| 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 |
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| 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
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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 |
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| 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 |
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| To: richardred who wrote (3494) | 3/31/2014 9:13:21 AM | | From: richardred | | | | Encana Sells Jonah Field Assets to TPG for $1.8 Billion
By Jim Polson - Mar 31, 2014
Encana Corp. (ECA), Canada’s largest natural gas producer which is seeking to boost investor returns by shifting to oil, said it will sell its Jonah field operations in Wyoming to private-equity fund TPG Capital for $1.8 billion.
Encana’s Jonah field assets comprise about 24,000 acres and more than 1,500 active wells, the Calgary-based company said today in a statement. Their estimated year-end proved reserves in 2013 were about 1.49 billion cubic feet equivalent.
Doug Suttles, who became chief executive officer in June, promised last year to prune assets and jobs, focusing on five areas that yield oil and natural gas liquids. Jonah was not among them.
“This transaction is consistent with our strategy,” Suttles said in today’s statement. “We are unlocking value from a mature, high-quality asset.”
Last month, Suttles said he was betting on interest from private-equity firms as the company tests the market for asset sales.
“Probably the biggest shift is that there is a lot of private equity focus in the industry right now,” Suttles said in a Feb. 13 interview. “I’m sure they would be interested in some of the assets we have.”
Second Quarter TPG, a Fort Worth, Texas and San Francisco-based private-equity firm led by David Bonderman, manages more than $59 billion of capital. Its current investments include Del Monte Foods Co., casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp. and health-care data provider IMS Health Holdings Inc., which filed this month to go public.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, with an effective date of Dec. 1, 2013. Evercore (EVR) and Davis Graham & Stubbs LP advised Encana. Vinson & Elkins LLP advised TPG.
TPG expects to retain Encana employees at Jonah and plans to continue investment in the field, the statement showed. The sale also includes more than 100,000 undeveloped acres adjacent to Jonah.
The announcement was made before regular trading began on North American markets. Encana shares have risen 24 percent this year
bloomberg.com |
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| To: richardred who wrote (3119) | 3/31/2014 11:00:22 AM | | From: richardred | | | | Italian coffee producer Zanetti plans listing in November
By Isla Binnie
MILAN, March 31 Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:49am EDT
(Reuters) - Italian coffee producer Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group (MZB) is planning to list shares in November to fund international acquisitions and growth, chairman Massimo Zanetti told Reuters.
The holding company for brands including Segafredo Zanetti and Puccino's will sell a stake of up to 40 percent to help enlarge a network which spans more than 40 countries.
"The stock market is a route to growth. We want to expand around the world through acquisitions," said Zanetti.
Zanetti said MZB, which launched the Segafredo Zanetti brand in China in January, was looking at an acquisition opportunity in Asia and is currently building a plant in Vietnam - the world's fastest-growing market for coffee, according to market research firm Mintel - that should be up and running by the end of the year.
"We are going to produce in Vietnam because otherwise we would pay 70 percent in taxes on coffee coming from Italy and Europe, limiting the volumes," Zanetti said.
Mintel calculates the Vietnamese coffee market will grow at a compound annual rate of over 26 percent in local currency for the next five years. In total, the global coffee market will be worth over $86.8 billion this year and climb to a retail value of $111.3 billion in 2018, says Euromonitor International.
MZB manufactures 120,000 tonnes of coffee a year and produces tea, cocoa, chocolate and spices, making total annual revenue of 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
Zanetti said MZB was also looking at a possible acquisition in Costa Rica, but a potential deal in Ukraine had been put on hold due to political tensions there.
The company has not yet decided where to list, but the options under consideration are Milan, Singapore and Luxembourg.
The group Zanetti built from a green coffee merchant started by his grandfather in Treviso, near Venice, in the early 1900s, is one of Italy's thousands of firms under family ownership.
The family will retain a stake of at least 60 percent, Zanetti said, but he wants to change the shareholding structure to avoid any future instability.
"I have two children and I do not want any family problems in the future to have an impact. I prefer to take the company public so each of them can have their share, and ensure continuity in the company."
