Coverage: General Electric sells appliance division to Haier
General Electric agreed to sell its appliance division to Chinese manufacturer Haier for $5.4 billion. The deal comes just a year after GE’s deal to sell its appliance division to Swedish manufacturer Electrolux collapsed. Laurie Burkitt, Joann S. Lublin and Dana Mattioli of The Wall Street Journal had the day’s news: General Electric Co. agreed to […]
Coverage: Shire-Baxalta announce $32 billion deal
After six months of negotiating, drugmaker Shire finally clinched its $32 billion takeover of Baxalta International on Monday, and while the deal comes with some rewards, it also carries a few risks. Ben Hirschler and Paul Sandle of Reuters had the day’s news: Drugmaker Shire Plc clinched its six-month pursuit of Baxalta International Inc on […]
Coverage: Electrolux CEO resigns a month after GE deal fails
Electrolux announced Monday that its CEO Keith McLoughlin would resign just one month after the Swedish appliance maker’s deal to buy General Electric’s appliance division failed. Chad Bray of The New York Times had the day’s news: The Swedish appliance maker Electrolux said on Monday that its top executive planned to retire, an announcement that […]
Three Bloomberg M&A reporters explain how they break stories
Sources for mergers and acquisition stories talk to reporters because of vanity, an interest in sharing information, revenge and wanting the reporter to get the story correct, according to three Bloomberg News M&A reporters. “Sources run a full spectrum from those who don’t talk to M&A reporters because they know better to people who are […]
WSJ’s Benoit is Talking Biz News’ Business Journalist of the Year
If Wall Street Journal reporter David Benoit is the future of business journalism, then the business journalism is in good shape. Benoit, who took over the shareholder activist beat at The Journal two years ago, has had a strong year. Within the past month, he broke the news about the DuPont-Dow Chemical deal, and he then followed […]
How a business reporter became hooked on covering M&A
Tara Lachapelle is a mergers and acquisitions columnist for Bloomberg Gadfly, a fast commentary section of Bloomberg’s editorial operations that launched in November. Before joining Gadfly, Lachapelle wrote Bloomberg’s Real M&A column and had brief stints on the stocks and corporate finance teams. She is a graduate of Suffolk University and holds a master’s degree […]
Coverage: Shareholder activist Loeb strikes out at Dow Chemical
Even though the ink is still drying on its $130 billion mega merger, Dow Chemical is still fending off attacks from shareholder activist Daniel Loeb. Over the weekend, Loeb wrote a letter to the company’s board in which he agreed with the deal and then criticized the company’s timing of the deal. Loeb went so far as to ask […]
Coverage: Newell Rubbermaid might merge with Jarden
Newell Rubbermaid is known for its storage containers and Sharpie markers, but the company is looking to diversify itself even further by entering merger talks with consumer products company Jarden Corp. Jarden owns several brands, such as outdoor supply company Marmot and cleaning supply brand Quickie. Greg Roumeliotis of Reuters had the day’s news: Newell Rubbermaid […]
How the deal to sell Forbes fell apart
Lucy Hornby, James Fontanella-Khan and Henry Mance of the Financial Times write about how the sale of a majority stake in Forbes Media fell apart. Hornby, Fontanella-Khan and Mance write, “The messy US legal dispute now clouds the future of Forbes magazine, the self-proclaimed ‘capitalist tool’ that has been a champion of free markets for […]
Coverage: Pfizer, Allergan combine in megamerger
Pfizer announced Monday that it would purchase Botox maker Allergan in a $160 billion deal, but the deal is sure to draw many critical eyes given it is an inversion deal. Inversion deals allow U.S. corporations to switch their headquarters to foreign countries where taxes are less restrictive. President Obama has been a vocal critic of […]
