| To: richardred who wrote (3655) | 3/9/2014 7:54:46 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | I've never hung around long enough to worry about dissenter's rights.
Two examples that highlight the difficulty for brick-and-mortar retail stores:
Retailers selling their products via Instagram (and not paying any commissions): Message 29430875
There is a ton of money being invested in online retailers:
Wayfair Raises $157 Million Ahead of Likely IPO
By Jason Del Rey
Re/code
March 7, 2014, 7:40 AM PST
Another day, another giant investment round for an American online retailer.
Wayfair said on Friday that mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price was leading a $157 million investment in the Boston-based seller of furniture and home decor, pushing total funding above $350 million.
The company, which was founded as CSN Stores 12 years ago, is widely believed to be gearing up for an IPO in the next year after it pulled in more than $900 million in revenue in 2013. The investment comes a month after competitor One Kings Lane, which sells higher end home furnishings online, said it had received an $112 million investment.
Wayfair sells discounted furniture, some of which are offered in short bursts in a model commonly referred to as “flash sales.” The model had been written off as an unsustainable fad in some circles, but fellow flash sales company Zulily went public in a successful IPO last year and industry pioneer Gilt Groupe is said to be planning to go public by year’s end. |
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3659) | 3/9/2014 8:48:29 PM | | From: richardred | | | | In a declining highly competitive market. I expect many more store closings upon a successful completion. Like Kodak (non union), I can only imagine what pension liability might be for this mature, highly unionized, industry. IMO it might take a long time to complete ( FTC). IMO the reward of a higher bid will likely result in very little appreciation for the risk taken.
How will sale of Safeway affect prices, employees?
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen Times-Herald staff writer and By Heather Somerville MediaNews Group/
Posted: 03/08/2014 01:07:20 AM PST
At least some employees at the Vallejo Safeway stores are concerned about the merger announced Thursday, of their company with Cerberus Capital Management, LP., Albertson's parent company.But, mostly, it's a fear of the unknown, said one local Safeway employee who asked not to be identified.
"People are worried. We don't know what's going on, if it's going to be shut down," the employee said. "Some people are looking for new jobs."
There are three Safeway stores in Vallejo, and one each in Benicia and American Canyon.
Jacques Loveall, president of UFCW 8-Golden State, representing 45,000 active and retired supermarket workers, told union members in a letter that the merger must still be approved by government regulators.
"We have already communicated with John Snow, the chairman of Cerberus, to begin discussions regarding the details and ramifications of the sale," Loveall said.
Loveall said the union "will be watching the progress of this proposed merger and will keep our members informed of developments as they happen."
By merging Pleasanton-based Safeway with its Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, Cerberus hopes to cut costs, expand product selection and compete in a market Safeway and Albertsons have been steadily losing to big-box retailers, convenience stores and niche grocers.
For shoppers, the sale could mean lower prices, as executives pledge to pass cost savings, realized by combining operations like distribution, on to the consumer, although some analysts are not so confident.
For Safeway employees -- who will be negotiating a new contract with the company later this year -- jobs could be on the line, as antitrust regulations and duplication between the companies may lead to individual store sales and closures.
"As our customers need change, we have to adapt (to) a world where they have more options than ever." Albertsons' Chief Executive Officer Bob Miller, who will become executive chairman of the new supermarket conglomerate, said in a conference call with media.
But supermarket analyst David Livingston says shoppers shouldn't get their hopes up for lower prices.
"You aren't going to see them come up with any brand new ideas about how to sell groceries but you are going to see them come up with brand new ideas about how to save on expenses, and increase profits," he said.
Combined, the two supermarket chains will have about 2,400 stores, almost double the size of Safeway today, and just slightly fewer than rival Kroger's roughly 2,600 stores. The merged operation will have about a quarter million employees, 27 distribution centers and 20 manufacturing plants across the country.
Executives said there are no plans to close any Safeway or Albertsons stores, but some analysts say there will be so much redundancy that stores will inevitably close.
Safeway is the fifth-largest employer in the East Bay, with 7,400 workers, according to the East Bay Economic Development Alliance. The company has about 250 stores in Northern California, a region where it is the dominant name in the grocery business.
Frank Dell, president and chief executive of consulting group Dellmart & Co. and a 30-year industry watcher, said Safeway will likely see more changes than Albertson's which Cerberus has had at least part ownership of for about eight years.
"For the most part, Albertsons will be running the show," he said, although he added that he doesn't expect widespread Safeway store closings.
