, Dow is to separate a significant portion of its chlor-alkali and downstream derivatives businesses and merge these with Olin in a tax-efficient Reverse Morris Trust transaction. Dow shareholder value will increase through the ownership of shares in the combined company.

According to sources, the transaction is highly complementary to objectives of both companies, with a significant potential to enhance value for both sets of shareholders. Transaction is highly accretive to Dow and Dow shareholders, with a tax efficient consideration of $5 billion, and a taxable equivalent value of $8 billion.

The agreement terms specify that Dow separates its U.S. Gulf Coast Chlor-Alkali and Vinyl, Global Chlorinated Organics and Global Epoxy businesses, and then merge these with Olin in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. This results in Dow shareholders receiving approximately 50.5 percent of the shares of Olin and existing Olin shareholders owning approximately 49.5 percent. The merger is valued at $5 billion, and includes $2.0 billion of cash and cash equivalents to be paid to Dow; an estimated $2.2 billion in Olin common stock using the Olin stock value as of close on March 25, 2015. The transaction is subject to approval by Olin shareholders and completion of customary closing conditions, including relevant tax authority rulings and regulatory approvals.

“By combining Dow’s world-class assets and people with Olin, we are creating a premier company with the scope and capabilities to optimally leverage long-term growth opportunities in the marketplace and generate significant shareholder value,” said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We have jointly created a solid foundation for success for Olin, driven by the benefits of greater scale, an enhanced ability to capitalize on globally advantaged cost positions backed by U.S. shale gas economics, technology advantages, broader market access and significant envelope integration.”

Liveris added, “This milestone is a powerful shift in our portfolio towards targeted, integrated high performance sectors and end-markets that will drive further margin expansion, earnings growth, and return on capital – with a deal structure designed to maximize total shareholder return. With this transaction we will exceed our target to divest $7 billion to $8.5 billion of non-strategic businesses and assets. This achievement will allow us to have an ongoing focus to continue to enhance shareholder remuneration, reduce debt and continue to invest in future growth in our high priority and high margin businesses.”

“This transaction is a natural fit to our strategic objectives – creating a sustainable, long-term growth platform and enhanced shareholder and customer value,” said Joseph D. Rupp, Olin’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Supported by significant integration and scale, premier low-cost assets, an upgraded and diversified product mix, and valuable network and other synergies, we will be able to better serve and grow with our customers. We are excited to combine the strengths of our businesses and capitalize on the significant opportunities inherent in this transaction.”

Olin Corporation will continue to be led by Rupp along with a senior management team comprised of both Dow and Olin current employees. Olin’s Board of Directors will consist of the existing nine Olin Company directors and three new members to be designated by Dow.

About Dow

Dow is a company that uses chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems. These challenges include the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. In 2014, Dow had annual sales of more than $58 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people all over the world. Dow stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/dow

About Andrew N. Liveris

Andrew N. Liveris is President, Chairman and chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company. Liveris has been a member of Dow’s board of directors since February 2004, CEO since November 2004 and was elected as chairman of the board effective 1 April 2006.

About Olin Corporation

Olin Corporation has three business segments: Chlor Alkali Products, Chemical Distribution and Winchester. Chlor Alkali Products, with eight U.S. manufacturing facilities and one Canadian manufacturing facility, produces chlorine and caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products and potassium hydroxide. Chemical Distribution manufactures bleach products and distributes caustic soda, bleach products, potassium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. Winchester, with its principal manufacturing facilities in East Alton, IL and Oxford, MS, produces and distributes sporting ammunition, law enforcement ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and components, and industrial cartridges. Olin stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/oln

About Joseph D. Rupp

Mr. Joseph D. Rupp, also known as Joe, has been the Chief Executive Officer at Olin Corporation since January 2002 and also as its Chairman since June 30, 2005. Mr. Rupp served as a Director at American Chemistry Council Inc. Mr. Rupp holds a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Missouri, Rolla.

Amazon.com in Talks to Acquire Net- a – Porter

March 30, 2015 by Sabin Piso

E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. is in talks to buy London-based online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter. However, this deal is far from complete; experts say that negotiations are still in the early stages. A person familiar with the matter has informed Forbes last Thursday. This potential acquisition deal could be Amazon’s biggest if finalized. This deal was first reported by Women’s Wear Daily. The report also noted that a successful completion of this deal will value Net-a-Porter lower than its current valuation of 2 billion euros.

It has been known that Amazon has been checking out the high-end fashion retail sector for quite some time now. Acquiring Net-a-Porter, which is owned by Swiss firm Compagnie Financière Richemont, would mean that there will be a new segment where it is lacking. This was according to Forbes report. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos had told the New York Times in 2012 that the company is planning on making a “significant” investment in world’s top luxury brands.

In August 2014, Amazon bought video-game streaming company Twitch for about $1.1 billion in cash. Amazon.com also acquired online shoe retailer Zappos for $1.2 billion in 2009. It was also reported that Amazon is in talks to purchase Indian fashion retailer Jabong.com for $1.2 billion. This was a report confirmed by Reuters.

“It’s Day 1 in the category,” Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos told the New York Times in an interview in 2012. Bezos mentioned this revealing that the company was making a “significant” investment in fashion. This was to convince top brands that the online shopping giant wanted to work with them and not against them.

Media reports also said that in 2014 Amazon was in talks to buy Indian fashion retailer Jabong.com for $1.2 billion. Net-a-Porter on the other hand is owned by luxury goods company Richemont. This giant has bought the London-based company for 392 million euros back in 2010.

Amazon.com, Net-a-Porter and Richemont could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours. Reports of the possible acquisition will be provided on the following weeks should a talk happen between the two companies.

By AL Mijares

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American electronic commerce company with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Amazon is the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified and is now selling DVDs, VHSs, CDs, video and MP3 downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. Amazon also produces consumer electronics such as Amazon Kindle e-book readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV and Fire Phone. It is also currently a major provider of cloud computing services. Amazon also sells low-end products like USB cables under its in-house brand AmazonBasics.

Amazon.com has separate retail websites for United States, United Kingdom & Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India and Mexico. Amazon India on the other hand will soon start offering music, movie and video streaming services in India. Amazon also offers international shipping to certain other countries for some of its products. In 2011, it mentioned that it wanted to create websites in Poland and in Sweden. Amazon.com stock market evolution: http://quotes.wsj.com/AMZN

About Jeff Bezos

Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos is an American business magnate and investor. He is a technology entrepreneur with a key role in the growth of e-commerce. He is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, an online merchant of books and later of a wide variety of products. Through Bezos, Amazon.com became the largest retailer on the World Wide Web and a top model for Internet sales. In 2013, Bezos purchased The Washington Post newspaper. As of March 2015, Bezos’s personal wealth is estimated to be US$34.8 billion. This ranks him number 15 on the Forbes list of billionaires.

About Net –a – Porter

Net-a-Porter is a high-fashion retailer that operates via a magazine website. It was launched in London in June, 2000 by Natalie Massenet. Net – a – Porter has multiple fashion retailing sites and some 2,600 employees, it is part of the Swiss holding company Richemont. It has approximately 2.5 million unique visits in internet traffic to their website every month.

About Richemont

Compagnie Financière Richemont SA is the owner of Dunhill, Baume & Mercier SA, Cartier, IWC International Watch Co. AG, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Piaget SA, Manufacture Roger Dubuis SA, Vacheron Constantin SA, and Van Cleef & Arpels, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont designs, manufactures, distributes and sells premium jewelry, watches, and leather goods, writing instruments, firearms, clothing and accessories. Richemont is publicly traded as CFR on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the JSE Securities Exchange. Richemont stock market evolution: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/CFR:VX

British Insurer Aviva Takeover Friends Life for 5.6 Billion Pounds

March 29, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Shareholders of British insurers Aviva and Friends Life voted on Thursday for Aviva’s 5.6 billion pound takeover of Friends Life. Aviva’s share price suffered a blow after the terms of the merger were announced late last year. Apparently some investors and analysts were worried about the size of cost savings as well as the trouble of combining a range of IT systems. However, others said the merger made sense since it follows after UK government reforms that have put increasing pressure on insurance companies that offer pension services.

More than 99 percent of shareholders who voted were in favor of the deal, Aviva said in a regulatory filing after a general meeting. The successful insurance company needed the agreement of more than 50 percent of the votes cast. On the other hand more than 90 percent of Friends Life shareholders also voted in favor. This was revealed in a Friends Life general meeting in a separate filing. Friends Life said it expected its stock to delist on April 10.

Reports further state that holders of Friends Life stock will each receive 0.74 new Aviva shares for each Friends share. Aviva and Friends Life shareholders have agreed to the merger and this will create a huge insurance firm with more than 16m customers.

Around 99.9pc of the Friends Life investors that support the deal has overwhelmingly passed the 75pc threshold required for the two companies to combine. Aviva investors, on the other hand were less supportive. Around 99.8pc of voting shareholders supported the deal. The votes from all the shareholders represented the final major hurdle before this merger can be finally completed. The companies won clearance earlier this month from the European competition authorities. Clearance was also provided by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the UK.

This insurance company merger will take effect on April 10, before the shares begin trading for a single entity on April 13. Work can begin on phasing out the Friends Life brand after the deal closes and along with this is cutting about 1,500 jobs as part of the cost-saving program behind the combination.

Friends Life was created from the amalgamation of several pension portfolios has served 0one in every seven British savers with a focus on defined contribution pensions. With this merger it will represent one in four customers.

Andy Briggs is the chief executive of Friends Life. Mr. Briggs will become responsible for customers as head of the combined companies’ life insurance businesses. On Aviva’s end, Mark Wilson will remain as chief executive after the merger. “We are delighted that our shareholders have today voted in favor of the recommended all-share acquisition by Aviva,” said Mr. Briggs. “The Friends Life board believes that the combination of the two businesses offers attractive growth opportunities for the shareholders of the enlarged group, as the increased scale will help drive better profitability, and improved service as our customers will benefit from access to a broader range of products.”

Further details of this merger will be provided as this will take effect on the first weeks of April.

By AL Mijares

About Aviva

Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company with headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Aviva has more than 31 million customers all across 16 countries. In the UK Aviva is the largest general insurer and life and pensions provider. It has five markets in Europe and, in Asia; the company is focused on the growth markets of China and South East Asia. Aviva is also the second largest general insurer in Canada. The company has a listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Aviva stock market evolution: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/summary/company-summary.html?fourWayKey=GB0002162385GBGBXSET1

About Friends Life

Friends Life Group Limited is a Guernsey-incorporated investment company. Recently, Friends Life has stated intent of forcing consolidation in the British life insurance industry with Aviva. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Friends Life stock market evolution: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=FLG.L

About Andy Briggs

Andy Briggs worked for Friends Life as CEO in June 2011. Previously, he was with Lloyds Banking Group in January 2007 as Managing Director, Marketing and Distribution in Scottish Widows. He was appointed CEO of Scottish Widows Group’s General Insurance businesses in December 2008. Before working as CEO, Briggs has spent 19 years at Prudential Group where he concentrated on Intermediated which focuses on face to face and online businesses both in the UK and in other countries. He also become CEO of the Retirement Income business.

Telefonica SA Will Sell O2 UK to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd for £10.25 Billion

March 27, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Li Ka-shing purchases British cellphone operator O2 and caps a reversal of fortune for his European telecommunications business which has spent almost a decade on a financial standstill. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. Is a conglomerate run by Mr. Li. He intends to pay £9.25 billion ($13.74 billion) in cash to buy O2 from Telefónica SA of Spain as well as £1 billion later if the combination of O2 with Three. Three is Hutchison’s existing British carrier. This will transpire if O2 meets cash-flow targets. This information is according to a Telefónica regulatory filing held on Tuesday.

This acquisition will complete Mr. Li’s telecom and infrastructure company and will be known as one of Europe’s top wireless providers. This will more than triple Three’s U.K. subscribers to 34 million and creates the country’s biggest provider of mobile services.

Mr. Li, who is chairman of Hutchison and Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., is finally enjoying his success. Hutchison is the first company to develop high-speed third-generation, or 3G, networks in the United Kingdom when it started operations in 2003.

“They are certainly a disrupter operator, and a maverick,” said Kester Mann, a principal telecommunications analyst at CCS Insight. Three has been able to entice customers using consumer – friendly offers such as unlimited data plans, free calls using Internet phone operator Skype and free roaming for voice calls.

On the other hand, Telefónica said the sale is likely to be completed no later than June 30, 2016, subject to regulatory approvals. The company sold its Irish telecom operations to Hutchison in 2013.The O2 deal is the latest in Mr. Li’s buying spree of water and waste-management utilities, in Europe since the financial crisis. He is taking the most of the situation by buying relatively cheaper companies as well as assets that have a steady cash flow. All these efforts reduce exposure to Hong Kong and China.

It is evident that Mr. Li is very much interested in European companies. Earlier this year, Mr. Li announced a string of deals in Europe which included takeover bids for a British train-car maker and a Dutch drugstore chain. One of Mr. Li’s key lieutenants, Hutchison Managing Director Canning Fok, is the brains of the telecom businesses. Mr. Fok is an accountant and accomplished pianist; he favors a streamlined management structure with little bureaucracy. Top executives of European units do not have any issues reaching Mr. Fok directly by phone and quickly win approval for a strategy change. This is done even within 24 hours.

It has been known that it took more than two months for Telefónica to reach an agreement on the O2 deal but on the other hand Mr. Fok needed less than 36 hours to negotiate Hutchison’s purchase of the Spanish company’s operations in Ireland in 2013. Mr. Fok said last month it was considering a potential merger in Italy.

By AL Mijares

About Hutchison Whampoa Ltd

Hutchison Whampoa Limited is an investment holding company with headquarters in Hong Kong. It is a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world’s biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14 countries and run under the 3 brand. Its business also includes retail, property development and infrastructure. It is 49.97% owned by the Cheung Kong Group. Hutchinson Whampoa Limited stock market evolution: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/13:hk

About Li Ka-shing

Sir Ka-shing Li is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. As of April 16, 2014 he is the richest person in Asia, with a net worth of $31.9 billion. He is the Chairman of the Board of Hutchison Whampoa Limited and Cheung Kong Holdings as of 2008. He is the world’s largest operator of container terminals and the world’s largest health and beauty retailer.

