Posted on June 29, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Case Studies | Changing Face of Media | Corporate Strategy | Divesting and Restructuring | Middle market | Sector Watch | Trends
Tagged: aQuantive , Microsoft , Morgan Stanley , Omnicom , Publicis Groupe , Razorfish , Steve Ballmer , Vivake , WPP

A Financial Times report said Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) tapped Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to find a potential buyer for Razorfish, its digital agency, in a deal that could be worth around $600 million to $700 million. Microsoft gained Razorfish -- which designed the logo for new search function Bing -- when...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 25, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy
Tagged: boston scientific , guidant , johnson & johnson

Few people in the M&A world need to be reminded that acquisitions often go wrong. But it's still useful to reflect on the ways that can happen. And the retirement of Jim Tobin as CEO of medical devices maker Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX), announced Thursday, is a good occasion to...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 25, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Best Practices | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Integration | Trends
Tagged: Rackable Systems , Silicon Graphics Inc.

Distressed deals have been on the rise, numbers from The Deal Pipeline show. One of those transactions corporate dealmakers may find interesting involves server maker Rackable Systems Inc., which had only eight days last month to close its $42.5 million acquisition of computing legend Silicon Graphics Inc., which it...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 17, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Deal International
Tagged: bond sale , British Power Group , Constellation Energy Group , Electricité de France

Faced with a sluggish credit market, debt of about €24.5 billion ($34 billion) and question marks over planned asset sales, Europe's biggest utility Electricité de France SA has taken the unusual step of turning to "les citoyens" of France for new funds.The Paris-based utility on Wednesday launched a €1...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 16, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Filed under: Best Practices | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Growth Strategy | Joint Ventures and Alliances | Middle market | Trends
Tagged: Aileron , Andrew Witty , Aspen Pharmacare , Dr. Reddy's , GlaxoSmithKline , Pfizer , Shenzhen Neptunus

After watching his rivals consolidate and generic competition squeeze the company's earnings, GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) chief executive Andrew Witty started allying to expand in emerging markets and shift money from pharmaceuticals into vaccines and consumer businesses.The latest deal is a revenue-sharing agreement with India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (NYSE:RDY),...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 12, 2009 at 9:44 AM
Filed under: Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Growth Strategy
Tagged: Bacardi Ltd , Cabana Cachaca , Patrón Tequila

And if you haven't been waiting for it all year, maybe you're just not in the demographic. I'm speaking, of course, about June 12, International Cachaça Day, a day that has been set aside to raise awareness of the sugarcane-derived liquor that is the national spirit of Brazil. I learned...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 11, 2009 at 8:33 AM
Filed under: Best Practices | Careers | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Detroit Breakdown | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: Bob Nardelli , Cerberus Capital , Chrysler , Sergio Marchionne

Bob Nardelli, former candidate for CEO of General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE), former CEO of Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD), and now, former CEO of Chrysler LLC, is going to Cerberus Capital Management LP as an adviser. After Cerberus took over Detroit's Chrysler from Daimler AG for $7.4 billion in 2007,...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 9, 2009 at 9:30 AM
Filed under: Acquisitions | Best Practices | Careers | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Growth Strategy | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: A.G. Lafley , Folgers , Gillette , Peter Drucker , Procter & Gamble , Robert McDonald

Consumer conglomerate Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) will replace nine-year CEO A.G. Lafley with Robert McDonald, The Wall Street Journal reports. No announcement was made at the board meeting Tuesday, but McDonald's appointment is expected.The Journal said people familiar with the matter noted Lafley (pictured left) would remain chairman...  Continue reading

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Posted on June 4, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Filed under: Careers | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Deal International | Joint Ventures and Alliances | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: BHP Billiton , Chinalco , Ian Ashby , iron ore , rights issue , Rio Tinto , Sam Walsh , Wayne Swan

Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RTP) terminated its $19.5 billion deal with Aluminum Corp. of China, opting for a 50-50 joint venture with BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE:BHP), its one-time suitor, and a $15.2 billion rights issue. The Chinalco deal ran into trouble when politicians, among others, worried about China having too much...  Continue reading

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Posted on May 28, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Filed under: Best Practices | Careers | Case Studies | Corporate Strategy | Divesting and Restructuring | Movers & Shakers | People
Tagged: AOL , Carl Icahn , Google , Jeff Levick , Jeffrey Bewkes , Richard Parsons , Tim Armstrong , Time Warner

There were many events leading to Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX) spinoff of Internet unit AOL LLC -- reversing a $180 billion merger -- and we've compiled quite a bit of info. It was three years ago former TW chief Richard Parsons thwarted activist investor Carl Icahn's bid to split off...  Continue reading

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