Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co has offered bid to acquire the LCD business of Sharp Corporation. However, the bidding details were not revealed. Without confirming on its plans to offload LCD business or received any bid offer, Sharp Corp continues to explore several options for reviving the trouble-prone liquid panel display business. Sharp has also asked Apple Inc for funding support. Sharp Corp has sought a $1.9-billion revival package from the banks and decided to slash 5,000 jobs as part of the cost-cutting measures. The intense competition in LCD screens for smartphones from Asian companies is taking a toll on Sharp Corp's business.
Deals
ComScore to buy Rentrak for $771mn
ComScore Inc, a data analytics provider and a major player in web tracking, will acquire Rentrak Corp for an implied value of $771 in all stock deal. Rentrak offers viewership rating services. As part of the buying deal, every share of Rentrak will be converted into 1.15 shares of ComScore. After the buying process, Rentrak will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of ComScore. The combined entity is expected to become a major measurement system for media and advertisement agencies. The buyout deal is expected to close in early 2016. The combined entity will get cost benefit of $55mn over the next two years.
Comcast to acquire majority stake in Universal Studios Japan
Comcast Corp. is getting a 51% stake in Universal Studios Japan Co. The US cable company has announced its NBCUniversal unit will pay Goldman Sachs and other owners of USJ Co. $1.5 billion for the majority stake.
Energy Transfer Equity to acquire William Cos for $33B
The Dallas-based Energy Transfer Equity LP has decided to buy Williams Cos in a $32.6-billion deal. The acquisition will pave the way for developing a huge 100,000 miles network of natural gas pipelines in the US.
Australia's Vocus to acquire its rival M2 Group for A$1.93B
Australia - Vocus Communications will purchase M2 Group for A$1.93B. The merging will be completed in 2016. Vocus Communications Ltd. had come up with an agreement to purchase M2 Group for A$1.93B, that's US$1.35B worth. The deal will be the country's biggest acquisition in the telecom industry in four months, Bloomberg reported.
Latest News
Global cable group Altice is acquiring New York-based Cablevision for $17.7bn including debt. This makes Altice as the fourth largest cable provider in the US. Cablevision's CEO James Dolan will hand over the control to a group of Europeans after the Altice deal. Altice will pay $34.90 a share in cash taking the valuation of Cablevision equity to $9.6bn.
Brazilian private equity (PE) major 3G Capital is mulling over a possible buyout of SAB Miller, maker of Miller, through its AnheuserBusch InBev, maker of Budweiser. Paving way for a major consolidation in the beer industry as the world's largest brewer AnheuserBusch InBev is bidding for SAB Miller, the second largest brewer. If the deal is successful, it'll be one of the top-6 global corporate takeovers in the history.
Vista Equity Partner is nearing to close a deal to buy a Texas-based company, Solera Holdings for $55.85 per share in cash. The total valuation of the deal including Solera's net debt is said to be worth $6.5 billion. The purchase price represents a 13 percent premium to the company's stock value.
Oil Search Ltd has refused the $8-billion takeover bid made by Woodside Petroleum Ltd, the biggest energy company in Australia. The rejection has turned out to be a major hurdle for Woodside Petroleum as the energy major is exploring low-cost LNG assets in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a nearby neighbor of Australia.
German telecom providers; Tele Columbus and Pepcom, have agreed to consolidate for €608M or $570M. The acquisition will benefit 3.7 million subscribers in Germany. Tele Columbus plans to improve its media service upon the deal.
Flower Foods Inc. has made the decision to acquire Alpine Valley Bread Company which is a family-owned natural bread producer for $120 million in cash and stock as reported by Source Media.
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc reportedly made a $2 billion offer to United Launch Alliance, the prime spacecraft launch service provider of Pentagon jointly owned by Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
BlackBerry Ltd announced Friday that it acquired Good Technology for $425 million to improve its position in the Apple world. BlackBerry expects to earn $160 million in revenue during the first year after the acquisition, which will close on November. This is according The Daly Mail UK. BlackBerry's shares listed in Toronto saw a 1.1 percent spike at C$7.97 in early during the trade. BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen promised that their cash flow would remain positive overall. He said he sees a lot of opportunity to drive value for the company's stakeholders.
The $37B worth deal of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. with Precision Castparts Corporation, a major aircraft parts supplier of Boeing had encouraged more investors in the aircraft industry. However, Boeing had been delaying its suppliers' M&A contracts.