About Telefonica

Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider with operations in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. It is one of the largest mobile network providers in the world. It has headquarters in the Distrito Telefónica in Madrid. Telefonica stock market evolution: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TEF.MC

About O2

Telefónica UK Limited is a telecommunications and Internet services provider in the United Kingdom owned by Telefónica. It is the second-largest mobile telecommunications provider in the United Kingdom and is headquartered in Slough. O2 plc was purchased by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica in 2005 for £18 billion. On March 24 2015 Three UK purchased O2 UK subject to regulatory approval. Three UK is now the UKs largest network overtaking its competitors. O2 stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/otow

Ocwen Financial’s Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC Sells Portfolio with 142,000 Loans to Nationstar Mortgage

March 26, 2015 by Sabin Piso

Ocwen Financial through Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and Nationstar Mortgage LLC, an indirectly-held, wholly-owned subsidiary of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. Collectively “Nationstar”) have agreed to the sale by Ocwen of residential mortgage servicing rights on a portfolio that has approximately 142,000 loans owned by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This is through a total principal balance of approximately $25 billion. This acquisition is subject to a definitive agreement, approvals by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHFA and other customary conditions. The two companies have agreed to close the transaction before the middle of the year.

“This transaction, on top of the one announced in February between Ocwen and Nationstar, furthers our announced corporate strategy and demonstrates the strong working relationship we have developed with Nationstar,” said Ron Faris, Chief Executive Officer of Ocwen.

“This transaction builds upon our strong track record of portfolio acquisitions while serving the needs of homeowners, and we look forward to expeditiously closing and boarding this portfolio,” said Jay Bray, Chief Executive Officer of Nationstar. “We will continue to work cooperatively with Ocwen as they evaluate the sale of additional agency portfolios and look forward to continuing discussions with all counterparties.”

Ocwen will sell an additional $25 billion of servicing rights on agency loans to a subsidiary of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc; this is the fourth deal of the mortgage company in just two months. These activities show the strength of Nationstar in portfolio acquisitions as well as the ability to provide the best option for companies. Nationstar has a strong record of acquisitions yet still it maintains its high level of relationship with homeowners and customers.

Ocwen’s shares fell 6 percent to $8.31 in premarket trading on Tuesday. The company has decreasing its operations since regulators questioned its servicing standards last year. Ocwen was able to sell about $90 billion of servicing rights since February. Ocwen representatives had said earlier this month that it will be raising around $550 million through the sales of its servicing rights on agency loans of about $55 billion. Ocwen and Nationstar also mentioned that they expect the transaction to close before the middle of the year. This is subject to approvals by government agencies. More information about this portfolio acquisition by Nationstar will be provided by representatives starting by the middle of the year.

About Ocwen:

Ocwen Financial Corporation is a provider of residential and commercial mortgage loan servicing, special servicing and asset management services. Ocwen main office is in Dunwoody, Georgia; Ocwen is licensed to service mortgage loans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. Ocwen has been providing residential mortgage loans since 1988 and subprime mortgage loans since 1994.Ocwen market evolution: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=OCN.N

About Ron Faris

Mr. Ronald M. Faris, also known as Ron, has been the President of Ocwen Financial Corp. since March 2001 and its Chief Executive Officer since October 28, 2010. Mr. Faris serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. He served as a Director at Ocwen Federal Bank FSB since March 2001. Mr. Faris holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University.

About Nationstar Mortgage

Nationstar Mortgage is a leading residential mortgage services company that provides quality solutions to customers. Nationstar is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It offers servicing, origination, and transaction-based real estate services. Nationstar is considered as one of the most prominent when it comes to mortgage servicers with a servicing portfolio in excess of $375 billion and over 2 million customers. In 2013, Nationstar acquired Greenlight Financial Services, a leading direct-to-consumer loan in television, radio and other media. Nationstar stock market evolution: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NSM

About Jay Bray

Mr. Jay Bray has been Chief Executive Officer of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. since 2012. Mr. Bray serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nationstar Capital Corporation. He served as the President at Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. from October 7, 2011 to February 27, 2012. He has managed the Asset Backed Securitization process for NationsCredit and EquiCredit originated products, at Bank of America. His responsibilities included developing and implementing a secondary execution strategy and profitability plan, managing investment banking relationships, secondary marketing operations, investor reporting and investor relations. Mr. Bray is also a leader in the portfolio acquisition pricing and modeling group, acquiring over $9 billion in non-conforming product in 1999 – ranked No. 1 in sub-prime acquisition by B&C Lending magazine. Mr. Bray serves as a Director of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. and Nationstar Capital Corporation. He holds a B.A.A. from Auburn University in 1988.

ChemChina to Purchase Pirelli for $7.7B

March 25, 2015 by Sabin Piso

China National Chemical Corp will purchase Italian tire maker Pirelli for $7.7 billion; to take advantage of weak Euro

China National Chemical Corp will purchase Pirelli. This Italian company is the world’s fifth-largest tire maker. This acquisition is valued at a 7.1 billion euro ($7.7 billion). But this deal is not just about money; it will place one of the symbols of Italy’s manufacturing industry in the hands of Chinese manufacturers.

This acquisition deal which was agreed by Pirelli shareholders on Sunday is one of the most recent in as string of takeovers in Italy by Chinese buyers. This is also a move that takes advantage of a weak euro.

This buy out will also give state-owned ChemChina, which is led by acquisitive chairman Ren Jianxin, the ability to create high quality tires using updated technology. It is expected that products will be sold at higher margins as a result and give the Pirelli pole position in the huge Chinese market.

ChemChina’s China National Tire & Rubber, its tire-making arm, will first buy the 26.2 percent that Italian holding firm Camfin owns in Pirelli. Afterwards it will launch a mandatory takeover bid for the rest. The bid will be launched by the Chinese state-owned group and part-owned by Camfin investors. This includes Pirelli boss Marco Tronchetti Provera, Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, and Russia’s Rosneft. .

The acquisition offer will be launched at 15 euros per share, valuing the group at 7.1 billion euros excluding net debt of almost 1 billion euros at the end of 2014. As details of the deal were mentioned on Friday, shares in Milan-listed Pirelli, rose to a 25-year high and closed at 15.23 euros. Experts believe that this is a sign of an improved offer or a rival bid.

Pirelli, whose tires are primarily used in Formula One motor racing, would have more bandwidth because of this recent activity. This will allow it to compete against larger rivals such as Michelin and Continental, brands that are dreaming of making a huge name in China.

The new Chinese owners will choose a new chairman. Tronchetti Provera will remain chief executive.

“We’re pleased to have this opportunity working with Tronchetti and his team and continue to build together a world-class entity and a market leader in (the) global tire business,” Ren said in a statement.

By A.L. Mijares

About ChemChina

China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) is a large State-owned enterprise under the administration of SASAC and established in May 2004 with the approval of the State Council. ChemChina is in the list of Fortune 500 and China’s largest chemical company and ranks 19th among the world’s top 100 chemical corporations. The main business of ChemChina is made up of six sectors: new chemical materials; basic chemical materials; oil processing; agrochemicals; rubber products; chemical equipment. ChemChina is implementing the 12th Five-year Plan and accelerating industrial restructuring. In the future, it will form a business layout of “3+1”, namely: materials science, environmental science and life science plus basic chemical. It strives to become a world-class chemical company with international competitiveness.

About Ren Jianxin

Ren Jianxin, born in 1958, graduated from the economics department of Lanzhou University, with a major in business management. He has a Master’s in economics, and is a Professor of Engineering. In September 1984, Ren founded China’s first professional cleaning company. He held the following posts: general manager and secretary of the CPC at the BlueStar Chemical Cleaning Group; deputy general manager of the China National Chemical Equipment Corp; and vice president of China Haohua Chemical (Group) Corp.

In May 2004, after the China National Chemical Corp was founded, Ren was general manager and deputy secretary of the CPC, at the China National Chemical Corp. Since December 2014 he serves as Chairman and Party Secretary of ChemChina.

About Pirelli

Pirelli & C. SpA is a multinational company based in Milan, Italy, listed on Milan Stock Exchange since 1922. The company, the world’s fifth-largest tire manufacturer behind Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental and Goodyear. Pirelli has been sponsoring sport competitions since 1907 and is an exclusive tire supplier for the Formula One Championship for 2011-2016 and for the FIM World Superbike Championship.

Pirelli stock market evolution: http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=PECI.MI

About Tronchetti Provera

Marco Tronchetti Provera is an Italian businessman. As of 2014 he is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli & C. S.p.A., Chairman of Pirelli Tyre S.p.A., and Chairman of the holding Marco Tronchetti Provera & C. S.p.A., which he controls, and up to December 2013 he was also Chairman of Camfin S.p.A., the main shareholder in Pirelli & C. S.p.A. He is Deputy Chairman of the Board of Mediobanca SpA, a member of the executive committee of Italian industrialists’ association Confindustria and sits on the International Advisory Board of insurance company Allianz.

Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd. Mergers with Golden Ocean Group Limited

October 13, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd merges with Ocean Group Limited for 61.5 million in shares.

Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd and Golden Ocean Group Limited announced that the two companies have entered into an agreement and plan of merger. Pursuant to which the two companies have agreed to merge, with Knightsbridge as the surviving legal entity.

The Combined Company will be renamed Golden Ocean Group Limited upon completion of the merger. As a result of the expected merger, the Combined Company would be the world’s leading dry bulk companies that has a modern fleet of 72 vessels, of which 36 are new buildings under construction.

The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of Golden Ocean and Knightsbridge in a separate special general meeting expected to be held in December 2014 or January 2015. The merger is also expected to close shortly thereafter. Definitive documents will be completed and customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals will be enforced.

Knightsbridge’s ordinary shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) and Golden Ocean’s ordinary shares are currently listed for on the Oslo Stock Exchange (the “OSE”) as well as the Singapore Stock Exchange. The Combined Company will apply for a secondary listing of its ordinary shares on the OSE. It will also push that after the merger its ordinary shares will be listed for trading on NASDAQ and the OSE. Golden Ocean shareholders at the time the merger is completed will receive shares in Knightsbridge. Golden Ocean will give the right to receive 0.13749 shares in Knightsbridge, and Knightsbridge will issue a total of 61.5 million shares to shareholders in Golden Ocean as merger consideration.

Mr. John Fredriksen, Mr. Gert-Jan van der Akker and Mrs. Kate Blankenship will be added to the Board of Directors of the Combined Company as a result of the merger. Mr. Ola Lorentzon will continue as Chairman of the Board for the Combined Company. Mr. Gert-Jan van der Akker is Senior Head of Region at Louis Dreyfus Commodities (“LDC”).

Golden Ocean’s current corporate management team and employees of which currently is the commercial manager of the Knightsbridge dry bulk fleet. Herman Billung, who is the principal executive officer of Golden Ocean, will act as the principal executive officer of the Combined Company, and Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, who currently serves as the principal financial officer of Golden Ocean, will serve as the principal financial officer of the Combined Company.

Ola Lorentzon, Chairman and CEO of Knightsbridge, and Chairman of Golden Ocean Group Limited, John Fredriksen stated: “By combining Knightsbridge and Golden Ocean we seek to create a company with a unique fleet and strong balance sheet and build one of the world’s leading dry bulk shipping companies. With the current weakness in the dry bulk market, we believe there will be attractive consolidation opportunities going forward. Our ambition is to be a clear market leader both from a financial and operational perspective. Upon an expected recovery of the dry bulk market and as newbuilds are brought into the fleet, we believe the Combined Company will generate significant cash flow. The intention is to pay out excess cash as dividends in the Board’s discretion.”

After the merger is completed, the Combined Company expects to have a fleet of 46 Capesize vessels, 10 ice class Panamax vessels, 8 Kamsarmax vessels and 8 Supramax vessels, of which 36 are new buildings under construction. In addition the Combined Company expects to have a small number of leased vessels and one vessel owned through a joint venture. More details of the merger will be announced as meetings regarding the transaction commences in December 2014 or in January 2015.

Original article from Street Insider.

A.L.Mijares

About Knightsbridge Shipping Limited

Knightsbridge Shipping Limited was incorporated in Bermuda on September 18, 1996. It is an international tanker company and its primary business activity is the international seaborne transportation of crude oil. Knightsbridge Shipping Limited stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/vlccf

About Golden Ocean Group Limited

Golden Ocean Group is a Bermuda registered; Norway based dry bulk shipping company. The company was created as a demerged part of Frontline in 2004 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. 40.3% of the company is indirectly owned by John Fredriksen, through Holding. The fleet consists of 24 owned vessels (20 under construction), 22 chartered vessels (7 with purchase options), 7 bare boat vessels (all with purchase options), 10 vessels under commercial management (8 ore-bulk-oil carrier, two capesizes under construction) and 9 sold up on yard delivery. 16 of these are capesize while 56 are panamax, of which 1 capesize and 8 panamaxes are sold when delivered from yard. Management of the fleet is carried out by the Norwegian company Golden Ocean Group Management AS led by Herman Billung. Golden Ocean Group Limited stock market evolution:

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=GOGL:NO

Coty, Inc. Will Acquire Bourjois from CHANEL for 15 Million Coty Shares

October 13, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Coty, Inc. leading cosmetics company will acquire Bourjois from renowned company CHANEL for $15 million Coty shares.

Coty, Inc. and CHANEL have announced that Coty will acquire the Bourjois cosmetics brand from CHANEL for 15 million Class A Coty shares. The world renowned cosmetics and fashion company CHANEL has agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations. This a binding offer to buy the Bourjois cosmetics brand from Chanel for 15 million Coty shares is worth about $239 million.

