Dealbook
The global economy may sit tight with low confidence, but below are some audacious companies that continue to surge. Max Toovey and Lewis Bourne
Groupon seeks $16 to $18 a share in IPO – The daily deals giant said in a revised prospectus that it expects to sell 30 million shares in its initial public offering at a price of $16 to $18 per share. This would value the company at as much as $11.4 billion (which is significantly lower than the $25 billion valuation that was discussed as a potential valuation when Groupon met with underwriters early this year). There is chatter that the valuation of the company may need to drop as low as $3 billion to attract investors, given the criticism that Groupon has drawn with respect to its unusual accounting practices.
PEAMCoal almost in control of Macarthur Coal –
The long-running battle for control of Queensland miner Macarthur Coal appears to have been settled after its largest shareholder, Citic, agreed to accept a $4.90 billion takeover bid from Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal (PEAM Coal.) PEAMCoal has agreed to raise the price of its offer by $0.25 to $16.25 if it gains acceptance from 90 percent of the register.
Yahoo Takeover Speculation – There
has been much speculation that a number of different firms are considering bidding for Yahoo, including Alibaba Group (which owns the world’s largest online business to business trading platform for small businesses) as well as a number of private equity firms, including Silver Lake that is said to be in talks with Microsoft and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board about launching a potential takeover bid. However, Yahoo’s share price has rallied over the last month fuelled by takeover talks. It is possible that continued speculation will drive the price of Yahoo even higher, making any potential takeover too expensive.
Scotiabank pays $1 billion for Colombian bank – Bank
of Nova Scotia has agreed to pay about $1 billion in cash and stock for a majority stake in Colombia’s unlisted Banco Colpatria, expanding the Canadian bank’s footprint in Latin America. It is thought that Latin America presents a growth opportunity for established foreign banks given that only 60% of the population in Latin America currently uses a bank.
Valero - Shares of Valero
are popping about 8.8% in early trading after the U.K.’s Daily Mail suggested the petroleum refiner could be in the middle of a takeover war between the company’s bigger rivals. A Valero spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation. Valero’s
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stock price has gained 23% in the last month after a lackluster stock run for most of 2011. Valero is the largest independent refiner in the U.S., and it is spending money to buy refining equipment being jettisoned by other companies. Recently, Valero closed on a $325 million purchase of a Louisiana refinery previously owned by Murphy Oil, and earlier this year it bought U.K. refinery from Chevron.
Oracle Corporation - said it is buying
customer-service software maker RightNow Technologies Inc. for $1.43 billion in cash, continuing a recent push into the fast-growing field of cloud computing. The deal marks the first time Oracle has bought a company that sells application programs accessed primarily over the Internet, a segment known as software as a service. The acquisition comes shortly after Oracle introduced several internally developed applications that are accessed in the “cloud,” a catchall term for online data and programs. Oracle is purchasing RightNow as the market for online software has swelled, outstripping the growth in traditional software. Sales of online software, which was $10 billion in 2010, is expected to more than double to $21.3 billion in 2015, research firm Gartner said. Traditional software, which businesses install on equipment they own, is much larger—$104 billion in 2010, according to Gartner, but growing much slower. Oracle offered $43 a share for RightNow and said the deal, expected to close by early next year, is valued at about $1.5 billion net of RightNow’s cash and debt.
November 2011
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