Mike Henneberry, spokesman for the labor union that represents Bay Area Safeway workers, said employees were notified Thursday but aren't panicking.
"The paychecks are going to continue to arrive," he said. "The deal hasn't been done. We'll deal with it as it comes."
The companies expect the merger to be completed in the fourth quarter, although Cerberus will need much of the year to work out antitrust issues with the Federal Trade Commission. Until then, other companies can bid for Safeway, and one grocery union official who asked not to be identified said Kroger has expressed interest.
"We got a letter from Cerebus that they will do their best to protect the interests of the workers, but there seems to be a remote possibility they may close some of the stores to improve profitability," this union official said. "Last time, when Safeway was sold a long time ago, it was a smooth process, and no one lost their jobs. But people are concerned that this investment firm might not be that friendly to workers."
Company officials could also shut stores, though there is usually some warning when such a thing happens, the union person said.
"They don't usually close stores overnight," the official said. "But with the new company.... Safeway is worth about $9 billion now, so, I doubt they'll close the stores over night. But people are definitely concerned."
timesheraldonline.com
P.S. I remember the A&P Chapter 11 Filing.
Grocery Operator A&P Seeks to Sell Itself Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Emerged From Bankruptcy Last Year.http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323610704578628063361723932 |
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| To: richardred who wrote (3057) | 3/11/2014 11:34:05 AM | | From: richardred | | | | RE- Tesla looking to build a battery plant-Plenty of battery buzz going down past week and now. ULBI looks to be riding some trader coattails on the buzz, judging from yesterdays volume. Teledyne Technologies/TDY has also been on a tear. I sold my TDY shares long ago.
FWIW-I own both OMG through Eagle Pitcher and ULBI. Former ULBI Mark Matthews Vice President of Sales and Marketing works there. Also curious is that EP has a venture with Arista Power/WindTamer Corp with a former ULBI person there. Past bad blood there with Arista Power suing ULBI for allegedly stealing trade secrets. IMO Arista is a penny stock and very sketchy. The balance sheet being one of many items. I have know idea as to the merits of the lawsuit or if it has been resolved.
stockhouse.com
Message 28099361
P.S. Not many know about Eagle Pitcher who is now owned by OMG. Past PR
OM Group to Acquire Advanced Battery Manufacturer EaglePicher Technologies, LLC for $171.9 Million -- Profitable EaglePicher Would Expand OMG's Portable Power Growth Platform --
-- Deal Enhances OMG's Presence in Fast-Growing Battery, Battery Materials Markets --
CLEVELAND, Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OM Group, Inc. (NYSE: OMG) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase EaglePicher Technologies LLC, (EaglePicher) a wholly owned subsidiary of EaglePicher Corporation for $171.9 million.
Based in Joplin, MO, EaglePicher is a leader in designing and manufacturing batteries, battery management systems and energetic devices for the defense, aerospace and medical industries. For more than 50 years, the company has provided a broad product line of technically differentiated, high-performance products and solutions to industry leading corporations. EaglePicher is also actively pursuing opportunities that would leverage its advanced power storage technologies to serve the rapidly growing alternative energy market.
In fiscal year 2009, EaglePicher recorded revenues of approximately $125 million, of which approximately 60 percent came from its defense business, approximately 31 percent from its aerospace business and the balance from its medical and other businesses.
"The proposed acquisition of EaglePicher is a logical extension of our portable power platform and is another excellent example of the type of acquisition we seek to transform our business model," said Joseph M. Scaminace, OM Group's chairman and chief executive officer. "Similar to the enhanced market position we've created for OMG in other key segments through our transformation strategy, we believe EaglePicher will provide us a strong and profitable base from which we can accelerate our growth in battery materials."
According to Scaminace, "As we went through our deliberate evaluation process, there were several critical factors that clearly established EaglePicher as a priority, including its recognized leadership position in profitable, established end markets; its strong and enduring customer relationships; and its broad R&D and technical expertise in sophisticated battery systems and a wide range of battery chemistries that will allow it to pursue emerging, high-growth markets.
"With EaglePicher, OM Group would not only balance its portfolio of high-quality, value-added materials with world-class, market-facing technologies, but would create an effective channel through which we could bring our various materials closer to the end user. As we have stated many times in the past when discussing our transformational strategy, migrating our materials forward along the value chain is a critical component of long-range growth imperative. With the help of Randy Moore, EaglePicher's president, and his experienced and talented team, we believe we have taken a significant step forward towards this goal."