Bourjois was founded in 1863 by French actor Joseph-Albert Ponsin, who developed a line of color cosmetics for his fellow actors. Since then, the Bourjois’ portfolio of color cosmetic products is available all over the world from approximately 23,000 points of sale in more than 50 countries. Bourjois has enjoyed leading positions in some of the most attractive markets for color cosmetics, such as Western Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Bart Becht, Chairman and Interim CEO of Coty Inc. mentioned in a special interview “We are looking forward to having the Bourjois brand as part of our portfolio of leading beauty products, as well as welcoming CHANEL as a Coty shareholder.” He added “Bourjois’ brands are highly complementary to Coty’s existing color cosmetics portfolio. Additionally, the company’s strong heritage, quality image and leadership positions in a number of Western European countries where Coty is seeking to bolster its presence, provide a great opportunity for Coty to further strengthen its leadership position in the large and growing color cosmetics category.”

On the other hand, Michael Rena, CHANEL’S Representative cited in his exclusive interview about the transaction “We are excited about the potential opportunities that joining with Coty could present for Bourjois.” Mr. Rena added “Coty and Bourjois share a passion for color cosmetics and together they would have strong potential to further advance their leadership in this attractive global category. We intend to examine the offer in more detail and enter constructive talks with Coty.”

The proposal is subject to customary closing conditions. These include regulatory clearances and the relevant employee representative bodies will be consulted prior to entering into a definitive agreement.

Mr. Bart Becht also mentioned that this acquisition would significantly help his company bolster its presence in Western Europe. Mr. Rena understands the superiority of Coty and that together with the Bourjois brand will create a new leader in color cosmetics considering that the two brands share the same passion to do so.

More details of the transaction between Coty, Inc. and CHANEL will be announced later as the agreement becomes final between the two companies.

A.L. MIjares

About Coty, Inc.

Coty, Inc. is a global beauty products manufacturer founded in Paris, France by François Coty in 1904. Its main products are fragrances, color cosmetics and skin & body care products. Coty is known for its collaboration with designers and celebrities in the creation of fragrances.Coty’s manufacturing facilities are located in Ashford, UK; Granollers, Spain; Chartres, France; Monaco; Jiangsu Province, China; Sanford, North Carolina, Los Angeles, California, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Coty, Inc. stock market evolution: http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/coty

About Bart Becht

Lambertus Johannes Hermanus “Bart” Becht is a Dutch businessman. Mr. Becht is the former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, a company he headed since its creation in 1999 through the merger of Benckiser with Reckitt & Colman. Becht studied economics at the University of Groningen, Netherlands and took an MBA at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the University of Chicago. He joined the Benckiser side of the business in 1988, following a career at Procter & Gamble. He retired as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser on 31 August 2011, and was replaced by Rakesh Kapoor.

About CHANEL

Chanel S.A. is a French, privately held company owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who was an early business partner of the couturière Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel. Chanel S.A. is a high fashion house that specializes in haute couture and ready-to-wear clothes, luxury goods and fashion accessories. In her youth, Gabrielle Chanel gained the nickname Coco from her time as a chanteuse. As a fashion designer, Coco Chanel catered to women’s taste for elegance in dress, with blouses and suits, trousers and dresses, and jewellery of simple design that replaced the opulent, over-designed, and constrictive clothes and accessories of 19th-century fashion. The Chanel product brands such as perfumes, cosmetics, jewelry and accessories have been personified by fashion models, celebrities and actresses, including the following beautiful women: Inès de la Fressange, Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Vanessa Paradis, Nicole Kidman, Anna Mouglalis, Lucía Hiriart, Hope Portocarrero, Audrey Tautou, Keira Knightley and Marilyn Monroe.

About Michael Rena

Michael Rena is a representative and global CAO and President at CHANEL SRL.

Becton Dickinson Agreed to Acquire CareFusion for $12.2 Billion

October 11, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Becton Dickinson agreed to purchase CareFusion for a total of $12.2 billion increasing its hold on global medical management.

Becton Dickinson has agreed to acquire CareFusion for $58.00 per share in cash and stock for a total of $12.2 billion. Becton Dickinson will become one of the global leaders in providing medication management and patient safety solutions.

The combination of the two companies’ complementary product portfolios will yield integrated medication management solutions as well as smart devices. The combination will also improve the quality of patient care and will hopefully reduce healthcare costs by focusing on the unmet needs of patients in hospitals, hospital pharmacies and alternate sites of care to increase efficiencies. Doing so will reduce medication administration errors and improve patient and healthcare worker safety.

Becton Dickinson also expects a more solid position in patient safety to maximize outcomes its areas of expertise such as infection prevention, respiratory care, and acute care procedural effectiveness.

The terms of the transaction has been revealed and this mentioned that CareFusion shareholders will receive $49.00 in cash and 0.0777 of a share of BD for each share of CareFusion, or a total of $58.00 per CareFusion share based on BD’s closing price as of October 3, 2014.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and CareFusion shareholder approvals and customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2015. And during this time, BD shareholders will own approximately 92 percent of the combined company and CareFusion shareholders will own approximately 8 percent.

Vincent A. Forlenza, BD’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, said, “BD’s acquisition of CareFusion allows us to align our highly complementary technologies and products to address unmet needs in the growing $20 billion global medication management industry, which leverages BD’s world-wide infrastructure. It accelerates BD’s transition from a product-focused company to a customer-centric provider of innovative healthcare solutions with leading scale across the medication management value chain and expanded solutions for patient safety. With the targeted cost savings we have identified and the growth opportunities we see in bringing CareFusion products to more patients and healthcare workers around the world, we expect this transaction to create meaningful value for our shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders. We’ve long admired CareFusion’s strong franchises and look forward to welcoming their talented team to BD.”

Kieran T. Gallahue, CareFusion Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “As part of BD, we see new growth opportunities for our products in global markets, new value we can create for our customers and new opportunities for our employees as part of what will become one of the largest, global leaders in med-tech. The transaction delivers attractive value for CareFusion shareholders, and represents a powerful endorsement of our strong positions in medication management, informatics across our device platforms and leading products to help improve the effectiveness of acute-care procedures.”

BD has created a detailed execution plan to ensure a seamless integration for CareFusion. An integration team made of senior members of both organizations will be led by BD Chief Operating Officer William A. Kozy. Through a strategized execution of its plans it is confident that it can achieve identified cost synergies as it builds a dynamic organization that combines two world class companies. This transaction also offers more opportunities for employees as part of a global leader.

CareFusion will operate as part of BD’s Medical segment; CareFusion will continue to hold headquarters in San Diego.

A live conference call and webcast will be conducted by Becton Dickinson and CareFusion on October 6, 2014, at 8:00 a.m. (ET). The webcast of the conference call and related slides will be accessible through BD’s and CareFusion’s websites. A replay will be available through BD’s and CareFusion’s websites, or at 800-585-8367 (domestic) and 404-537-3406 through the close of business on October 13, 2014, confirmation number 16089829.

A.L. Mijares

About Becton Dickinson

Becton, Dickinson and Company is an American medical technology company that manufactures medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. It is headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey; the company’s customers include healthcare institutions, science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. BD is divided into three segments: BD Medical, BD Diagnostics and BD Biosciences. Becton Dickinson stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BDX

About Vincent Forlenza

Mr. Vincent A. Forlenza, also known as Vince, BD, has been the Chairman of Becton, Dickinson and Company since July 1, 2012, President since January 1, 2009 and Chief Executive Officer since October 1, 2011. Mr. Forlenza holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About CareFusion

CareFusion is a global, medical technology corporation that specializes in two areas: reducing medication errors and prevention of health care-associated infections. The company manufactures health care technologies, automated dispensing and patient identification systems, ventilators and respiratory products, skin prep products, infection surveillance, surgical instruments and a line of products that support interventional medicine. CareFusion stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CFN

About Kieran Gallahue

Kieran Gallahue is chairman and chief executive officer for CareFusion.
Kieran holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree from Harvard Business School.

The European Commission Authorizes Facebook, Inc. and WatsApp Inc, Merger

October 11, 2014 by Sabin Piso

The European Commission has authorized, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of WhatsApp Inc. by Facebook, Inc.

Facebook through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are very popular online programs. Both offer applications for smartphones which allow consumers to communicate through text, photo, voice and video messages.

The European Commission has found that Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are not close competitors. Being so means that consumers would still be able to have a wide choice of apps that they can choose from after the transaction. The investigation also showed that the resulting company will continue to face sufficient competition after the merger.

Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy, Joaquín Almunia, said: “Consumer communications apps keep European citizens connected and are becoming increasingly popular. While Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are two of the most popular apps, most people use more than one communications app. We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market. Consumers will continue to have a wide choice of consumer communications apps.”

The Commission found that Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are not close competitors. Facebook Messenger is a standalone app, the user experience is specific with the Facebook social network. WhatsApp users on the other hand provide consumer access to the service through phone numbers. Facebook Messenger requires users to have a Facebook profile. Furthermore the Commission also assessed that there is a very dynamic market with several competing apps available for consumers like Line, Viber, iMessage, Telegram, WeChat and Google Hangouts.

When it comes to social networking services, the Commission’s market investigation showed that there is a continuous evolution in the two companies’ services. Some third parties mentioned that WhatsApp is deemed as a social network and thus competes with Facebook. The Commission however found that Facebook and WhatsApp are distant competitors in this area, in particular given a “substantially richer experience” offered by Facebook.

It was also noted that there is a large number of alternative service providers, which includes other consumer communications apps, such as Line and WeChat. In the event of integration between WhatsApp and Facebook, Facebook’s position in social networking services could be strengthened because of the transaction. The net gain, when it comes to increasing new members of the social network would be limited, since user base of WhatsApp overlaps to a significant extent with that of Facebook.

WhatsApp is not active in online advertising, however the Commission examined whether the transaction could improve Facebook’s position in that market and affect the competition. The Commission examined the possibility that Facebook could cause the following:

(i) introduce advertising on WhatsApp, and/or

(ii) use WhatsApp as a potential source of user data for improving the targeting of Facebook’s advertisements. The Commission concluded that, regardless of whether Facebook would introduce advertising on WhatsApp and/or start collecting WhatsApp user data, the transaction would not raise competition concerns. This is because after the merger, there will continue to be a sufficient number of alternative providers to Facebook for the supply of targeted advertising, and a large amount of internet user data that are valuable for advertising purposes are not within Facebook’s exclusive control.

The Commission analysed potential data concentration issues only to the extent that it could hamper competition in the online advertising market. Privacy-related concerns resulting from the increased concentration of data within the control of Facebook due to the transaction do not fall within the scope of EU competition law.

And therefore the Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns. The transaction was notified to the Commission on 29 August 2014.

Original text available at Europa.eu Press Releases Database.

A.L. Mijares

About Facebook

Facebook provides social network online platforms offering a range of social services, including consumer communications and photo / video sharing functionalities to consumers and advertisers. Facebook offers the social networking platform “Facebook”, the consumer communications app “Facebook Messenger” and the photo and video-sharing platform “Instagram”.

These may be accessed by members through the internet on PCs and via specific apps on mobile devices. Facebook also provides online advertising space. Facebook therefore collects data regarding the users of its social networking platforms and analyses them in order to serve advertisements on behalf of advertisers. Facebook ads are “targeted” at each particular user of its social networking platforms. Facebook’s social networking platform has 1.3 billion users worldwide, 300 million of which are also users of the Facebook Messenger app. Facebook stock market evolution:

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/fb

About WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the provider of a messaging app enabling users to exchange multimedia instant messages. WhatsApp is currently available only on mobile computing devices or smart phones and it does not engage in any advertising service. WhatsApp has 600 million users worldwide.

IBERIABANK Corp Acquires Florida Bank Group, Inc.

October 9, 2014 by Sabin Piso

IBERIABANK Corp strengthens its hold in the Tampa Bay area by merging with Florida Bank Group, Inc.

IBERIABANK Corp and Florida Bank Group, Inc. have announced the signing of a definitive agreement for IBKC to acquire Florida Bank Group through a merger. The proposed merger of Florida Bank Group with and into IBKC has been approved by the Board of Directors of each company and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. This includes the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the Florida Bank Group’s shareholders approvals.

Susan Martinez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Florida Bank Group, has commented in an exclusive interview, “Our organization has undergone tremendous change and we are very proud of our people and the strong teamwork they exhibited over the last several years. We faced a very challenging operating environment and executed very well on our plan. I am particularly proud of our effective and efficient delivery of high-quality client service. We are very excited to be joining forces with IBERIABANK and together grow to become the leading financial institution serving our clients and communities.”

On the other hand, Daryl G. Byrd, President and Chief Executive Officer of IBKC, has commented, “Susie Martinez, her team, and the Florida Bank Group Board of Directors have done an outstanding job in rebuilding their organization and preparing for future client growth opportunities. We are very excited to be teaming up with them and entering the Tampa Bay market in such a high-quality manner. The Tampa Bay area has a very strong concentration of commercial and industrial companies, which is a segment of banking in which our company excels. With the addition of Florida Bank Group, we will extend our brand throughout the west coast of central and south Florida and into Jacksonville in northeast Florida.”

Florida Bank Group shareholders will receive a combination of cash and IBKC common stock. Common shares are assumed to total approximately 5,051,745 shares at closing, assuming approximately 2,471,745 common shares outstanding, approximately 2,480,000 common shares associated with the conversion of the convertible preferred stock into common shares, and 100,000 warrants outstanding that are assumed to be exercised prior to closing of the transaction.

The following considerations are expected when the transaction has been finalized:

Florida Bank Group shareholders shall receive cash equal to $7.81 per share of then outstanding Florida Bank Group common stock. This includes shares of preferred stock that will convert to common shares in the merger. Aggregate cash consideration is approximately $39.4 million.

Each Florida Bank Group common share will be exchanged for 0.149 share of IBKC common stock, subject to certain market price adjustments provided for in the merger agreement.

At September 30, 2014, Florida Bank Group had 374,400 unvested stock option shares outstanding with an exercise price of $7.74 per share. Florida Bank Group stock options and warrants that remain outstanding immediately prior to closing, whether or not vested, will be cashed out at consummation of the merger. Based on IBKC’s closing stock price on October 2, 2014, of $62.61, the cash value for optional shares would be $3.5 million.

