Kraft Heinz’s Ambitious Bid for Unilever: Why Did They Do It, and Why Did It Fail?

Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC)—market cap as of 24/02/17: $112.79bn Unilever plc (LON:ULVR)—market cap as of 24/02/17: £112.08bn (€133.46bn) Introduction On February 17, 2017, it was reported that Kraft Heinz had made a £112bn ($143bn) takeover offer for the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate, Unilever. A deal would have created the world’s second largest Read more…

Go big or go home – Reckitt Benckiser to acquire Mead Johnson for $17.9bn

Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON: RB) – market cap as of 17/02/2017: $61.7bn (£49.71bn) Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) – market cap as of 17/02/2017: $16.05bn Introduction On 10 February 2017, UK-based consumer goods multinational Reckitt Benckiser (RB) and US-based infant nutrition leader Mead Johnson reached an agreement by means Read more…

Barbarians at the Fortress Gate: SoftBank Shows its Global Ambitions

SoftBank Group Corp (TYO:9984)—market cap as of 17/02/17: ¥88.84tn (€74.19bn) Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG)—market cap as of 17/02/17: $3.08bn Introduction On February 14, 2017, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. announced the acquisition of Fortress Investment Group LLC for $3.3bn in cash. The deal represents a radical departure from Read more…

Allergan Wants to Get You back in Shape and Make Money Out of It.. : Allergan to Acquire Zeltiq Aesthetics for $2.5bn

Allergan PLC (NYSE: AGN) – market cap as of 16/02/2017: $82.86bn Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) – market cap as of 16/02/2017: $2.23bn Introduction On February 13, 2017, the biopharmaceutical giant Allergan PLC announced that it entered into an agreement to purchase the medical technology company Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. in Read more…