Mergers and Acquisitions
Icahn Draws Line On Oshkosh Offer
November 30, 2012 8:32 am | News | CommentsBillionaire investor Carl Icahn said he will walk away from his bid to buy truck maker Oshkosh if at least 25 percent of the company's shares aren't tendered before his offer for them is set to expire on Monday. Icahn, who is known for buying stakes in struggling companies and then shaking them up with mixed results, maintains that Oshkosh needs new management and a new strategy.
ITT Completes Acquisition Of Bornemann Pumps
November 29, 2012 10:38 am | News | CommentsITT Corporation announced today it has completed the acquisition of Joh. Heinr. Bornemann GmbH (Bornemann Pumps), a leading global provider of highly engineered pumps and systems for the oil and gas industry, as well as the industrial, food and pharmaceutical sectors.
Pfizer Completes NextWave Pharma Acquisition
November 28, 2012 10:10 am | News | CommentsPfizer Inc. said Wednesday it completed its acquisition of NextWave Pharmaceuticals Inc., which makes a liquid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug that will hit the market in January. Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, said in October it would buy the privately held NextWave in a deal worth as much as $700 million.
Exec In HP-Autonomy Mess Lashes Out
November 28, 2012 8:10 am | by Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsAn executive vilified by Hewlett-Packard Co. on allegations of an accounting ruse is escalating his counter-attack on the company accusing him. In a letter to HP's board, former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch fiercely defended his integrity. He also questions whether HP is using the charges of financial shenanigans to cover up damage caused by its own ineptitude.
ConAgra Buys Ralcorp For About $5B
November 27, 2012 8:02 am | News | CommentsConAgra Foods is buying private-label food producer Ralcorp for about $4.95 billion, which will make it the biggest private-label packaged food business in North America. ConAgra says the acquisition will strengthen its overall position in the North American packaged food business.
GE Lighting To Buy Albeo Technologies
November 26, 2012 2:07 pm | News | CommentsGE Lighting is buying LED fixture maker Albeo Technologies Inc. in order to meet the demand for energy-efficient high-bay LED lighting products. Financial terms were not disclosed. Albeo Technologies' LED systems, which include high-bay, low-bay, linear, surface mount and under cabinet fixtures, are used in commercial, warehouse, industrial, cold storage and food processing environments.
Curtiss-Wright Buying Cimarron For $135M
November 26, 2012 2:00 pm | News | CommentsEngineering company Curtiss-Wright Corp. said on Monday that it is buying equipment maker Cimarron for $135.1 million in cash in an attempt to expand its offerings for oil and gas production, particularly in North America. Cimarron, based in Norman, Okla., makes equipment for the oil and gas industry.
Bayer Buys Radimetrics
November 26, 2012 10:47 am | News | CommentsDrug and chemical maker Bayer AG says is buying Radimetrics Inc., a Canadian company that specializes in developing health care software. Bayer said Monday that its health care unit has reached an agreement to buy all the shares in privately held Radimetrics, which is based in Toronto.
Fiat Industrial, CNH Reach Merger Agreement
November 26, 2012 8:02 am | News | CommentsThe Italian heavy-duty vehicles company Fiat Industrial has reached an agreement for a full merger with its U.S. subsidiary, the farm machine maker CNH Global N.V. The companies said in a joint statement that CNH had agreed to Fiat Industrial's sweetened offer, including a cash dividend of $10 per CNH share prior to the completion of the merger.
BASF To Buy Pronova Biopharma
November 21, 2012 4:15 am | News | CommentsGermany's BASF SE says it plans to buy Pronova BioPharma ASA, a Norway-based supplier of omega-3 fatty acids, in an offer with a total value of nearly $844 million. The German industrial group said Wednesday that Pronova's management and directors support its offer for the company and are recommending that shareholders accept it.
HP's Autonomy Deal Highlights Pattern Of Bad Ideas
November 20, 2012 9:39 pm | by Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsHewlett-Packard's $9.7 billion acquisition of Autonomy seemed like a bad idea long before allegations of an accounting scandal made clear it was a deal that should never have happened. HP has squandered billions of dollars on ill-advised acquisitions, compounding the challenges it already faces as it scrambles to adjust to a world that is shifting away from PCs to smartphones and tablets.
Armchem International Continues Expansion With Acquisition Of Handi-Clean Products
November 20, 2012 10:37 am | News | CommentsSouth Florida’s Armchem International, a leading business-to-business provider of specialty industrial and maintenance products to over 25,000 customers worldwide today announced that it has acquired the Greensboro-based Handi-Clean Products, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning products and equipment.
