Two companies, $20bn in combined revenue, 100 countries, and six things you need to know about Shire and Baxalta’s merger January 11, 2016 Shire spent six months trying to woo Baxalta's board, here's all you need to know about the long-awaited $32bn (£22bn) merger in six points: The deal The merger is the third largest pharma deal by a UK company, and the 16th biggest pharma deal ever, according to Dealogic's data. In the UK it is only beaten by the mega-mergers that created [...]
Chinese stock exchanges in Shenzhen and Shanghai suspend their circuit-breakers January 7, 2016 We learned this morning that Chinese market circuit-breakers are like buses: you wait ages for one and then two come along at once. But clearly two of the country's largest stock exchanges have had enough: today the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges issued statements saying they're scrapping the circuit-breaker. They're suspending their suspensions The circuit-breaker [...]
End of the Delaware flip: Why US investors are targeting UK startups December 22, 2015 Pfizer's record-breaking $160bn deal to take over the Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan, which will result in the former becoming an Irish company, has been attacked in the US as “unpatriotic”. However, it also highlights the increasingly compelling advantages to basing high-growth technology and life sciences businesses in the UK and Ireland. US venture capitalists have [...]
Forget Janet and Mario: 2016 is the year of GARY – CNBC Comment December 15, 2015 Investors have spent the last few years betting with the Fed and the ECB, as monetary policy dominated fundamentals. But many are now stumped over what to do next, as central bankers today seem to carry more risk and less reward. The ECB’s Mario Draghi let investors down this month with a flawed communications strategy. [...]
From the UK general election to Greek debt fears it was an obstacle course for cross-border IPOs in 2015 December 15, 2015 It may have been the year of the mega deal, but the capital markets have suffered in 2015, and it’s been a decidedly poor year for cross-border IPOs. Fears over China’s growth, elections, referendums, and defaults in Europe, as well as uncertainty over the Fed’s rate hike all contributed to a 39 per cent drop [...]
Good health cheers Dow at month’s start – New York Report December 1, 2015 Health and consumer shares bounced back yesterday while car sales suggested upbeat growth in November, giving the markets a positive start to December. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 168.43 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 17,888.35, the S&P 500 gained 22.22 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 2,102.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 47.64 [...]
Viagra-maker Pfizer and Allergan will create the world’s largest pharma company after $160bn merger given formal go-ahead November 23, 2015 The largest pharma deal ever has been given the green light by the companies' respective directors after the boards of Pfizer and Allergan met yesterday to discuss the $160bn (£106bn) merger. The merger met with unanimous approval from the boards of Viagra-maker Pfizer, and Ireland-based Allergan, which manufactures Botox, and values Allergan at around $160bn, or $363.63 a [...]
Nike share prices jumps as sportswear giant announces $12bn share buyback programme and dividend increase November 20, 2015 Nike's share price opened five per cent higher on the New York Stock Exchange today after the sportswear titan announced it would be hiking its dividend by 14 per cent. Investors, also cheered by a $12bn (£7.9bn) share buyback programme and a two-for-one stock split, reacted with gusto to the new 32 cents per share [...]
Square IPO pop: Jack Dorsey’s shares soar 50pc on market debut calming tech bubble fears after low pricing November 19, 2015 Shares in US mobile payments company Square have made a spectacular debut, with shares opening at $11.20 on the New York Stock Exchange, 24 per cent above its initial pricing. They rocketed as much as 50 per cent, surpassing the $14 mark, before falling back down in afternoon trading to close at $13.16. The startup founded by [...]
Pfizer and Allergan speed up $150bn mega-merger talks November 19, 2015 Pfizer has hastened discussions with Allergan over a potential acquisition, according to reports. Ireland-base Allergan confirmed at the end of last month it was in talks to join forces with its US rival, but according to a source close to the matter the decision making process has picked up pace. Pfizer is said to be [...]