IBKC’s capital ratios will be slightly reduced due to this merger and be less than 1% dilutive to tangible book value per share on a pro forma basis at closing. The tangible book value dilution is expected to be earned in a span of two years. The estimated internal rate of return for the transaction is expected to be greater than 20%.

A.L. Mijares

About Iberiabank

IBERIABANK Corporation is a financial holding company with offices in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, and Florida and representatives of IBERIA Wealth Advisors in four states, and one IBERIA Capital Partners, L.L.C. office in New Orleans. IBERIABANK holds the #1 market share position along with a comprehensive retail, commercial, and private banking franchise. IBERIABANK ranks second in market share in Northeast Louisiana with an outstanding retail system and growing commercial and private banking presence. IBERIABANK stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=IBKC

About Daryl G. Byrd

Mr. Daryl G. Byrd has been President and Chief Executive Officer at Iberiabank Corp. since July 2000 and July 1999 respectively. Mr. Byrd has been … a Director of Iberiabank Corp. and Iberiabank since 1999. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Samford University in 1976 and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1978.

About Florida Bank Group

Florida Bank Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Florida Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services to businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including demand interest bearing and non-interest bearing accounts, money market deposit accounts, NOW accounts, direct deposits, and time deposit accounts. Florida Bank Group operates approximately 14 full service banking centers in the Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Duval, Leon, Manatee, and St. Johns. It is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

About Susan Martinez

Ms. Susan Martinez has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of Florida Bank Group, Inc. and Florida Bank since November 18, 2010 and also serves as its Director. Ms. Martinez served as the Senior Executive Vice President and President of Florida region at Regions Financial Corp. until December 31, 2007.

Medtronic, Inc. Announced Acquisition Plans for Covidien Plc

October 8, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Medtronic, Inc. expands medical services to treat more patients with Covidien Plc acquisition.

Medtronic, Inc. is a global leader in medical technology, medical services and solutions for various medical concerns. Today, the company announced its intention to use approximately $16 billion in external financing to acquire Covidien plc. Medtronic plans to fund its acquisition by using cash from its foreign subsidiaries which was previously planned. There will be no changes in the terms and conditions of the definitive agreement reached between the two companies that were created in June this year.

To fund the cash portion of the transaction, Medtronic intends to use new financing strategies that will be in place by closing of the transaction. Upon completion of the transaction, each outstanding ordinary share of Covidien will be converted into the right to receive $35.19 in cash and 0.956 of an ordinary share of Medtronic plc, the parent company of the new combined entity. This agreement was already in place when the two companies signed a definitive agreement in June of this year.

Omar Ishrak, Chairman and CEO of Medtronic mentioned in an exclusive interview “This proposed acquisition was conceived and undertaken for strategic reasons and is intended to create a company that can treat more patients, in more ways and in more places around the world.” Mr. Ishrak continued “We believe our combination will be uniquely positioned to help advance the goals of the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. as well as the objectives of virtually all health systems – to drive access to high-quality, affordable health care for patients around the world. Since the announcement of this transaction, we have worked closely with our Covidien colleagues to plan for the integration of these two leading companies, and we look forward to closing the transaction and realizing these strategic benefits.”

The new financing will incur new expenses for Medtronic however the benefits of the transaction remain compelling. The transaction is still expected to be accretive to Medtronic`s cash earnings in FY2016, the first full fiscal year, and significantly accretive thereafter. The acquisition is also expected to be neutral to GAAP earnings by FY2019 and accretive thereafter. The announcement of this acquisition today has no effect on the revenue outlook and earnings per share guidance. Medtronic expects the transaction to close in late 2014 or early 2015.

As stated in the June 15 transaction agreement, a new Irish holding company – Medtronic plc – will become the parent company of the new combined entity and will be included on the NYSE. The company will maintain principal executive offices in Ireland and will continue to have operational headquarters in Minnesota.

A.L. Mijares

About Medtronic, Inc.

Medtronic, Inc. has headquarters in suburban Minneapolis. It is the world’s fourth largest medical device company and is included in the Fortune 500. Medtronic operates in more than 140 countries. The company employs 49,000 people, including 5,800 scientists and engineers, pursuing research and innovation that has led to more than 28,000 patents. There are six main business units of Medtronic which develop and manufacture devices and therapies to treat more than 30 chronic diseases, including heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, urinary incontinence, Down’s syndrome, obesity, chronic pain, spinal disorders, and diabetes

The company remains focused on the mission originally written by co-founder Earl Bakken in the early-1960s. The first sentence of the six-paragraph mission statement reads: “To contribute to human welfare by application of biomedical engineering in the research, design, manufacture, and sale of instruments or appliances that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.” Medtronic, Inc. stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MDT

About Omar Ishrak

Mr. Omar S. Ishrak has been the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Medtronic, Inc. since June 13, 2011. He is a Member of the Blood Center of Wisconsin. He is also on the Health Leadership Council of the Save the Children Foundation. Mr. Ishrak earned a Bachelor of Science and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of London, King’s College.

About Covidien

Covidien Public Limited Company is an Irish-headquartered global healthcare products company. It manufactures medical devices and supplies. The company became an independent publicly traded company after being spun off from Tyco International in 2007. In 2011, Jose E. Almeida became the President and CEO of Covidien. In 2011, Covidien had more than 41,000 employees in 59 countries and its products are sold in more than 140 countries worldwide

In 2012, Covidien acquired three medical device companies in Israel: superDimension, a pulmonary endoscope developer was acquired for $350 million, ^Oridion Systems Ltd., capnography respiratory monitors and modules manufacturer was acquired for $346 million and PolyTouch, a developer of hernia mesh placement technologies was acquired for $30-40 million. In June 2014, Medtronic agreed to buy Covidien for $42.9 billion. Covidien stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=COV

Berkshire Hathaway Will Purchase Van Tuyl Group

October 7, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Warren Buffet to Larry Van Tuyl- Create Berkshire Auto Unit

Berkshire Hathaway is acquiring Van Tuyl Group, the nation’s largest privately-owned auto dealership group. Van Tuyl Group ranks fifth among all U.S. auto dealership groups. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Warren Buffett mentioned on CNBC that revenue per year is around $9 billion.

After becoming a part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses, Van Tuyl Group will be known as Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. The company will continue to be led by Larry Van Tuyl, who will become Chairman, and Jeff Rachor, who will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer. And together with its experienced senior management team, Berkshire Hathaway Automotive will be headquartered in Dallas, Texas and will continue to pursue its strategy of operational excellence and disciplined acquisition growth. It is also reported that there will be no change to the business model the company has successfully used for the past 62 years.

Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer mentioned in an interview “The Van Tuyl Group fits perfectly into Berkshire Hathaway from both a financial and cultural viewpoint. Larry Van Tuyl along with his father, Cecil, spent decades building outstanding dealerships operated by local partners. In recent years, he has shared management with Jeff Rachor, a seasoned auto retailer who will retain a financial interest in all dealerships. The Van Tuyl Group enjoys excellent relations with the major auto manufacturers and delivers unusually high volumes at its 78 locations. This is just the beginning for Berkshire Hathaway Automotive.”

On the other hand Larry Van Tuyl, current Chief Executive Officer of the Van Tuyl Group also said in an interview “We are proud of all that has been accomplished with the support of our dealer partners, our employees and the manufacturers that we represent. We are very pleased to have one of the world’s most respected companies, Berkshire Hathaway, assume ownership of our company with the commitment to preserving our unique culture, business model and philosophy,” said. “I cannot think of a better steward to continue the legacy of what my father and I have built over the last 62 years, and I am confident this transaction will position the company on a course of continued success.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2015. The transaction is subject to obtaining approvals from the major auto manufacturers as well as certain customary closing conditions. These will include various regulatory approvals.

A.L. Mijares

About Berkshire Hathaway

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The company wholly owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International, and NetJets, owns half of Heinz and an undisclosed percentage of Mars, Incorporated, and has significant minority holdings in American Express, The Coca-Cola Company, Wells Fargo, and IBM. Berkshire Hathaway averaged an annual growth in book value of 19.7% to its shareholders for the last 49 years. According to the Forbes Global 2000 list and formula Berkshire Hathaway is the fifth largest public company in the world. Berkshire Hathaway stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=BRK-B

About Warren Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He was the most successful investor of the 20th century. Buffett is the chairman, CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway and consistently ranked among the world’s wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world’s wealthiest person in 2008and as the third wealthiest in 2011. In 2012 Time named Buffett one of the world’s most influential people.

About Van Tuyl Group

Van Tuyl Group, Inc. provides management consulting services. Their clients include the largest group of privately held automotive dealerships in the United States. Van Tuyl Group has offices in Arizona, Kansas, and Texas. It’s the management consulting group that has approximately 70 independently operated dealerships all over the US.

The Van Tuyl family has had a long history with the automotive industry. This started with Cecil Van Tuyl that led a Kansas City Chevrolet dealership in 1955. She was later joined by his son Larry in 1971; together they have built a world class management consulting company based on the principles of hiring the right people and giving their dealership clients the right tools, training and support they need to succeed.

About Larry Van Tuyl

Mr. Larry Van Tuyl is the president of the Van Tuyl Group, Inc. It provides management consulting services to automotive dealerships in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas. Its services include call measurement solutions, insurance coverage for vehicles, automotive fluid maintenance, and supply chain optimization. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Irving, Texas with additional offices in Phoenix, Arizona; and Merriam, Kansas.

Enterprise Products Partners Acquires Oiltanking Partners

October 6, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Enterprise Products Partners strengthens crude oil and natural gas dominance with Oilantking Partners purchase.

Enterprise Products Partners has recently announced that the company has acquired the general partner and related incentive distribution rights, 15,899,802 common units and 38,899,802 subordinated units in Oiltanking Partners L.P. held by Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc.

Enterprise has was reported to have a total consideration of approximately $4.41 billion to Oiltanking Holding and this is comprised of $2.21 billion in cash and 54,807,352 Enterprise common units. It has also been reported that Enterprise has also paid $228 million to assume notes receivable issued by Oiltanking Partners.

Upon the payment of the Oiltanking Partners’ distribution along with the third quarter of 2014, ordination period with respect to the Oiltanking Partners subordinated units will end.

Enterprise submitted a proposal to the conflicts committee of the general partner of Oiltanking Partners to merge Oiltanking Partners with and into Enterprise. Under the terms of the proposal, Enterprise would exchange 1.23 Enterprise common units for each Oiltanking Partners common unit. This proposed consideration represents an at-market value for Oiltanking Partners common units based upon the volume weighted average trading prices of Oiltanking Partners and Enterprise on September 30, 2014. The total consideration for this proposal would be $1.4 billion. The total consideration for step 1 and step 2, as proposed, would be approximately $6.0 billion.

Michael A. Creel, chief executive officer of the general partner of Enterprise said in an exclusive interview “We are pleased to announce this two-step transaction that would result in the merger of Oiltanking Partners into Enterprise.” Mr. Creel also mentioned “We have had a strategic relationship and enjoyed mutual growth with Oiltanking Partners and its predecessors since 1983. The combination of Enterprise’s system of midstream assets and Oiltanking Partners’ access to waterborne markets and crude oil and petroleum products storage assets would extend and broaden Enterprise’s midstream energy services business. This combination would benefit our producing and consuming customers by enhancing their respective access to supplies, domestic and international markets, and storage.”

Mr. Creel finally mentioned “We believe there would be three principle avenues for long-term value creation from the merger of Oiltanking Partners into Enterprise: (1) at least $30 million of synergies and cost savings from the complete integration of Oiltanking Partners’ business into Enterprise’s system; (2) opportunities for new business and repurposing existing assets for ‘best use’ to meet the growing demand for export and logistical services for petroleum products related to the increase in North American crude oil, condensate and NGL production from the shale and non-conventional plays; and (3) securing ownership and control of Oiltanking Partners’ assets that are essential to our midstream business. We believe the acquisition of Oiltanking Partners would be accretive to Enterprise’s distributable cash flow per unit beginning in 2016,”

Enterprise believes that this acquisition will be very attractive to public holders of Oiltanking Partners common units. This would allow Oiltanking Partners unitholders to participate in the future growth of Enterprise’s businesses (including Oiltanking Partners’ existing business), the company’s substantial backlog of capital projects and access to a much larger, more diversified asset base. It would also allow Oiltanking Partners unitholders to benefit from Enterprise’s flexibility of its financial investments, high investment grade credit rating and easy access to capital markets.

The transaction was based on a proposed exchange rate, public unitholders of Oiltanking Partners would each get a 70 percent increase in cash distributions based on the respective cash distributions per unit paid by Enterprise and Oiltanking Partners in August 2014 which is also based on the second quarter of 2014. As of the time being, Enterprise does not intend to comment further on discussions unless and until a definitive agreement is reached. Details of definitive agreement between the two companies will be delivered soon

A.L. Mijares

About Enterprise Products Partners

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is an American natural gas and crude oil pipeline company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Oiltanking Partners owns marine terminals on the Houston Ship Channel and the Port of Beaumont with a total of twelve ship and barge docks and approximately 24 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products storage capacity on the Texas Gulf Coast. Enterprise Products Partners stock market evolution: http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/EPD:US

About Michael A. Creel

Mr. Creel was elected CEO and a director of Enterprise GP in November 2010 and served as President of Enterprise GP from November 2010 until February 2013.

About Oiltanking Partners

Oiltanking Partners is a publicly-traded master limited partnership engaged in independent storage and transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. The company provides services to a variety of customers, including major integrated oil companies, distributors, marketers and chemical and petrochemical companies. Oiltanking Partners stock market evolution: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=OILT

News Corp Acquires Move Inc. Leading Online Real Estate Company

October 5, 2014 by Sabin Piso

News Corp will strengthen its global and digital presence with the acquisition of Move Inc.

News Corp and Move, Inc. have announced that News Corp has agreed to purchase Move, Inc. is a specialist in online real estate business that brings consumers and realtors together and to facilitate sale or rental properties in the United States.