Fellow Italian food and beverage firm Eataly said recently it plans to list, taking advantage of investor appetite for the country's consumer goods sector. All four listings on Milan's main market in the past three years have been by high-end consumer goods firms.
reuters.com |
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| To: richardred who wrote (3390) | 4/1/2014 10:57:36 AM | | From: richardred | | | | | Sold -OFIX Out with a good profit. Hard to tell reliably what's going on forward. This with past accounting issues, and potential improper payments. |
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| From: Glenn Petersen | 4/4/2014 12:25:54 PM | | | | | | CX and EGL up in response to Holcim-Lafarge news:
Cement groups Lafarge, Holcim in $50 billion-plus merger talks
By Natalie Huet and Alice Baghdjian
PARIS/ZURICH
Fri Apr 4, 2014 11:34am EDT
PARIS/ZURICH (Reuters) - The worlds' two largest cement makers, Lafarge (LAFP.PA) and Holcim (HOLN.VX), said they are in merger talks, flagging what could be Europe's biggest tie-up of the year to date creating a company with a stock market value of over $50 billion.
The discussions are "based on principles consistent with a merger of equals", Paris-listed Lafarge said in a statement on Friday.
The company said no agreement had yet been reached with Switzerland's Holcim and that there was no guarantee of a deal, but said there was a "strong complementarity" and "cultural proximity" between the two.
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Lafarge's main shareholder, had no immediate comment.
Shares in Lafarge hit a high of more than four years and were up 8.3 percent at 1515 GMT, the top gainers on the French blue-chip CAC 40 index .FCHI, after an earlier Bloomberg report of the discussions. Holcim stock was 8.5 percent higher.
"It's good for the market. Things are boiling up on the M&A front, not only in the telecoms sector but also in the construction sector," said Clairinvest fund manager Ion-Marc Valahu. "There's overcapacity and they need to consolidate their balance sheets."
A merger would allow Lafarge and Holcim to slash costs and reduce worldwide overcapacity that has weighed on the market in recent years. Both companies are also striving to trim debt resulting from major acquisitions.
Lafarge bought Egypt's Orascom Cement for 8.8 billion euros ($12 billion) in 2008, while Holcim paid about $3.4 billion for Aggregate Industries in 2005.
Lafarge's debt pile has led to "junk" ratings from credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's. The company has been slashing costs and selling non-core assets to trim debt, and aims to regain an investment grade by the end of this year.
Shares in Germany's HeidelbergCement (HEIG.DE) also rose 4.5
percent, the leading gainers on the DAX top-30 index .GDAXI.
($1 = 0.7291 Euros)
(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in London, Alexandre Boksenbaum-Granier and Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing by James Regan)
reuters.com |
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3673) | 4/7/2014 3:42:26 AM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | Cement Makers Holcim and Lafarge Agree to Merge
By DAVID JOLLY
New York Times
April 7, 2014, 3:32 am
PARIS — Holcim and Lafarge, the world’s two biggest cement companies, said on Monday that they had agreed to a merger of equals to help them better adapt to competition on the global stage.
The combination will “the most advanced group in the building materials industry,” the two companies said in a joint statement, following a meeting Saturday in which both boards unanimously backed a deal.
The creation of the new company, to be called LafargeHolcim, “is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Rolf Soiron, the Holcim chairman, said in a statement, allowing the companies to offer a wider range of products to customers and “more sustainability and enhanced returns to shareholders.”
In morning trading, shares of Lafarge rose about 4 percent on the Paris bourse, while Holcim increased more than 5 percent in Zurich.
Holcim, based in Jona, Switzerland, near Zurich, and Lafarge, which is based in Paris, rank among the market leaders in cement and related products like stone, gravel and sand. Last year they had combined sales of about $44 billion and adjusted pretax income of about $8.9 billion, and had combined payroll of about 135,000 employees.
The merger, projected to close in the first half of 2015, would give the two companies a chance to shed overlapping assets in the moribund European market and to expand in faster-growing regions overseas where lower-cost competitors are threatening. LafargeHolcim would be active in 90 countries, they said, with no single country accounting for more than 10 percent of their combined revenues.
The deal is subject to shareholder approval and, perhaps more importantly in the case of such large players, must pass muster with antitrust authorities in numerous jurisdictions around the world where they currently compete. Holcim is already facing regulatory scrutiny in the European Union for deals with Cemex, the Mexican cement maker.
Looking to the regulatory slog ahead, the companies said they anticipated gains of 10 percent to 15 percent of their global adjusted pretax income from strategically divesting problematic assets. Even with a proactive approach, antitrust lawyers say completion of a merger could be years away.
