Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) will acquire a 51% stake in General Electric Co.’s (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal Inc. for $13.75 billion in cash and assets, giving the cable giant lucrative cable channels including SyFy, Bravo and the USA Network, as well as Universal Pictures and its related theme parks in California, Florida and Japan.
But for GE, the deal is a precursor to and eventual exit from the media business.
"This isn’t just one of the biggest media deals, this is arguably one of the biggest M&A deals in years," Wunderlich Securities Inc. analyst Matthew Harrigan, who recommends buying Comcast shares, told Bloomberg News.
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Kraft Launches Hostile Bid for Cadbury
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) yesterday (Monday) refused to sweeten its $16.4 billion offer for Cadbury PLC (ADR NYSE: CDY).
Instead, the North American food giant repeated the terms of its original offer, which Cadbury rejected two months ago. Kraft will now put its bid directly to Cadbury shareholders, setting the stage for a battle that could last months.
Cadbury swiftly rejected the bid, saying the offer is now worth less than the initial proposal, which had already undervalued the company. Kraft's bid is now worth 4% less than the original offer, and 6% below the current stock price, because Kraft shares have lost some of their value.
Instead, the North American food giant repeated the terms of its original offer, which Cadbury rejected two months ago. Kraft will now put its bid directly to Cadbury shareholders, setting the stage for a battle that could last months.
Cadbury swiftly rejected the bid, saying the offer is now worth less than the initial proposal, which had already undervalued the company. Kraft's bid is now worth 4% less than the original offer, and 6% below the current stock price, because Kraft shares have lost some of their value.
Two Reasons the Dow's Rally to 10,000 Will Keep Moving Ahead
The last time Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the 10,000 mark, it was plummeting from an all-time high of 14,163.53 as shell-shocked investors sought shelter from the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression. But this time around the blue chip index was on the upswing, surging 1.4% yesterday (Wednesday) to a close of 10,015.86. […]
Investment News Briefs
With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world. JPMorgan Q3 Earnings Lift Markets; BofA Testing New Fees; China Curbing Steel Production; Bloomberg to Acquire BusinessWeek; House Working on Regulatory Legislations; Japan PPI Down 7.9%; Pay Czar: Lower Pay […]
Verisk and Santander Ignite Resurgent IPO Market
The global initial public offering (IPO) market is the hottest it's been in two years, underscored by a pair of IPOs that this week alone raised nearly $10 billion. In the United States, insurance risk manager Verisk Analytics Inc. pocketed $1.88 billion in its Tuesday IPO - the largest IPO take by a U.S. company […]
Is the United States on Sale?
When more than $14 billion in merger-and-acquisition deals were announced in a single day last week, U.S. stock prices zoomed as investors embraced a suddenly more-bullish outlook. As last Monday demonstrated, any increase in dealmaking activity tends to move markets higher: With the chance of windfall profits from a surprise buyout, investors tend to bid […]
Upbeat Earnings Will Fuel the Bull Market's Next Leg
When it comes to the health of the U.S. stock market over the next few weeks, corporate earnings will tell the story. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) kicks off the third-quarter earnings season on Wednesday. My guess is that over the next few weeks, as third-quarter earnings are reported, we will have the opportunity to witness […]
Trusted Brand Names Will Point the Way to the Top IPO and M&A Profit Plays
Whether the topic is initial public stock offerings (IPOs), or mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A), the strongest brand names will deliver the biggest profits almost every time. For starters, just look at the deal that seems to have fired off the latest round of global M&A deals: The $16.7 billion unsolicited takeover bid that Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: […]
How to Find the Best Potential Profit Plays in the Resurgent M&A and IPO Markets
When Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) yesterday (Monday) unveiled plans to pay $6.4 billion for outsourcing specialist Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (NYSE: ACS), it was just one of four major financing deals with an aggregate value of more than $14 billion announced on the day. And that wasn't all. Newegg Inc., a well-known computer and electronics […]
Flurry of Mergers and Acquisitions Drives Stock Market Rally
A flurry of mergers-and-acquisition deals in the pharmaceutical and technology industries today (Monday) sparked a sharp market rally, snapping a three-day losing streak and giving stocks to their biggest gains in five weeks. The pickup in merger activity bolstered arguments that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are rebounding from the biggest slump in six years. It […]