Bayer Won't Raise Offer For Schiff Nutrition
November 20, 2012 9:36 am | News | CommentsGerman drug maker Bayer AG says it won't raise its offer for Schiff Nutrition, refusing to engage in a bidding war with British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. Shares of vitamin and nutritional supplement seller Schiff Nutrition International Inc. dropped 5 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday.
Yaskawa To Acquire German Controller Maker
November 20, 2012 8:36 am | News | CommentsElectric motor manufacturer Yaskawa Electric Corp. said Tuesday it will acquire Vipa GmbH, a German maker of programmable logic controllers for factory automation. Yaskawa said the acquisition through Yaskawa Europe GmbH will allow it to strengthen its motion control business.
Fiat Industrial Sweetens CNH Offer
November 19, 2012 12:30 pm | News | CommentsFiat Industrial has sweetened its offer for a full merger with its U.S. subsidiary, the farm equipment maker CNH Global N.V. Fiat Industrial said in a statement Monday that its "best and final offer" incudes a cash dividend of $10 per CNH share — which it said improves the deal's value by 25 percent.
Wright Medical Buying BioMimetic For $190M
November 19, 2012 12:26 pm | News | CommentsMedical device maker Wright Medical Group Inc. plans to buy BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc. in a $190 million cash-and-stock deal to help grow its foot and ankle business. The companies said Monday the deal could grow to $380 million if some incentives are met.
Cisco Systems To Buy Meraki For $1.2B
November 19, 2012 8:05 am | News | CommentsCisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, is buying Meraki for $1.2 billion to expand its ability to let customers compute in the cloud. Cloud computing refers to the increasingly popular practice of storing software applications in remote data centers that are accessed over the Internet instead of installing programs on individual machines.
Starbucks Buys Teavana For $620M
November 15, 2012 8:16 am | News | CommentsThe Seattle-based company said Wednesday that it will pay $620 million in cash to buy Teavana Holdings Inc., which sells high-end loose leaf teas in 300 shopping mall locations. The plan is to expand Teavana's footprint beyond the mall with stand-alone shops, adding tea bars with specialty drinks.
AMD Denies Sale Report
November 14, 2012 8:17 am | News | CommentsShares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. spiked and then retreated Tuesday after a report said the company was exploring options including a sale. The company denied it. Reuters said on Tuesday afternoon that AMD had hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to explore strategic options including a sale, citing unnamed sources.
PerkinElmer Buys Chinese Test Developer
November 13, 2012 11:26 am | News | CommentsHealth and industrial sciences company PerkinElmer Inc. said Monday it acquired Haoyuan Biotech Co., a Chinese company that makes diagnostic tests for infectious diseases. PerkinElmer said it agreed to pay about $38 million for the deal, and it could make additional payments based on sales of Haoyuan Biotech' products.
BP, AAR Settle Disputes From TNK-BP
November 13, 2012 11:18 am | News | CommentsBritish oil company BP and its Russian partner AAR say they have settled all disputes between them as both prepare to sell their stakes in their lucrative but contentious joint venture, TNK-BP. Both have agreed to sell their positions to the Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft.
Hitachi Metals, Hitachi Cable To Merge
November 13, 2012 8:13 am | News | CommentsHitachi Metals Ltd. and Hitachi Cable Ltd. have decided to merge in April to boost competitiveness against foreign rivals, company sources said Tuesday. Hitachi Metals has expertise in development of neodymium magnets essential to motors for electric vehicles and industrial machinery, while Hitachi Cable produces electric and optical cables, for which demand from emerging economies is rising.
Sherwin-Williams To Buy Paint Maker For $2.34B
November 12, 2012 9:43 am | News | CommentsSherwin-Williams is buying the privately held Mexican paint company Consorcio Comex in a cash deal it values at about $2.34 billion. Consorcio Comex sells paints and coatings under several brands in the United States and Canada, and it sells architectural and industrial coatings in Mexico.
PwC: Industrial Manufacturing M&A Activity Rebounds In 3Q
November 9, 2012 11:48 am | News | CommentsOverall merger and acquisition (M&A) activity soared in the industrial manufacturing sector during the third quarter of 2012, according to Assembling Value, a quarterly analysis of M&A activity in the global industrial manufacturing industry by PwC US.
Icahn: Oshkosh Rejection Misrepresents Offer
November 9, 2012 8:19 am | News | CommentsCarl Icahn said Thursday that a letter sent by Oshkosh Corp.'s board to the company's shareholders urging they reject the activist investor's offer to buy the company "grossly misrepresents" his intentions. In his own letter to Oshkosh's shareholders, Icahn said the company's letter is a "blatant and insulting obfuscation of my intent and the facts."
