Ho hum. Another day, another Hewlett-Packard bid…
The acquisitive US tech giant is nearing a deal to buy US security software maker ArcSight, fresh from its $2.35bn victory in a bidding war against Dell for data storage company 3Par, reports the FT. Read more
Intel, the US chipmaker, was on Sunday close to agreeing a deal to buy the wireless chip business of Germany’s Infineon, reports the FT, citing people familar with the talks. A deal could be announced as soon as Monday with Intel paying about $1.4bn for the unit, which makes the chips used in Apple’s iPhones, although the talks could yet collapse, they warned. Intel’s move comes in the wake of its $7.7bn agreement this month to buy McAfee, the US security software company. The WSJ adds that Korea’s Samsung Electronics and US chipmaker Broadcom were among other companies interested in the Infineon unit. Read more
Was it really only two months ago that we were seeing headlines like this:“M&A activity slack in spite of renewed appetite“, and reading columns like this, by the FT’s M&A reporter Lina Saigol, (our emphasis):
Dealmakers are born optimists, but even by their own standards there has been little to be cheerful about so far in 2010…. Read more
Dealmakers are rushing to exploit an unexpected opportunity to launch transactions, after volatile financing markets for much of this year kept a lid on M&A dealmaking, reports the FT. A wave of deals in the past week, including BHP Billiton’s $39bn hostile move to buy Canada’s PotashCorp and Intel’s $8bn purchase of McAfee, helped notch up the largest week for global dealmaking this year. Deal volumes, which looked sluggish at the half-year stage, are running almost 20% ahead of 2009, after a strong showing in July and August. Read more
It’s beginning to look as if Credit Suisse were right about the upcoming rise of global M&A they recently predicted, though perhaps even they couldn’t have guessed how quickly it would come.
This is August, after all. Read more
Intel on Thursday paid $7.7bn to acquire McAfee, the US security software company, in a move that highlights the growing threat from computer viruses, the FT reports. The US chip maker is paying $48 a share in cash, a 60% premium on McAfee’s Wednesday closing price. On Thursday, McAfee’s stock leapt nearly 60% to $47.01 on the news. The NYT adds that Intel’s move is an effort to gain an edge on rivals, although analysts see few “immediate synergies” from the deal. Read more
Intel on Thursday unveiled a $7.7bn acquisition of McAfee, the US security software company, in a move prompted by the rising threat from viruses as the internet spreads to more mobile devices and everyday appliances, the FT reports. Intel is paying $48 a share in cash. Andy Bryant, Intel’s executive vice-president, said the 60 per cent premium on McAfee’s Wednesday closing price was within the range of recent large security and software transactions and a “reasonable price” considering McAfee’s growth and profitability. Both boards have approved the deal. Read more
More than 40 companies embroiled in the US options back-dating scandal, including software makers McAfee and Novell, could be vulnerable to takeover by activist investors because of a side-effect of long-standing laws. The threat to some of the 140-plus companies involved in the scandal comes as cash-rich hedge funds and private equity groups scour the market for takeover targets. An FT analysis found that 42 of the companies involved in the options controversy risk being targeted by activists who could seek to remove their boards and gain control without launching a takeover bid. The threat stems from a complex combination of US state laws and financial regulations. Read more
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