Finance News
US Food Chain PF Chang Bought For $1.1 Billion
FINANCE May 4, 2012 | 10:02 AM
- PF Chang saw price increases drive away customers
- PF Chang marks largest food chain acquisition since Burger King was purchased in 2010 for $3.3 billion
- Buyout latest in series of restaurant chains purchased by investors
PF Chang’s China Bistro Inc, the largest US full-service Asian restaurant operator, has agreed to a takeover by private equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP for $1.1 billion.
PF Chang’s accepted the deal after four quarters of slumping sales, where the chain had difficulty competing against competitors that offer both quality food items and low prices.
Read more »AT&T Sells Majority of Yellow Pages Print Unit To Focus on Mobile
FINANCE April 12, 2012 | 11:30 AM
- AT&T maintains 47% stake in Yellow Pages, rest sold to private equity firm Cerberus
- Yellow Pages saw sales fall 16% in 2011
- AT&T to focus on mobile, TV and internet
US phone carrier AT&T Inc. is selling its majority stake in its Yellow Pages Unit (YP Holdings LLC) to private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP for $950 million.
The deal includes 1,200 print Yellow Pages directories, the online directory yp.com, AT&T’s local ad network and the YPmobile app. It does not include AT&T AdWorks. The print version of the Yellow Pages reaches 150 million homes and businesses in 22 states.
Read more »Buyout Bid: Avon Rejects Coty’s Second Offer Of $10 Billion
FINANCE April 5, 2012 | 2:43 PM
- Avon says offer not in best interest of company
- 80% of Avon’s revenue comes from overseas
- Purchase would allow Coty to meet its revenue goal of $7 billion
Avon Products Inc. has rejected a $10 billion bid by Coty Inc. to purchase the struggling beauty-products seller. This was the second bid by Coty, which made a first bid in March that was also rejected.
Avon says the bid is too low, and that there is no difference between it and the previous one. Coty is willing to increase its bid if Avon can prove it is worth more, but Avon says the bid is nonbinding and does not constitute a real offer.
Read more »Joint Venture: Philips Finalizes TV Spin-Off With TPV Technology
FINANCE April 4, 2012 | 11:42 AM
- TVP to take 70% stake in TP Vision; Philips gets 30%
- 3,000 Philips TV employees to be retained in new venture
- Philips television division racked up losses of €1 billion in last 5 years
Dutch electronics company Philips has finalized terms for a joint venture with Hong Kong-based TVP Technology for the transfer of its struggling television arm.
Computer and LCD screen manufacturer TVP will have a 70% stake in the new TP Vision business, which will be based in Amsterdam. Philips will hold the remaining 30%.
Read more »Chinese Video Giants Youku and Tudou to Merge
FINANCE March 16, 2012 | 4:59 PM
- Rivals to combine for $1 billion in stock
- Ends lengthy court battle over copyright infringement
- New company to hold one-third share of crowded Chinese market
Youku Inc. and Tudou Holdings Ltd., China’s two largest online video companies will merge in a $1 billion all stock deal.
The new company, to be called Youku Tudou Inc., will hold a one-third market share in the crowded Chinese video market. It will be headed by Youku chairman and CEO Victor Koo.
Read more »Apple World's Most Valuable Company Worth $500 Billion
FINANCE March 5, 2012 | 2:59 PM
- Apple shares worth over $540 per share
- Apple exceeds second place corporate giant Exxon by nearly $100 billion
- Apple CEO receives $378 million in payment package
Apple recently became one of only six US companies to ever reach the $500 billion level in market value – although none of its predecessors have managed to maintain that status for long.
Investors, however, remain hopeful after Apple's last quarter report showed over $46 billion in revenue, marking one of the largest quarterly gains in the history of any technology firm.
Read more »Kellogg To Pay P&G $2.7 Billion For Pringles Brand
FINANCE February 17, 2012 | 4:08 PM
- Pringles buy puts Kellogg in number two global position for savory snacks
- Pringles expected to bring Kellogg annual sales of $1.5 billion
- Diamond Foods offer to Pringles was terminated earlier this month
Kellogg will buy Pringles-brand snack chips from Procter & Gamble for $2.7 billion after a previous deal with Diamond Foods fell through.
Kellogg will pay nearly $2.70 billion in cash and take on $2 billion in debt, which adds to the $5 billion it already has in long-term debt. The food giant is known globally for its cereal products, but is also known for its snack products.
Read more »Japan's Big Electronic Manufacturers Register Record Financial Losses
FINANCE February 6, 2012 | 12:54 PM
- Panasonic could see losses of more than $9.2 billion
- Sharp’s facing losses of $3.8 billion
- Sony may lose upwards of $3 billion
Japanese electronics giants Panasonic, Sharp and Sony are all racing toward record loses for the fiscal year ending in March.
Losses can be attributed to competition from foreign rivals, especially South Korean-based Samsung Electronics, as well as weak demand for the trio’s televisions. The yen reached its highest post World War II value in October 2011, and the strength of the currency is eroding away at the profit of Japanese exporters.
Read more »Making History: Facebook Files for IPO
FINANCE February 2, 2012 | 2:23 PM
- Facebook could be largest technology IPO debut in US history; also 6th largest IPO overall in US and 15th worldwide
- Facebook market cap could reach between $75 billion and $100 billion
- Majority of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising
Facebook Inc. has filed paperwork with regulators for inclusion on a US stock exchange. The online social network did not list an exchange but did file for the ticker “FB”.
In the filing, Facebook said it hopes to raise $5 billion; however, some analysts say that figure is more likely $100 billion. It will take months before the final figure is set.
Read more »Pharma Buyout Bid: Roche Offers $5.7 Billion for Illumina
FINANCE January 27, 2012 | 12:37 PM
- Roche puts forth another offer to buy Illumina at $44.30 per share
- Offer 50 times greater than Illumina’s earnings between Sept. 2010 - Sept. 2011
- Bid part of Roche’s plan to increase cancer drug sales
Swiss-owned pharmaceutical giant Roche has plans to take over San Diego-based Illumina Inc, which focuses on gene-sequencing. The announcement comes after Illumina rejected previous offers from Roche to negotiate a buyout.
Roche proposes to purchase all Illumina common stock at a price of $44.30 per share, which places Illumina’s value at $5.7 billion. According to Bloomberg, this is 32 times greater than the $1.39 per share predicted by analysts this year.
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