The proposed transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the middle of the first quarter of 2010. The transaction will be funded by OMG's existing cash and credit facility.
About EaglePicher
EaglePicher Technologies, LLC is the leading producer of batteries and energetic devices for the defense, space and commercial industries, and provides the most experience and broadest capability in battery electrochemistry of any battery supplier in the United States. EaglePicher Technologies offers a wide range of battery technology including thermal, nickel hydrogen, lithium carbonmono-fluoride, lithium thionyl chloride, lithium manganese dioxide, lithium sulfur dioxide, lithium ion, reserve lithium oxyhalide, custom battery assemblies and silver zinc batteries. It also provides other energy products and pyrotechnic devices for the defense industry, as well as advanced battery chargers and other power solutions for business, industrial and recreational applications.
About OM Group, Inc.
OM Group, Inc. is a diversified global developer, producer and marketer of value-added specialty chemicals and advanced materials that are essential to complex chemical and industrial processes. Key technology-based end-use applications include affordable energy, portable power, clean air, clean water, and proprietary products and services for the microelectronics industry. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, OM Group operates manufacturing facilities in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. For more information, visit the company's Web site at omgi.com. |
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1) |
|
| To: richardred who wrote (3624) | 3/14/2014 11:33:34 AM | | From: richardred | | | | richardred1 • Mar 12, 2014 5:14 PM
Magic Jack surprised this QTR. The Net Zero patient has a cold, but it's still alive?
If the Patient doesn't get well next QTR. JUNO It's time for someone to call for a break-up, I know.
|
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| To: richardred who wrote (3546) | 3/20/2014 12:24:28 AM | | From: richardred | | | | Valeant CEO Seeks Acquisitions in High-Growth Health Care
By Hugo Miller and Caroline Chen - Mar 19, 2014
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) Inc., Canada’s largest drugmaker, said it is seeking acquisitions in opthalmology, dermatology and dentistry.
These areas “are growing faster than the overall growth rate of health care,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Pearson said in an interview on Bloomberg Television today.
Pearson, who took the helm of Valeant in 2008, has spent at least $19 billion buying more than 35 companies as he works toward his goal of making Valeant one of the world’s top five drugmakers by the end of 2016. The $8.7 billion purchase of eyecare company Bausch & Lomb Inc. last year, his biggest to date, added contact lens brand Optima to Valeant’s roster that include the Fraxel laser treatment for skin care and Zovirax for cold sores.
Valeant’s shares have jumped almost tenfold to more than $140 in New York when he took over six years ago as investors have warmed to his acquisition-fueled pledge. That has lifted the market value of the Laval, Quebec-based company which trades in Toronto and New York to about $47 billion, making it the fifth-largest company in Canada as of yesterday.
Valeant remains much smaller than the companies Pearson aims to replicate. Sanofi, the current fifth-largest drugmaker in the world, has a market value of about $134 billion.
bloomberg.com |
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| To: richardred who wrote (3606) | 3/27/2014 11:58:55 AM | | From: richardred | | | | RE-TDC SAP made a small move. IMO TDC still a prime target in the clouds.
SAP Agrees to Acquire Fieldglass in Cloud-Computing Push
By Aaron Ricadela, Aaron Kirchfeld and Matthew Campbell Mar 26, 2014 1:17 PM ET
0 Comments Email Print
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn
Save
AprJunAugOctDecFeb50.0055.0060.0065.00* Price chart for SAP AG. Click flags for important stories. SAP:GR58.060.61 1.06%
SAP AG agreed to acquire Fieldglass, a U.S. software supplier that specializes in managing contract workforces, furthering the German company’s push into Internet-based applications.
Fieldglass, whose programs help businesses oversee contract employees and projects, would complement earlier acquisitions of personnel software supplier SuccessFactors Inc. and online marketplace Ariba Inc., Walldorf, Germany-based SAP said today. Closely-held Fieldglass in 2010 received an investment from private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC valuing the Chicago-based company at more than $220 million.
The deal is the latest in a string of takeovers by Co-Chief Executive Officers Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe over the past four years in an attempt to vault SAP into the expanding market for cloud-computing tools delivered to customers online.
SAP, whose software is installed on thousands of companies’ servers and data centers, and Oracle Corp., its biggest rival in traditional enterprise software, have also been using acquisitions to challenge cloud-only providers such as Salesforce.com Inc. and Workday Inc.
