Posted on November 6, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions
Tagged: Jeffrey Schmidt , Linklaters , Pfizer Inc. , Wyeth

The approval by U.S. antitrust regulators of Pfizer Inc.'s (NYSE:PFE) acquisition of Wyeth is an outlier of how merger reviews will be conducted under the Obama administration. That's according to Jeffrey Schmidt, a partner with Linklaters and a former director of the Federal Trade Commission's office of competition under President...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: cvs caremark

In a three-way contest for national drugstore dominance, the success of CVS CEO Tom Ryan at buying and integrating rival pharmacy chains paved the way for a 2007 deal that broke the mold: the $26 billion acquisition of pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc. to create  CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS).It...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 6, 2009 at 9:08 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: Agrium , CF Industries , Stephen Wilson , Terra Insutries

Putting to rest what some thought was a weak attempt at a hostile bid, CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF) rejected the best and final offer of Canadian fertilizer rival Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU). Agrium raised the cash portion of its bid from $40 per share to $45 per share. The stock...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy | Counterparties
Tagged: Cisco Systems Inc. , general motors co.

Like a lot of other folks, we followed the twists and turns in the saga of General Motors Co. and its Adam Opel GmbH unit partly through the blog postings of John Smith, GM group vice president for Europe and lead negotiator on the planned divestiture. Having noted the unusual...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 8:08 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions
Tagged: David Speer , Hartness International , Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool works Inc. (NYSE:ITW) on Wednesday acquired the assets of Hartness International. The target makes conveyor systems and line automation for the food and beverage industries and will operate as an independent subsidiary of ITW's consumer packaging group. The deal comes a few months after ITW chief executive David...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 5, 2009 at 6:29 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Law
Tagged: Jeffrey Schmidt , Linklaters , The Deal Economy 2010

Candidate Barack Obama talked plenty during last year's presidential campaign about the need for more aggressive antitrust merger reviews. Have the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice delivered? We put the question to Jeffrey Schmidt, a partner in the New York office of Linklaters and a former director...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 4, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Careers | Integration | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: Merck , Schering-Plough

Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) closed its $41.1 billion acquisition of Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE:SGP). The deal makes Merck the world's No. 2 drugmaker behind industry juggernaut Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), which had its own Day One on Oct. 16 after its $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth. Now that Merck and Schering-Plough...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 4, 2009 at 8:47 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy | Deal International
Tagged: Agrium , CF Industries , Terra

On Tuesday, hostile bidder CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF) sent a letter directly to Terra Industries Inc. (NYSE:TRA) telling it to vote in favor of the three proposed independent nominees to Terra's board on Nov. 20. CF Industries pointed out its new $4.1 billion offer for the fertilizer rival...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 3, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Careers | Corporate Strategy | Divesting and Restructuring | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: earnings , job cuts , Johnson & Johnson , M&A , William Weldon

Two weeks after Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported mixed earnings, which tugged stocks downward, the world's biggest healthcare company is looking to cut costs. Those cuts include 7,000 to 8,000 layoffs, mostly overseas.J&J chief executive William Weldon (pictured) said in a statement, "These types of changes are difficult under any...  Continue reading

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Posted on November 3, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Corporate Strategy | Growth Strategy
Tagged: Cisco Systems Inc. , starent , Tandberg ASA

Given all the deals Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) does, and all the discussion about its skill in doing them, it's only fair that someone should make a contrarian case. But at least as sketched by Robert Cyran of Breakingviews on Monday, the case has a couple of holes.The most obvious...  Continue reading

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