Move displays more than 98% of all for-sale properties listed in the US through realtor.com® and its mobile applications. These properties are directly from relationships with more than 800 Multiple Listing Services. Through this method Move has the most up-to-date and legit listings of any online real estate company in in the US. The Move Network reaches about 35 million people per month.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Move. News Corp is set to acquire all the outstanding shares of Move for $21 per share, or approximately $950 million through an all-cash tender offer. News Corp also plans to create a tender offer for all of the shares of common stock of Move within 10 business days. Afterwards this will be followed by a merger to acquire any untendered shares.

Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp mentioned in an interview “This acquisition will accelerate News Corp’s digital and global expansion and contribute to the transformation of our company, making online real estate a powerful pillar of our portfolio.” He added “We intend to use our media platforms and compelling content to turbo-charge traffic growth and create the most successful real estate website in the US. We are building on our existing real estate expertise and expect to leverage the potential of Move and its valuable connections with Realtors® and consumers around the country.”

Mr. Thompson also added in an exclusive interview “In addition to boosting Move’s subscription, advertising and software services, this acquisition will give News Corp a significant marketing platform for our media assets, which will benefit from the high-quality geographic data generated by real estate searches.” He also commented “We certainly expect this deal to amount to far more than the sum of the parts.”

On the other hand, Steve Berkowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Move explained in an interview “News Corp’s acquisition of Move speaks powerfully to the quality and value of our content, audience and industry relationships.” Mr. Berkowitz added “We provide people with the information, tools and professional expertise they need to make the best and most informed real estate decisions, and we work to uphold the indispensable role of the professional in the real estate experience. News Corp shares our vision, which is one of the many reasons this combination is such good news for our customers, consumers and the industry as a whole.”

For the year ended December 31, 2013, Move reported $227 million in revenues, and $29 million in adjusted EBITDA5. The company has also generated the highest revenue per unique user in the industry. Move will become an operating business of News Corp but will continue to be headquartered in San Jose, California.

“We have great faith in America’s potential and the long-term asset value of housing, which is continuing its recovery and has yet to regain its full potency,” said Mr. Thomson. “It is forecast that the number of Millennial households will increase from 13.3 million in 2013 to 21.6 million in 2018, and they will spend more than $2 trillion on home purchases and rent by 20187. Many will begin their search online and use tools and content on realtor.com®. Buying a home is the most important investment decision any family will make.”

News Corp acquisition of Move, Inc. is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and a minimum tender of at least a majority of the outstanding Move shares. It is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2014.

A.L. Mijares

About News Corp

News Corporation is an American multinational mass media company, formed as a spin-off of the former News Corporation focusing on newspapers and publishing. It is one of two companies which succeeded the former News Corp, together with, which consists of the old News Corporation’s broadcasting and media. New Corp stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/nws

About Robert Thompson

Robert James Thomson Dellor is an Australian journalist and the Chief Executive of News Corp, a role he assumed in January 2013. He is the former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and is former editor of The Times newspaper in London. On 20 May 2008 News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch named Thomson as the paper’s new managing editor, succeeding Marcus Brauchli.

About Move Inc.

Move, Inc. is a real estate web site, which operates the Move Network of real estate web sites for consumers and real estate professionals. The Move Network of web sites captures more than 15 million monthly visitors. The Move, Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California. Move, Inc. It maintains offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, Westlake Village, California and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Move, Inc stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/move

About Steve Berkowitz

Steven Berkowitz is the CEO of Move, Inc. After serving on the board of directors of Move, Inc. for nearly a year Steve was selected by the board to succeed Michael Long to serve as the company’s CEO. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York.

Encana to Acquire Common Stock Shares of Athlon Energy

October 3, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Encana and Athlon Energy announces $7.1 billion acquisition of Encana of shares of common stock of Athlon Energy.

Encana and Athlon Energy Inc. jointly announced that the two companies have decided into a merger agreement for Encana to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Texas-based Athlon by means of an all-cash tender offer for US$5.93 billion which has been valued at US$58.50 per share. The transaction also mentions Encana assuming Athlon’s US$1.15 billion of senior notes, for a total transaction value of approximately US$7.1 billion. The board of directors of Athlon has unanimously recommended that their shareholders agree with the offer.

Doug Suttles, Encana President & CEO mentioned in an exclusive interview “This transformative acquisition further accelerates our strategy and provides us with a prime position in what is widely acknowledged as one of North America’s top oil plays.” He added “The Athlon team has built an exceptional asset with massive running room that includes greater than 10 years of drilling inventory with up to 11 potential productive horizons of high-margin liquids.”

Bob Reeves, Chairman, President & CEO of Athlon has commented in an interview “With a commitment to excellence and an unwavering focus on results, the Athlon team has established a track record of acquiring high-quality assets, applying extensive technical expertise as a top-tier operator and creating tremendous value for our shareholders.” He also added “Through tireless dedication and hard work, our team has built a high rate-of-return oil manufacturing process in the heart of the world-class Midland Basin. With Encana’s exceptional resources and the collective expertise of both teams, the next phase will accelerate development and ultimately realize the full potential of the deep inventory of premier projects.”

Encana estimates that this transaction will improve its current production of about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day based on Athlon’s current estimated production including recent acquisitions. The company understands the potential of the transaction with approximately 5,000 horizontal well locations. Each location has an amazing potential recoverable resource at approximately 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Encana has a target of 75 percent of operating cash flow from liquids production to be finished in 2017 but with this acquisition it looks like this will be finished in 2015. In the past year, the company has significantly developed it portfolio through natural gas-weighted assets and the acquisition and development of higher-margin oil and natural gas liquids opportunities.

Suttles has also mentioned in his interview “We’re delivering on the portfolio promises we made for 2017, today.” He added “We believe this acquisition, when combined with other recent portfolio changes, is highly accretive to our long-term cash flow per share projections and our goal of sustainably growing shareholder value. Our portfolio now aligns with our vision of being a leading North American resource play company. Our growth areas now include the top two resource plays in Canada, the Montney and Duvernay, and the top two resource plays in the United States, the Eagle Ford and the Permian.”

The acquisition of Encana stocks has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both Encana and Athlon. The board of directors of Athlon has also recommended that its shareholders tender their shares to the Offer. Subject to certain conditions, Athlon’s senior management, as well as funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) have agreed to tender their respective shares to the Offer, which on a combined basis represents approximately 35.8 percent of Athlon shares on a fully diluted basis.

A.L. Mijares

About Encana Corporation

Encana Corporation is an oil company that produces, transports and markets natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. In Canada, Encana has onshore operations in Alberta, northeast British Columbia and an offshore development off the coast of Nova Scotia. Encana’s subsidiary operates in Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, and Louisiana. Encana Corporation stock market evolution: http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/eca

About Doug Suttles

Doug Suttles is the president and chief executive officer of Encana Corporation. Mr. Suttles has a degree in BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the global oil and gas industry in 1983. On June 11, 2013, Suttles was appointed President & CEO of Encana Corporation.

About Athlon Energy

Athlon Energy is an independent exploration and production company, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, focused on the acquisition, development and exploitation of unconventional oil and liquids-rich natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin. Athlon Energy stock market evolution: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ATHL

About Bob Reeves

Robert C. Reeves is Athlon’s chairman, president, and CEO. Prior to Athlon’s formation, Reeves was senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Encore Acquisition Co. and Encore Energy Partners. Mr. Reeves received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Kansas.

Telekomunikasi Indonesia Acquires 75% of Contact Centres Australia

October 2, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Telekomunikasi Indonesia strengthens BPO industry in Australia with the acquisition of Contact Centres Australia.

PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Tbk. along with its subsidiary Telekomunikasi Indonesia International Australia Pty. Ltd or Telkom Australia has announced its 75% acquisition of Contact Centres Australia Pty. Ltd. Contact Centres Australia is a Sydney based company that operates a Business Process Outsourcing. This is a deal worth AUD$11 million.

Contact Centres Australia is a privately owned company by Ben Crabbe, Sue Crabbe and Peter Thomson. It is one of the nation’s leading BPO operators with over 600 staff working with leading edge contact technology solutions. Contact Centres Australia is the owner of 2 subsidiary companies in Financial Information Service Pty. Ltd in Sydney, Australia and Contact Centres New Zealand Ltd in Wellington, New Zealand.

The acquisition is said to be a milestone in Telkom’s international expansion program. The company plans to achieve its objective of establishing Telkom as a global force in Telecommunication, Information, Media, Edutainment and Services, according to TIMES. The program witnessed Telkom develop subsidiaries in key markets around the world with the use of global partnerships and through local mergers & acquisitions. This acquisition improves Telkom’s presence in Australia. The company has a driving force in the world of telecommunications in in Melbourne, Victoria since 2013.

Siam Nugraha, Telkom Australia’s CEO said in an interview “After reviewing many investment targets in Australia we were impressed with the quality of Contact Centres Australia’s management, people and systems. We intend to work with the CCA team to invest in the company’s ability to grow in the Australian and New Zealand market as well as export the way they do business to our other BPO operations in Indonesia. We are thrilled to make the announcement today and look forward to working closely with such a great team”.

Contact Centres Australia started in 2002 with services like BPO solutions to corporate clients. Companies that trust Contact Centres Australia are the following: Colgate, Rio Tinto, Pfizer Australia and Yellow Brick Road as well as many not-for-profit groups. Ben Crabbe Contact Centre Australia CEO comments, “Over the past 12 years we have focused on building the best quality BPO in Australia. Great people, who enjoy being on the phone and are supported by exceptional systems and backup. We think we’ve created something very special, as do Telkom Indonesia. We are very pleased with this new partnership and the opportunity to scale the business even further.”

The acquisition that was announced today is the result of several months of discussions between Jakarta and Sydney. The two companies’ founding partners and management team decided that they will all remain within the business, which will continue to trade as Contact Centres Australia.

A.L. Mijares

About Telkom Indonesia

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Tbk. is considered the largest telecommunications and network provider in Indonesia. The company serves millions of customers all over Indonesia. It provides a broad range of network and telecommunication services, which includes domestic and international basic telecommunication services, with the use of cable and Global System for Mobile Communication as well as through interconnection services used among other license operators, directly or through subsidiaries. Telkom Indonesia has widened its business portfolio to encompass TIMES – Telecommunications, Information, Media, Edutainment and Services. The company has a firm commitment for reliable, secure connectivity and data mobility has enabled the increase of total customer base to 164 million customers as per December 31, 2013.

The company has a firm goal to fulfill its vision to become a major player in the Telecommunication, Information, Media, Edutainment, and Services (TIMES) industry at regional levels. Telkom Indonesia has plans to broaden its business through Telkom International Expansion program. Currently, Telkom Indonesia has already expanded to Singapore, Hong Kong, Timor Leste, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Macau, Myanmar, and USA. Telkom Indonesia stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/tlk

About Telkom Australia

Telkom Australia is the subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia. It is the biggest state-owned telecommunication company. Telkom Australia business line is all about providing Business Process Outsourcing, Information Technology Outsourcing, and Telecommunication Services.

About Siam Nugraha

Siam Nugrahais the Chief Strategy Officer of Telekom Australia. He is an expert in project management in a variety of global contact centre projects. He has a keen understanding of business processes, contact center implementation projects and computer telephony integration system which could all in all help sound understanding of customer requirements in the BPO industry.

About Contact Centres Australia

Contact Centres Australia is an Australian-owned operation based in Surry Hills, Sydney. The company delivers a comprehensive range of BPO solutions. It can integrate these with other kinds of fulfillment services to be able to create a complete end-to-end solution. The company has a goal and that is to build solid business relationships by promoting transparency in its operations on all levels of the business. And finally it aims provides clients with unlimited access to the call centre and access to detailed records and data.

Western Refining Drops Southwest Business to Western Refining Logistics

October 1, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Western Refining Inc. fetches $360 million in a master limited partnership transaction with Western Refining Logistics.

Western Refining Inc. has announced that it has committed to an agreement to drop down the company’s southwest wholesale business to its master limited partnership (MLP) unit, Western Refining Logistics, LP. The deal will fetch about $360 million for the oil refiner and marketer. This transaction will be made of cash and Western Refining Logistics units.

The assets under sale have fuel sales of about 79,000 barrels per day dedicated to Western Refining as well as to other third-party customers. Western Refining’s southwest wholesale business is not just about fuel but it also includes a lubricant products distribution business and crude oil trucking operations. This is located in the Permian and San Juan basins.

Details of the transaction were provided by both parties. Western Refining and Western Refining Logistics intend to sign a 10-year fuel supply and crude oil trucking agreement. The southwest wholesale business has an expected 2015 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of about $40 million.

Jeff Stevens WNRL and WNR President and Chief Executive Officer mentioned in an interview, “We are committed to delivering consistent distribution growth to WNRL unit holders and this first acquisition is the next step in fulfilling that commitment. The wholesale drop down should provide a significant increase in EBITDA for WNRL. Western’s wholesale business has a long history of delivering profitable results and this transaction unlocks the value of that business and provides cash to WNR for future growth opportunities. This is a very positive step for the continued success of both organizations.”

WNR’s Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the general partner of WNRL and its Conflicts Committee approved the terms and conditions of the transaction. The Conflicts Committee was advised by Bracewell & Giuliani, its legal counsel, and Evercore Partners, its financial advisor. WNR was advised by Vinson & Elkins LLP, its legal counsel.

Management mentioned that the drop down of assets should increase the partnership’s EBITDA, which should allow Western Refining Logistics to maintain its distribution growth. Western Refining is an independent refiner and marketer of refined petroleum products in the Southwestern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S.

Western Refining Logistics on the other hand is a fee-based MLP that owns logistics assets. It is involved in terminalling, transportation and storage of crude oil and refined products. Western Refining owns general partner, along with 65% of the limited partnership interest in the partnership. Both Western Refining and Western Refining Logistics carry a Zacks Rank #3 which means that both the companies are expected to perform in line with the broader U.S. market in the next one to three months.