“Combining Fieldglass with SAP is a significant milestone in our strategy,” McDermott, who will take over as sole CEO in May, said in a statement.
U.S. Takeovers Fieldglass, led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jai Shekhawat, employs about 350 workers. SAP said it expects the transaction to be completed in the second quarter.
SAP rose 1.2 percent to close at 57.48 euros in Frankfurt. The stock has lost 7.8 percent this year, giving the company a market value of 70.6 billion euros.
Since 2010, SAP has spent more than $12 billion on takeovers in California’s Silicon Valley and elsewhere. In 2012, it picked up Sunnyvale-based procurement-software firm Ariba Inc. for $4.3 billion, along with cloud-software maker SuccessFactors Inc., based in San Mateo, for $3.3 billion.
The co-CEOs’ first big Valley deal came in 2010 with the $5.8 billion takeover of Bay Area database maker Sybase Inc.
While SAP has concentrated its cloud acquisitions on human-resources tools, Oracle, which already has a strong presence in personnel software thanks to its acquisition last decade of PeopleSoft, has been snapping up makers of online marketing tools. Oracle in February agreed to buy marketing data analysis company BlueKai Inc., and last December said it would acquire Responsys Inc., which helps companies create and track Web campaigns, for $1.5 billion.
bloomberg.com |
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last ReadRead Replies (1) |
|
| To: richardred who wrote (3662) | 3/31/2014 8:57:37 AM | | From: richardred | | | | Samsung SDI to merge Cheil Industries
SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- Samsung SDI Co., the world's top maker of TV displays and smartphone batteries, said Monday it will merge with Cheil Industries Co., another Samsung affiliate that produces electronic and chemical materials, a move seen as part of generational ownership transfer within Samsung Group and efforts to bolster corporate restructuring.
The merged entity will be launched on July 1, the company said in a regulatory filing, adding that shareholders of Cheil will get 0.44 SDI share for every Cheil share they own.
The deal is slated to be approved at the shareholders' meeting on May 30, the company said. Samsung SDI plans to keep its corporate name after the merger.
The merger is designed to help sharpen its competitive edge in the battery business by using Cheil's technologies in chemical and electronic materials, Samsung SDI said.
In mid-January, Samsung SDI signed a preliminary deal with Anqing Ring New Group and Shanxi Province in northern China to open a joint venture by April. They plan to start the construction and operation of an electric-vehicle battery plant next year and together invest a combined US$600 million over the next five years. The company has been expanding its global presence by supplying batteries to BMW AG's i3 electric car and Chrysler's F500e models.
The acquisition also aims to secure a new growth engine in the materials, parts and system sectors, it added.
Samsung SDI's market capitalization is estimated to increase to 10 trillion won ($9.37 billion) through the acquisition, with 14,000 employees and a net asset of 15 trillion won, industry watchers said. The merged company will seek to boost its annual sales to 29 trillion won by 2020, it added.
Samsung SDI posted 5 trillion won in sales last year, with Cheil recording 4.4 trillion won.
Market watchers said the merger will help facilitate Samsung Group's recent restructuring by dividing the group's business line to the third generation of the founding family, ahead of its anticipated transfer of ownership to them.
Lee Kun-hee, 72, chairman of the group's flagship company Samsung Electronics Co., has promoted his son and two daughters to the top positions of the group's affiliates in recent years.
Last December, Lee Seo-hyun, the chairman's second daughter and vice president of Cheil, was named president of fashion business at Samsung Everland Inc., the group's de facto holding firm.
Samsung Everland's business portfolio is composed of three divisions: construction, leisure and fashion.
Lee Jay-yong, the only son of chairman Lee and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, is leading the group's key electronics business and owns a 25.1 percent stake in Samsung Everland, the operator of the country's largest amusement park of the same name.
His younger sister Lee Boo-jin, president of Hotel Shilla Co., a South Korean luxury hotel and resort operator, is focusing on hotel and duty free business, holding an 8.37 percent stake in the hotel.
Samsung SDI was set up in 1970 as a maker of Braun tubes for black-and-white TVs and added the rechargeable battery business into its portfolio in 2002.
Cheil, established in 1954, started its business as a textile maker and expanded its business line to chemicals in the 1990s and electronic materials in 2000s.
Last September, Cheil spun off its fashion division and sold it to Samsung Everland in a bid to concentrate on its materials business.
globalpost.com |
| | Speculating in Takeover Targets | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| |