Wolfgang Reitzle, currently a board member at Holicm, would serve as chairman of the new company’s board, while Bruno Lafont, chief executive of Lafarge, would be chief executive, with a 14 member board made up of seven members from each company.
The deal is structured as a “public exchange offer,” initiated by Holcim, in which the shares tendered by a Lafarge shareholder would be traded for an equivalent number of new Holcim shares.
The company is to be based in Switzerland, with the shares listed on the both the Zurich and Paris bourses.
dealbook.nytimes.com |
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| To: richardred who wrote (2293) | 4/11/2014 10:03:42 AM | | From: richardred | | | | ZIGO-Zygo goes down today by Ametek. I cashed out awhile back. BRKS is a low hanging fruit IMO. The ripe corporate bond market would rather issue currently for general corporate purposes.
SNIP>A record $1.47 trillion of corporate bonds were sold into the U.S. market last year. The week ended March 7 was the second-busiest ever in the U.S., behind only the week of the Verizon deal last September, in Dealogic records going back to 1995.
online.wsj.com
AMETEK to Acquire Zygo Corporation
Zygo Corporation 1 hour ago
"Zygo is an excellent acquisition for AMETEK. We are excited about the opportunity to acquire such a strong brand and technology leader," comments Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Zygo's leading position in non-contact optical metrology nicely complements our strength in contact metrology and enables us to offer our customers a full range of metrology solutions."
"We believe this transaction creates significant value for Zygo stockholders and I am excited for the opportunity this transaction represents for our customers and employees," said Gary Willis, Chief Executive Officer of Zygo. "We look forward to joining the outstanding team at AMETEK, which shares our focus on delivering exceptional metrology and high end optics solutions to our global customers."
The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of Zygo's stockholders and applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed towards the end of the second quarter of calendar 2014. MAK Capital One LLC, a financial investment advisory firm controlled by Michael A. Kaufman, the Chairman of the Board of Zygo, which beneficially owns approximately 23.6% of the outstanding shares of Zygo, as well as Mr. Willis, have agreed to vote their shares of Zygo common stock in favor of the merger.
About AMETEK
AMETEK is a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electro-mechanical devices with annual sales of $3.6 billion. AMETEK's Corporate Growth Plan is based on Four Key Strategies: Operational Excellence, Strategic Acquisitions, Global & Market Expansion and New Products. AMETEK's objective is double-digit percentage growth in earnings per share over the business cycle and a superior return on total capital. The common stock of AMETEK is a component of the S&P 500 Index.
About Zygo
Zygo is a worldwide supplier of optical metrology instruments, precision optics and electro-optical design and manufacturing services serving customers in the semiconductor equipment, bio-medical, scientific and industrial markets.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
This document may be deemed to be solicitation materials in respect of the proposed acquisition of Zygo by AMETEK. In connection with the proposed merger, Zygo will file with the SEC and furnish to Zygo's stockholders a proxy statement and other relevant documents. This filing does not constitute a solicitation of any vote or approval. ZYGO STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED MERGER OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY STATEMENT BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED MERGER.
Investors will be able to obtain a free copy of documents filed with the SEC at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors may obtain a free copy of Zygo's filings with the SEC from Zygo's website at www.zygo.com or by directing a request to: Zygo Corporation, Laurel Brook Road, Middlefield, Connecticut, 06455, Attention: Chief Financial Officer.
Participants in the Solicitation
Zygo and its directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees of Zygo may be deemed "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders of Zygo in favor of the proposed merger. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered participants in the solicitation of the stockholders of Zygo in connection with the proposed merger will be set forth in the proxy statement and the other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC. You can find information about Zygo's executive officers and directors in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, filed with the SEC on September 13, 2013, and in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on October 25, 2013.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including statements regarding the proposed acquisition, the expected timetable for completing the transaction and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, may be "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things: general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industry in which Zygo operates; the uncertainty of regulatory approvals; adoption of the merger agreement by Zygo stockholders; the parties' ability to satisfy the closing conditions and consummate the transactions; AMETEK's ability to successfully integrate Zygo's operations and employees with AMETEK's existing business; and the ability to realize anticipated growth, synergies and cost savings. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in AMETEK's and Zygo's respective SEC filings, including each company's most recent, respective Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and neither company assumes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events and developments or otherwise.
finance.yahoo.com |
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