A.L. Mijares
About Western Refining Inc.

Western Refining Company, L.P. is a Texas-based Fortune 300 crude oil refiner and marketer operating in the Southwestern, North-Central and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Western Refining has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since January, 2006 and ranks as the fourth largest publicly traded independent refiner and marketer in the nation.

Western Refining Company is headquartered in El Paso, Texas; its refineries are located in El Paso, Gallup, New Mexico and St. Paul Park, Minnesota. With a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 242,500 barrels per day (38,550 m³/d), it is one of the major players in the oil industry in the Southwest and Mid – Atlantic regions. These refineries produce light products, consisting of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel. The El Paso refinery delivers to a number of other markets with the use of a pipeline. Western Refining has a wholesale division that works in conjunction with the refining operations. Western Refining therefore serves a broad customer base in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, western Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, northern Chihuahua, Mexico, and the central East Coast region. Western Refining Company stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wnr

About Western Refining Logistics

Western Refining Logistics is headquartered in El Paso, Texas. It is a fee-based, growth-oriented Delaware limited partnership recently formed by Western Refining to own, operate, develop, and acquire terminals, storage tanks, pipelines, and other logistics assets. Western Refining Logistics’ assets consist of pipeline and gathering assets and terminalling, transportation, and storage assets in the Southwestern portion of the U.S. This includes 300 miles of pipelines and around 7.9 million barrels of active storage capacity together with a number of other assets. Western Refining Logistics stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/wnrl

About Jeff Stevens

Mr. Jeff A. Stevens has been the President at Western Refining, Inc. since February 2009 and has been its Chief Executive Officer since January 2010. Mr. Stevens serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Western Refining Terminals, Inc., Giant Four Corners, Inc., Giant Stop-N-Go Of New Mexico, Inc., Western Refining Yorktown Holding Company, Western Refining GP, LLC, and San Juan Refining Company.

Hasbro, Inc., Discovery Communications, LLC & Discovery Communications, Inc. Amends Relationship

September 30, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Hasbro strengthens ties with Discovery Communications, LLC and Discovery Communications, Inc.

Hasbro, Inc., Discovery Communications, LLC and Discovery’s parent, Discovery Communications, Inc., has strengthened their relationship with respect to HUB Television Networks LLC, their cable television joint venture that operates the US HUB Network.

Before, Hasbro and Discovery owned a 50% equity interest in the Network. And due to these amendments Discovery has increased its equity interest in the Network to 60%, and Hasbro retains a 40% equity interest in HUB. The new developments in equity interests were accomplished through redemption of interests owned by Hasbro and through the purchase of interests by Discovery from Hasbro. And this reduction in its equity ownership Hasbro was paid a cash purchase price of $64.4 million by Discovery.

Discovery Group President Henry Schleiff, Tom Cosgrove will assume the role of general manager of the Network due to these updates. On September 25, 2014 Discovery and Hasbro has presented a press release that formatted their plans to rebrand the Network as the Discovery Family Channel which will be effective on October 13, 2014.

The new Discovery Family Channel will provide a variety of children’s programming during the day, and this includes both existing Hasbro programming and new programming to be produced by Hasbro Studios. Along with these new programming lineup during prime time the Network will serve its growing family audience with programming that are taken from Discovery’s other networks and library.

Under the amended arrangement Hasbro has a deal to provide specified numbers of hours of new programming that are produced by Hasbro Studios to the Network on an annual basis. This is in exchange for a license fee from the Network. Discovery will make content available to the Network from Discovery’s library and other Discovery channels. New channels and shows will be aired in prime time in exchange for a license fee from the Network.

More on the amended agreement among companies, reports also mentioned the following: the amended joint venture is terminable in certain circumstances. Hasbro can put its interest in the Network to Discovery if (i) Discovery materially breaches certain provisions of the agreements between the parties, (ii) Discovery acquires an interest in a competitive network or (iii) Hasbro elects to require Discovery to purchase its interest in the Network during the one year period following December 31, 2021. Discovery can call Hasbro’s interest in the Network if (i) Hasbro materially breaches certain provisions of the agreements between the parties, (ii) Hasbro acquires an interest in a competitive network or (iii) Discovery elects to purchase Hasbro’s interest during the one-year period following December 31, 2021.

More on Hasbro, Discovery Channel, LLC and Discovery Channel, Inc. amended agreement as the companies release more information to the public.

A.L. Mijares

About Hasbro

Hasbro Inc. is an American multinational toy and board game company. It is considered one of the largest toy makers in the world. Hasbro has corporate headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The majority of its products are manufactured in East Asia. Outside Asia, Hasbro owns and operates only two manufacturing facilities, one in Waterford, Ireland, the other in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, USA. In recent years, Hasbro has cut jobs at both plants in response to increasing competition from lower cost locations in China. At the end of 2006, for example, Hasbro’s Irish division laid off more than one third of its workforce Hasbro stock market evolution:

http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/has/stock-report

About Discovery Channel Communications

Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global mass media and entertainment company that is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. The company began as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, Discovery Communications is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories all around the globe. Discovery is a company that is dedicated to satisfying audience curiosity by delivering engaging and entertaining content as well as high-quality content on worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Aside from these channels and networks Discovery also controls Eurosport International which is a premier sports entertainment group along with six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia.

Discovery mentioned in the deal that Erosport’s brands and businesses would benefit from Discovery’s goals as well as local expertise and global Platforms while Eurosport provides Discovery additional reach and scale along with increased investment in interesting content that would create new value for advertisers, affiliates and audiences across Europe and Asia.

Aside from these ventures, Discovery is also a top provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. Discovery Communications stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DISCA

EMC Corporation Looking for “Merger of Equals” in Dell and HP

September 30, 2014 by Sabin Piso

EMC data storage and information security giant eyes Dell and Hewlett-Packard to sell of share in VMware.

EMC is not just looking for a company to sell off its share in VMware; it is actually eyeing for a “merger of equals” with complementary companies which including Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Technology experts say that if such a deal happens, it will reshape the technology landscape and possibly lead to disruptions in the channel.

EMC is under pressure resulting in the actions of Elliott Management to return more value to its shareholders. This pressure has resulted in the company reportedly shopping for a merger for its 80 percent stake in VMware to other companies.

It was a financial headline in the past few days that EMC, which has an estimated value of $60 billion, has been thinking of the potential of merging with similar-sized and complementary companies. These companies are HP and Dell. The intent was said to create a company with greater technology capabilities than the sum of any two parties’ respective parts.

However none of the companies involved, including HP and EMC are commenting officially despite actual updates of talks and between the two companies. According to published reports, the said merger would be an all-stock trade. In this merger the shareholders of the respective sides would receive corresponding shares of the two companies equal to the deal’s valuation. But reports actually say that talks between HP and EMC broke down due to a failure to reach an acceptable price.

A cross between HP and EMC would be a technology that generates more than $130 billion a year. Reports also say that it will hold a market valuation of nearly $100 billion. HP is by far the largest server vendor in the world and is considered as the second-largest network gear vendor. But despite significant storage assets, it is behind rivals EMC, NetApp, and Dell. Therefore a merger would create a massive infrastructure company which will be strengthened by VMware’s market-leading virtualization portfolio. HP could also gain significant security assets, as EMC owns RSA Security. RSA is the leader in encryption, authentication, and identity management solutions. These amazing technologies would definitely improve and complement HP’s existing firewall, intrusion prevention, and security information management tools.

EMC and Dell would create a new storage powerhouse. This is combining Dell’s EqualLogic and Compellent assets with EMC’s deep storage portfolio. Dell is a leader in servers, which would definitely enrich EMC’s storage offerings. And Dell has significant storage assets that will benefit a lot with the addition of RSA.

Dell or HP plus EMC will significantly affect the industry and cause significant portfolio and channel disruptions. And of course merging two large companies will take a long time and tremendous resources. Joining of products, operations, and channel programs will cause significant disruptions in the channel. Some acquisitions could even take two or more years to translate into channel consolidation. Experts also point out that the channel is replete with examples of how the channel consolidation process alienates partners, causes sales attrition because of a customer base that doesn’t want to follow the merger. The results are potential lost products and incentives.

But of course, given the nature of the merger reports, it may be too early to tell if the talks will indeed materialize into a merger. But the potential of an EMC merger with a rival speaks volumes about the shifting market dynamics and the necessity of consolidating technologies, costs, supply chains, and channels. If EMC does merge with a similar-sized company, the merger could cause mega-mergers in the technology industry, and this will ripple through the channel.

A.L. Mijares

About EMC:

EMC Corporation is an American multinational corporation with headquarters in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, United States.EMC provides data storage, information security, virtualization, analytics, cloud computing and other products and services. These enables businesses to store, manage, protect, and analyze data. EMC’s target markets include large companies and small- and medium-sized businesses across various vertical markets. The company has 60,000 employees and is considered the world’s largest provider of data storage systems competing against NetApp, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Hitachi Data Systems. EMC stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=EMC

About Hewlett- Packard

Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation with headquarters in Palo Alto, California, United States. It develops hardware, software and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors. HP stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=HPQ

About Dell

Dell Inc. is an American privately owned multinational computer technology company headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Dell develops, sells, repairs and supports computers and related products and services. The company is one of the largest technological corporations in the world, employing more than 103,300 people worldwide. Dell also sells personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals, HDTVs, cameras, printers, MP3 players and also electronics built by other manufacturers.

Millennial Media Signs Agreement to Acquire Nexage for $107.5 Million

September 29, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Millennial Media will purchase Nexage for RTB technology and mobile advertising

Millennial Media has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Nexage for approximately $107.5 million in cash and stock. The final transaction is subject to certain adjustments and formal closing agreements. Privately held Nexage is from Boston and is a leading provider of Real-Time-Bidding (RTB) technology which is important in automating the buying and selling of ads via mobile.

Michael Barrett, President and CEO of Millennial Media mentioned in an exclusive interview “We are in a very exciting time right now as we help to build, educate and advance the role of RTB and programmatic solutions to advertisers, publishers, and developers.” He added “Our vision is to create a full-stack solution that enables us to open the flow of impressions, operate a leading independent exchange, and maximize the yield for our publishers. The opportunity to integrate Nexage’s programmatic technology with our deep roots and heritage in agency relationships will uniquely position us in this fast paced ecosystem. Together, our companies will be able to offer managed services for agencies and a complete set of programmatic tools for automated buyers. We are looking forward to having the Nexage team join our family as we continue to build the next generation of mobile advertising.”

The proposed acquisition of Nexage increases the focus on Millennial Media’s platform business in three key areas. These also Increases the yield for publishers via expertise and scale. It is also important to note that Nexage’s offerings will complement Millennial Media’s demand from various agencies and advertisers with a complete programmatic marketplace. To note, Nexage’s marketplace includes these key points: a leading exchange that focuses Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) plus trading desks to purchase ad impressions through a programmatic direct, private exchange and open auctions.

Another focus is a Supply Side Platform (SSP) and mediation solution that provides a venue for publishers to expose impressions to classic networks. This includes including the Facebook Audience Network, Google’s Admob, and iAd. Nexage is connected to over 225 programmatic buyers and networks. This provides one of the most complete mobile monetization solutions globally.

Finally, a focus on an ad server that publishers and developers can use to create directly-sold campaigns. This enables efficient data and audience buying.

The two companies will be in a distinct position to improve impressions through first and third party data. Millennial Media with its mobile DMP can ingest publisher and advertiser data to enable amazing strategies like re-targeting, audience extensions, and cross-device attribution.

Ernie Cormier, President and CEO of Nexage also mentioned in an interview “Millennial Media is an extremely well-known name in our industry, and a real pioneer and leader in bringing brand dollars into mobile.” He added “I believe the addition of Nexage’s platform and people will further Millennial Media’s mission in creating a leading independent mobile advertising platform and vital programmatic marketplace.”

Under the terms of the agreement that was signed by the two companies, Millennial Media will pay approximately $22.5 million in cash and approximately $85 million in stock. These are subject to certain adjustments. Accordingly, Nexage shareholders will receive approximately 37 million newly issued shares of Millennial Media based on a price of $2.21 per share of Millennial Media common stock. The closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Millennial Media’s shareholders of the proposed issuance of the shares in accordance with the rules of the New York Stock Exchange.

A.L. Mijares

About Millennial Media:

Millennial Media is an advertising company that provides technology for various display ads on mobile devices. Headquartered Baltimore, with offices in Boston, London, Singapore, New York City and San Francisco. The company was founded in May 2006 by Paul Palmieri and Chris Brandenburg. Millennial Media has acquired several companies and some of these are TapMetrics in 2010, Condaptive in 2011, and Jumptap in 2013. In March 2009, Millennial Media has provided regular research reports. Millennial Media has won several awards for advertising. Millennial Media stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/mm

About Michael Barrett:

Michael Barrett is the CEO of Millennial Media. Mr. Barrett’s has a very impressive resume. He became an executive for Yahoo and also served as CEO of Google-acquired AdMeld and CRO of MySpace.

About Nexage:

Nexage is one of the leading premium market place in mobile advertising. The company has helped publishers & developers make money, while enabling media buyers to reach audience at scale. Nexage is headquartered in Boston, MA.

About Ernie Cormier:

Ernie Cormier is the CEO and President of Nexage and is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and business operations. Mr. Cormier has made a successful career in wireless, digital media and content, software, and the Internet. He has a well-rounded engineering education, with special focus on product design and development. This allowed him to advance to senior executive leadership roles.

Merck KGaA Will Acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17 Billion

September 26, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Definitive agreements between Merck KGaA and Sigma-Aldrich signal new era in pharmacology, research and biotechnology.

Merck KGaA and Sigma-Aldrich has announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17.0 billion (€13.1 billion). This amazing acquisition will establish one of the leading players in the $130 billion global life science industry.

Under this acquisition, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Sigma-Aldrich for $140 per share in cash. $17.0 billion represents a 37% premium to the latest closing price of $102.37 on September 19, 2014, and a 36% premium to the one-month average closing price. This purchase will immediately increase Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s EPS pre and EBITDA margin. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, expects to achieve annual synergies of approximately €260 million.

Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s Executive Board mentioned in an exclusive interview that “This transaction marks a milestone on our transformation journey aimed at turning our three businesses into sustainable growth platform.” He added “For our life science business it’s even more than that: it’s a quantum leap. In one of the world’s key industries two companies that fit perfectly together have found each other to present a much broader product offering to our global customers in research, pharma and bio pharma manufacturing and diagnostic and testing labs. As such, the combination of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Sigma-Aldrich will secure stable growth and profitability in an industry that is driven by trends such as the globalization of research and manufacturing. What’s more, the combination gives us the possibility to invest even more in innovation going forward. We are delighted to make this compelling proposition to Sigma-Aldrich’s shareholders, who will obtain full and certain cash value for their shares.”

On the other hand, Rakesh Sachdev, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sigma-Aldrich also mentioned in an exclusive interview “We are excited to join forces with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a distinguished industry leader. The combined company will be well-positioned to deliver significant customer benefits, including a broader, complementary range of products and capabilities, greater investment in breakthrough innovations, enhanced customer service, and a leading e-commerce and distribution platform in the industry. This transaction is a clear validation of our success in transforming Sigma-Aldrich into a customer-focused and solutions-oriented global organization. This is a testament to the strength of the Sigma-Aldrich brand and the accomplishments of our 9,000 employees worldwide. We believe this is a very positive outcome for our shareholders, who will receive a significant premium, and our employees, who will benefit from enhanced opportunities as part of a larger, more global organization.”

The transaction will produce a company that will be able to serve life science customers around the world using an attractive set of established brands and an efficient supply chain that can support the production and the delivery of more than 300,000 products.

The combined life science business will certainly enjoy solid growth potential, strong and sustainable cash flow, and meaningful efficiency potential on an operational level. According to fiscal year 2013 financials, the business would have had combined sales of €4.7 billion ($6.1 billion), this is an increase of 79% and combined EBITDA pre of €1.5 billion ($2.0 billion). Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Group’s sales would have increased by approximately 19%.

Bridge financing has been secured for the all-cash transaction. The final financing structure will comprise a combination of cash on Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s balance sheet, bank loans and bonds. Closing is expected in mid-year 2015 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company. Merck, also known as “German Merck” and “Merck Darmstadt”, was founded in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1668. It is the world’s oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company. Merck KGaA operates mainly in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and Latin America. Since Merck & Co. holds the rights to the Merck name in the U.S. and Canada, the company operated under the umbrella brand EMD Chemicals in North America and since 2010 as EMD Millipore. Merck KGaA stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/mrk

About Karl-Ludwig Kley

Mr. Karl-Ludwig Kley was born on June 11, 1951 in Munich, Germany, has been Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck since April 2007. Before joining Merck, Karl-Ludwig Kley was a member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG from 1998 to 2006. There he served as Chief Financial Officer.

About Sigma-Aldrich

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation is an American life science and high technology company. It has over 9,600 employees and operates in 40 countries. The company has chemical and biochemical products and kits that are used in scientific research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development. Sigma – Aldrich stock market evolution: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/sial

About Rakesh Sachdev

Mr. Rakesh Sachdev has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of Sigma-Aldrich Corporation since November 2010. He is a Graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Finance from Indiana University, and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Telefonica Buys Global Village Telecom from Vivendi

September 25, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Final agreements for the sale of Global Village Telecom to Telefonica have been made between two companies.

Telefonica S.A. and Vivendi have finalized the sale of Global Village Telecom, GVT, to Telefonica. Both companies have reached an agreement on the 29th of August to enter into exclusive negotiations for this transaction. This acquisition includes a cash consideration of 4,663 million euros plus payment in shares representing 12.0% of the share capital of Telefonica Brasil.

Vivendi, as a part of the deal, has also accepted Telefonica’s offer to acquire 1,110 million ordinary shares held by Telefonica in Telecom Italia, currently representing 8.3% of Telecom Italia’s voting share capital in exchange of 4.5% of Vivendi’s capital in the company. This clearly results in the integration between Telefonica Brasil and GVT.

Experts in the telecommunication industry predict that this acquisition will generate synergies of at least 4,700 million euros. Telefonica Brasil results from this integration and this enhances industry leadership as the country’s integrated telecommunications operator. Telefonica Brasil will be the giant in both the mobile and broadband services, with amazing national coverage. Finally, Telefonica will be able to enhance its positioning and improve its growth profile and financial flexibility.

Telefonica’s improved growth is guaranteed since GVT owns a large new generation network with over 10.4 million homes located in 21 Brazilian states and more than 2.5 million broadband customers. These consumers are mostly located outside the capital city of Sao Paulo.

There is no doubt that Telefonica wants to capitalize on the trend, the Brazilian telecom industry is booming according to experts and even when new players have entered the market. At present, Telefonica Brasil’s Vivo brand has largest market share of 28.7%.

This acquisition will also lead to an easing in the scrutiny that Telefonica has been facing from the Brazilian anti-trust watchdog, Cade. The scrutiny is a result of the stake Telefonica held in Telecom Italia, the second-largest telecom operator in the region. The stake will transfer to Vivendi after the acquisition is completed.

Telefonica earlier offered Vivendi the option to purchase 1.1 billion shares, which the company had in Telecom Italia. The shares represent 8.3% of Telecom Italia’s voting share capital. This was accepted 4.5% of the capital held by Vivendi.

Telefonica closed in the green yesterday, up 0.6%. Vivendi was up 0.3%, and Telecom Italia was down 0.6%. The final closing details of this transaction are subject to obtaining the relevant regulatory authorizations and will soon be announced publicly.

A.L. Mijares

About Telefonica

Telefonica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider with operations in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. It is the sixth-largest mobile network provider in the world. Telefonica started as a public telecommunications company. It is headquartered in the Distrito Telefonica in Madrid.

Telefonica is a telecommunications company that invests highly in up to date technologies. is a supporter of the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative (a consortium of broadcasting and Internet industry companies including SES, OpenTV, and Institut für Rundfunktechnik). This updated system in telecommunications and programming promotes an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single user interface. This technology has run pilot HbbTV services in Spain. Telefonica stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/tef

About Vivendi

Vivendi SA (formerly known as Vivendi Universal) is a French multinational mass media and telecommunication company. It has headquarters in Paris, France. The company is active in music, television and film, telecommunications as well as internet services.

The company primarily focused on digital entertainment and telecommunications. It is the owner of the French TV channel and movie producer Canal+ Group, as well as music world leader Universal Music Group, Vivendi is also active in telecommunications, owning mobile companies SFR (France) and GVT (Brazil). The most recent transaction of Vivendi was in November 2013, it signed the definitive agreement to sell its majority and controlling stake in Maroc Telecom (Morocco) to Etisalat based in Abu Dhabi. Vivendi stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/viv

About Global Village Telecom

Global Village Telecom (GVT) is a Brazilian telecommunications company. It provides services on landline telephone, broadband for consumer and business sectors, Pay TV and voice over IP. GVT has been in the market since the end of 2000. It also offers high-speed broadband, pay TV with paid high-definition channels and integrated and convergent advanced landline telephony. The company offers broadband internet connection through ADSL, ADSL2 +, VDSL2 and FTTH technologies. It offers content and Internet services through the online portal POP, besides VoIP services through VONO to residential and micro-enterprise sectors in Brazil.

Vivendi has bought a 58% stake of the company by the end of 2009, and raised its participation to 99.17% the following year. On August 30, 2014, Vivendi announces the sale of GVT to Telefonica of Spain.

SAP SE Will Purchase Concur Technologies for $8.3 Million

September 24, 2014 by Sabin Piso

SAP SE SAP in Your Value Your Change Short position agreed to buy Concur Technologies Inc. in a deal valued at $8.3 billion,

Software giant SAP SE will purchase Concur Technologies soon in a billion dollar deal. This acquisition will allow the German software company to expand its business into travel-related software which is designed specifically for hotels and tourism services.

This deal with Concur would be the most expensive in SAP’s history. This comment was according to Dealogic. This clearly ranks above SAP’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Sybase Inc. which happened in 2010. More so, this expensive acquisition also ranks among the 10 largest software deals along with Hewlett-Packard Co.’s $11.7 billion deal for Autonomy Corp. according to Dealogic.

Companies offering cloud computing, or providing service over the Internet, could also benefit from this acquisition. Cloud computing is seen as one of the most efficient ways to manage different kinds of computer processes rather than using software.

SAP Chief Executive Bill McDermott said it was “The largest acquisition in the history of the cloud industry.”

And of course who would be happier because of this acquisition than Concur shareholder. Shareholders would receive $129 per share, a 20% premium over Wednesday’s closing price of $107.80.

Meanwhile, analysts had mixed views on the acquisition and a lot of negative reactions have emerged due to the steep price SAP is paying Concur. Shares dropped more than 3% in midday trade in Frankfurt.

SAP has been very focused in cloud-based computing and this showed in its interest in human-resources application SuccessFactors and an e-commerce application called Ariba and Fieldglass. These allow companies to manage contingent workers and services in the most efficient manner.

Concur offers its products via the Internet. Products ranging from managing everything from companies’ supply chains down to every detail in their financial ledgers, these are integrated directly into those companies’ computer systems.

Mr. McDermott said the company will update its outlook after the completion of the takeover, which is expected either in the last quarter of this year or first quarter of next year.

Founded in 1993, Bellevue, Wash.-based Concur has recently posted a loss of $24.4 million on revenue of $546 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2013. But Mr. McDermott has great expectations of the acquisition saying that the addition of Concur would mean its business network will now handle transactions totaling more than $600 billion annually. Mr. McDermott also mentioned in an exclusive interview that it doesn’t have a long list of companies it is planning to buy.

Executives say SAP said it would use a credit facility of up to €7 billion ($9 billion) to finance the purchase, plus debt refinancing and acquisition-related costs.

A.L. Mijares

About SAP SE

SAP SE (Systems Applications Products in Data Processing) is a European multinational software corporation that develops enterprise software to manage business operations. SAP is headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with regional offices around the world. The company’s best-known software products are its enterprise resource planning application systems and management, its enterprise data warehouse product – SAP Business Warehouse, SAP Business Objects software, and Sybase mobile products and the in-memory computing appliance SAP HANA. SAP stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/sap

About Bill McDermott

Bill McDermott is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Executive Board of SAP. He leads the company’s 66,500 employees and more than two-million-person ecosystem. 2014 SAP under the leadership of Mr. McDermott, unveiled a strategy to help businesses of all sizes simplify their operations.

About Concur

Concur Technologies is an American provider of travel and expense management services. It is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Co-founded by Steve Singh, it has grown to more than 15,000 clients and 15 million travelers in over 90 countries. Concur is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with offices in Vienna, Virginia, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Concur stock market evolution:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/cnqr

About Dealogic

Dealogic is an international financial software company. It has headquarters in the New York, NY. The company provides an efficient platform for investment banks to conduct deals in the areas of fixed income, equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, institutional sales and equity research, as well as Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), SEC & FTSE regulatory and investment banking strategies.

About Hewlett-Packard Co

Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States. It provides hardware, software and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors.

Autonomy was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP) in October 2011. The deal valued Autonomy at $11.7 billion (£7.4 billion) with a premium of around 79% over market price. This price was criticized as very expensive and a “chaotic” attempt to rapidly reposition HP and increase its earnings through the exploit of the high-margin software services sector.

WhiteWave Foods Will Buy So Delicious Dairy Free for $195 Million

September 23, 2014 by Sabin Piso

WhiteWave Foods will purchase So Delicious for $195 Million in cold hard cash.

WhiteWave Foods announced that it has agreed to purchase So Delicious Dairy Free from its existing shareholders, led by Wasserstein & Co., for $195 million in cash.

WhiteWave is the company behind brands such as Horizon, Silk, Alpro and Earthbound Farm. It aspires to develop nutritious, creative and alternative food choices and delivers these to customers via local stores.

On the other hand, best known by consumers for its delectable beverages, creamers, cultured products and frozen desserts is the So Delicious® Dairy Free brand. The So Delicious company was founded in 1987 by Mark Brawerman, who was CEO until 2013. So Delicious is headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Products from So Delicious are 100% plant-based and non-GMO verified.

Based on the latest figures, So Delicious had net sales of $115 million for the twelve months ended June 30, 2014 and figures show that it will experience continued steady growth in the second half of 2014.

Gregg Engles, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WhiteWave mentioned in an exclusive interview: “The acquisition of So Delicious represents a great addition to the WhiteWave portfolio and fits squarely within our strategy of driving growth in our core businesses.” He added: “So Delicious is an outstanding company and a unique player in the plant-based food and beverage arena, with consumers seeking out the brand for a broad range of great-tasting, dairy-free beverages, creamers and cultured products. So Delicious is also recognized as the #1 plant-based frozen dessert brand in the United States, and it will provide WhiteWave entry into the growing, plant-based frozen dessert category.”

Engles continued, “At the same time, So Delicious will provide additional growth opportunities in the dynamic plant-based food and beverage space. It builds on our platform of Silk and Alpro branded products by expanding plant-based capabilities and providing new category opportunities. Furthermore, in addition to compelling growth and product expansion potential, the extension of the So Delicious business across WhiteWave’s existing business platform, capabilities and infrastructure, is also expected to provide significant cost savings opportunities. Simply stated, we believe this is a compelling acquisition that will add a highly complementary brand to WhiteWave’s product portfolio and position us to drive additional shareholder value.”

On the other hand, Chuck Marcy, Chief Executive Officer of So Delicious Dairy Free mentioned in an interview: “Joining the WhiteWave organization will enable us to continue to build on our commitment to bringing dairy-free joy to even more households.” He continued “For over 25 years, So Delicious has been dedicated to making delicious and responsible, 100% plant-based, non-GMO foods and beverages. WhiteWave shares our passion for uncompromising commitment to non-GMO integrity, environmental stewardship and sustainability. This combination will give us an opportunity to grow our portfolio of dairy-free solutions, and introduce the benefits of dairy-free living to more families.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the next few months, with all the details of the transaction subject to customary closing conditions. WhiteWave mentions that it will fund the acquisition through cash balances and available credit. The transaction increases WhiteWave’s earnings in the first 12 months following closing, excluding certain transaction and integration expenses.

A.L. Mijares

About WhiteWave:

The WhiteWave Foods Company is behind nutritious, alternative food choices mainstream, such as Horizon, Silk, Alpro, and Earthbound Farm brands. WhiteWave delivers these brands conveniently right to their customers’ local stores. The chance to change the world for the better is powerful motivation and this is what The WhiteWave Foods Company is striving for. And according to the WhiteWave official site, every employee in the company wants to make a difference in the future of WhiteWave WhiteWave Foods stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=WWAV

About Gregg Engles:

Mr. Gregg L. Engles is the Founder and has been the Chief Executive Officer at The WhiteWave Foods Company since August 7, 2012. He has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Dean Foods Company from October 1994 to October 2012. Mr. Engles has received a Law degree from Yale Law School in 1982 and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Dartmouth College in 1979.

About So Delicious Dairy Free:

So Delicious Dairy Free is located in Willamette Valley, Oregon. It has provided dairy-free products for more than twenty-five years. The company has a world-class allergen-testing program to create products made with only the highest quality ingredients. So Delicious makes products made from organic ingredients, and is always 100 percent plant-based and Non-GMO Project Verified with no artificial sweeteners, trans-fats, or hydrogenated oils.

About Chuck Marcy:

Charles F. Marcy has served as Interim CEO of Turtle Mountain, LLC, and a privately held natural foods company maker of So Delicious brand of dairy free products since May 2013. Mr. Marcy received his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from Washington and Jefferson College, and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Green Dot to Acquire Santa Barbara Tax Products Group for $320 Million

September 22, 2014 by Sabin Piso

A definitive agreement was announced between Green Dot and Santa Barbara TPG for the acquisition.

Green Dot has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Santa Barbara Tax Products Group for approximately $320 million in cash and stock plus additional contingent consideration. Green Dot Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, are focused on providing low and moderate income American families financial products and services. These includes prepaid cards, checking accounts and cash processing services which are provided through a network of some 95,000 retail stores, service centers, and through digital channels.

Green Dot’s reach will significantly expand into its core customer segment by adding tax refund processing services for millions of tax filers. Green Dot plans to provide this through distribution partnerships tax preparation companies that are trusted by millions of American tax filers and through thousands of independent tax preparers.

Steve Streit, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Green Dot Corporation has mentioned in an exclusive interview: “We believe TPG is a great acquisition for our investors and the customers and business partners of both entities.” He added “From a financial perspective, we expect the transaction to generate mid-teens percentage accretion to 2015 non-GAAP earnings per share1. Furthermore, the transaction is expected to expand Green Dot’s margins thereby enabling Green Dot to generate higher and more diversified earnings. Additionally, TPG’s robust cash flow model is expected to augment Green Dot’s already strong annual cash flows.”

Mr. Streit continued, “In addition to the expected economic benefits, we believe this acquisition is strategically compelling. The segments of consumers who utilize TPG’s services are highly correlated to Green Dot’s customer segment of LMI American families. As a point of reference, more than 50% of all tax refunds loaded to Green Dot’s prepaid cards in the most recent tax season was processed by TPG. Furthermore, in the same period, we believe the majority of tax refund dollars loaded to all prepaid cards industry-wide was processed through TPG. Given the strong correlation between customer segments, we believe that, over time, there is a significant revenue opportunity in bundling Green Dot’s award winning prepaid cards and checking accounts along with TPG’s industry leading consumer tax refund processing services.”

On the other hand, Rich Turner, Founder and Executive Chairman, TPG mentioned in his interview: “TPG is known for treating its partners, customers and industry stakeholders with dedication, transparency, integrity and a mission to provide highly valuable and highly trusted processing and settlement services to the tax industry. Green Dot is the perfect match for our business since it too shares a mission of dedication and integrity towards its customers and business partners. Furthermore, we believe Green Dot’s industry-leading product suite, its award-winning technology capabilities, its strong financial resources, and its well-known and trusted national brand name will likely provide meaningful growth and long-term sustainability for our partners and for our business.”

Green Dot expects to generate approximately $85 million of tax benefits from this acquisition, bringing the net transaction value of the transaction to approximately $235 million-or 5.2 times TPG’s FY 2014 EBITDA. The transaction terms also include a potential $80 million cash earn-out payable to TPG investors based on TPG meeting certain pre-determined performance targets over the next three years.

The transaction will be funded with $55 million in cash, $150 million in new bank debt, and approximately 6.133 million shares of Green Dot class a common stock. Post-closing, TPG investors will own, in the aggregate, approximately 10.5% of the fully diluted shares of the combined amount.

A.L. Mijares

About Green Dot

Green Dot Corporation is a US company and issuer of prepaid MasterCard and VISA cards. These products are used and accepted at more than 60,000 retail stores, including CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and RadioShack; and discount cards for Meijer and Walmart. The company also provides transfers direct deposit funds (such as Social Security payments) from the US government to personal bank accounts for their customers. Green Dot is headquartered in Pasadena, California, and it was formerly known as Next Estate Communications. Green Dot stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GDOT

About Steve Streit

Steve Streit is the founder and chief executive of Green Dot Corporation. In 2011, under Mr. Streit’s leadership, Green Dot purchased of Bonneville Bank in Provo, Utah. Green Dot’s subsequently acquired mobile geolocation start-up Loopt and this led to the development of GoBank, the first bank account to be used on a mobile device.

About Santa Barbara Tax Products Group

TPG is a tax refund processing and settlement engine of numerous tax preparation companies. The company’s services are integrated into the offerings of the nation’s leading tax software companies. TPG services cover up to 25,000 independent tax preparers and accountants nationwide. TPG has processed approximately $32 billion in tax refunds on behalf of approximately 11 million U.S. tax filers according to its recent records. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, TPG generated approximately $45 million of EBITDA.

About Rich Turner

Richard Turner is the CEO of Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, LLC with headquarters at Santa Barbara, California, USA.

Endo International Will Acquire Auxilium Pharmaceuticals for $2.2 Billion

September 20, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Endo International’s acquisition of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals improves global specialty healthcare for customers.

Endo International plc announced that it has announced a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for a per share consideration of $28.10 in a cash and stock transaction worth $2.2 billion. Under the terms of the proposal, there will be an approximately equal payment of cash and Endo stock. The transaction will be funded with existing cash on hand and debt financing.

Rajiv De Silva, president and chief executive officer of Endo has officially stated in an interview: “Endo’s proposal would provide Auxilium shareholders a substantial premium and immediate cash value for their investment in Auxilium, as well as the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of a leading global specialty healthcare company.” He added “In light of the highly complementary nature of our two companies’ commercial portfolios, the growth potential of Auxilium’s Xiaflex® and the significant synergy opportunities, we believe this compelling strategic combination would result in and create benefits for both Endo and Auxilium shareholders, as well as for patients, customers and employees.”

This acquisition is based on Endo’s strategy to “pursue accretive, value creating organic growth opportunities,” continued Mr. De Silva. “We expect that Endo’s leading presence in men’s health, combined with our R&D capabilities and considerable financial resources will accelerate the growth of Xiaflex® and Auxilium’s other products, enhancing the value of the combined company’s portfolio. Endo stands ready to engage immediately with Auxilium, complete our confirmatory diligence, negotiate a definitive agreement and complete this exciting transaction.”

Furthermore, there are overwhelming benefits of this Endo and Auxilium acquisition. First is the ability of Endo to maximize the value of Auxilium’s Commercial Products. Auxilium’s currently has 12 FDA approved products in urology, orthopedic and other areas. Endo expects to enhance the performance of Auxilium’s Xiaflex®, to efficiently use Xiaflex in new indications and to optimize the broader portfolio of the company’s products. The combination of Endo and Auxilium will be a well-positioned company that drives organic growth and a company that could capitalize on future M&A ventures.

Because of the acquisition, shareholders of the combined company are expected to take advantage from its significant synergy opportunities with the nature of the companies’ product portfolios and geographic locations. This is the $75 million reduction in annual operating expenses announced by Auxilium on September 9, 2014. This is Axilium’s agenda in their corporate restructuring initiative.

Finally, expect a better and stronger financial profile Endo would continue to have a strong financial profile as evidenced by a solid balance sheet, enhanced cash flow and improved financial flexibility. Endo expects the transaction to be immediately accretive post close and meaningfully considered in the many years to come.

This acquisition proposal is subject to the completion of its company reviews and the mutually acceptable agreements that is under customary closing conditions. Citi is serving as financial advisor to Endo, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is serving as its legal advisor

A.L. Mijares

About Endo:

Endo Health Solutions Inc. is an American pharmaceutical company. Endo Laboratories L.L.C.’s generic products along with 12 important brand products, includes Percocet, Percodan, and Opana. Endo is now called “Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. On 23 May 2012, Endo’s shareholders approved a resolution to change the company’s name to “Endo Health Solutions Inc.”

Endo is a specialty pharmaceutical company that is an expert in the field of research, development, sale and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals that are mostly used to treat and manage pain. Endo stock price evolution:

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/ENDP:US

About Rajiv Da Silva:

Rajiv De Silva is President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Endo. Mr. De Silva served as the President of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. from October 2010 to January 2013 and served as its Chief Operating Officer, Specialty Pharmaceuticals from January 2009 until January 2013 before he joined Endo. Mr. De Silva is currently a Member of the Board of Trustees at Kent Place School in Summit, NJ. He has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Honors from Princeton University, and a Master of Science from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration with Distinction from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

About Axilium:

Auxilium is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and marketing products to a variety of specialist audiences. Auxilium is Latin for “assistance” and being called as such, this term is a fitting description for the company’s biopharmaceutical development and commercialization strategies. Auxilium has a goal of addressing some of the unmet needs of consumers when it comes to pharmaceutical products. The company uses forward thinking and novel solutions that promote better health and living and is dedicated to providing innovative solutions for underserved and to improve overall quality of life. Axilium’s stock market evolution:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=AUXL

Axcient Purchases DirectRestore: Amount Undisclosed

September 19, 2014 by Sabin Piso

Axcient has purchased DirectRestore, a Dover-based granular recovery technology solutions provider.

Axcient a Mountain View, California-based cloud backup and disaster recovery services company released reports on Tuesday regarding its acquisition of DirectRestore. The financial terms as well as the amount DirectRestore was purchased remains undisclosed. Axcient executives agree that this purchase increases its development team, thereby enhancing the delivery of its products to the market in a more efficient manner.

DirectRestore is one of the innovators in the market when it comes to the restoration of mainstream applications such as SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange database backups and replications. With this purchase, Axcient customers can take advantage of this technology for free.

Axcient CEO Justine Moore mentioned in an exclusive interview by MSPmentor: “By switching to Axcient, channel partners can now provide their clients with not only system level replication and instant recovery and failover for laptops, desktops and servers, but also best-in-class granular application recovery — all from one vendor in one dashboard from one deduplicated copy of the data.”

Moore also added: “There’s no need to install or manage separate products for file and system protection and MS Exchange protection like other products, which means less setup and management time for channel partners and that in turn means higher margins.”

Moore mentioned how they were impressed by DirectRestore’s technology. Axcient was in the process of creating its own granular application recovery technology when it has decided to test DirectRestore’s technology. He recalled “We were blown away by how advanced it was and how seamless we could integrate it into our core solution and merge it with our code-base.”

“However, since controlling the technology and having a fully integrated solution has always been a part of our mission as it allows us to develop more rapidly control our roadmap and service our partners and customers better, we knew we had to acquire the company or continue building the product ourselves,” he said.

Moore also mentioned that Axcient was always open to opportunities that fit their company vision and strategy along with the teams that would integrate well with our company culture. He said. “It is hard to find the combination of the two and that’s the other thing that makes DirectRestore so exciting — not only was the technology an extremely natural fit for us, but also the team is a truly phenomenal team with strong leadership and a very strong company culture that matches ours.”

Axcient solution together with the combination of DirectRestore’s amazing technology will be able to provide customers with an even better product that will allow faster recovery, more granular recovery options and reduced storage concerns.

DirectRestore acquisition will expand Axcient’s research and development by 30 percent. With this number, granular application recovery will enhance Axcient’s RaaS platform to support broader recovery capabilities.

Axcient is creating a new process that will protect access and recover data, and applications through a solution that is easier, faster and definitely more efficient than any alternative in the market. Axcient platform has been developed using cloud formats and it goes beyond backup and mirrors an organization’s entire business in the cloud. Aside from data backup service includes emails, files, applications, operating systems and all interconnected elements of a network. All these will help secure any type of business no matter what demands of the industry may be,

A. L. Mijares

About Axcient

Axcient, Inc. provides cloud-based recovery solutions/cloud platforms that reduce data loss. Axcient solutions keep applications up and running, and ensure that information technology infrastructures are well maintained. It provides solutions for backup and disaster recovery, archival and compliance, business continuity, application protection, and platform support. Axcient serves a wide range of industries including managed services providers; financial services; legal practices; architecture, engineering, and construction; healthcare; manufacturing; education; retail; non-profit; and high-tech, hospitality, and other industries. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California.

About Justin Moore

Mr. Justin Moore is an entrepreneur and authority on cloud computing, SMB market strategies and entrepreneurship. Moore is the driving force behind Axcient’s exponential growth as the #1 fastest growing Security & Data Protection company in the US. It was ranked by Inc. Magazine for three-year growth of 3,116%. It has a track record of improving the ranks of established markets. Moore was named one of the 2013 Silicon Valley’s 40 Under 40 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

About DirectRestore

DirectRestore is a company that provides a series of tools that enable granular recovery of files, objects, databases and applications. DirectRestore technology is used by tens of thousands of customers including several major original equipment manufacturers. The company works to restore individual items from applications such as SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange database backups and replications.