Oligopoly WatchThe latest maneuvers of the new oligopolies and what they mean(Untitled)- July 22, 2008 UK grocery acquisitionThe tight UK grocery market just got tighter. The Co-operative Group announced it will buy rival Sommerfield for $3.2 billion. The deal will add 900 stores in the current 2,200, all in the UK. It will also increase the new company's market share in the UK to 8%.Co-op is in sad position of being 5 in a market dominated by foot top competitors, namely Tesco, Asda (Wal-Mart), Sainsbury, and William Morrison control about 75% of the market. Of those, Morrison is the closest to.http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/21.html#a1264 (Untitled)- July 21, 2008 Israel's generics king strikes againIsrael-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world's 1 generic drug maker, announced the purchase of a big competitor, US-based Barr Pharmaceuticals. The deal is for $7.5 billion in cash and stock.Barr allows Teva to expand in the growing Eastern European market and also is a maker of contraceptives. The deal will also boost Teva to 24% market share in generics in the US. Barr had bought Croatian drugmaker Pliva in 2006 for $2.5 billion.The deal will be...http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/20.html#a1263 (Untitled)- July 19, 2008 Trash that waste deal! We recently wrote about the planned deal between the 2 and 3 solid waste companies in the US. Republic Services (3) agreed to acquire Allied Waste Industries (2), in an attempt to gain traction on the 1 company, Waste Management. The three companies together have over 50% of the market. Now it turns out that Waste Management has stirred. It has made a hostile offer for Republic Services, offering $6.2 billion. The offer would give Republic...http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/19.html#a1262 (Untitled)- July 18, 2008 Suez and Gaz de France finally come togetherJust to show how slowly these things can go, the merger of French utility companies Suez and Gaz de France (GDF) was announced as likelihood two and a half years ago, in February 2006, as we reported. The deal finally got shareholder approval last week. The new company will be the world's 2 utility, with holding in gas and electric. 1 is also a French company, EDF, and Germany's E.On slips to 3.As we reported then "A $24 billion company, GDF is..http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/17.html#a1261 (Untitled)- July 16, 2008 Biggest cash acquisition everInBev has pretty much nailed down its buyout of Anheuser-Busch, a move that will make it by far the biggest brewer in the world, with 17% worldwide market share and 49% US market share. The deal ends up at $52 billion. What's really amazing is that this is an all cash deal, the largest one ever.While Busch family themselves and Missouri politicians had tried to play on xenophobia and Bud's status as an American icon, they shareholders quickly caved when InBev came...http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/15.html#a1260 (Untitled)- July 13, 2008 Another day, another chemical acquisitionDow Chemical's announced acquisition of Rohm & Haas was followed quickly by an announced deal between two smaller, yet significant, US chemical companies. Ashland, the nation's largest chemical distributor and a major vendor of sealants, agreed to buy Hercules> the deal, including debt, is for $3.3 billion in cash and stock.Hercules has sales in specialty chemicals used ion the paper business, along with water-based adhesives and products for the..http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/13.html#a1259 (Untitled)- July 11, 2008 Dow to buy Rohm & HaasUS-based Dow Chemical, the 2 US chemical company, announced it would buy US-based Rohm & Hass in a deal worth $19.7 billion, including assumed debt. It was Dow's biggest acquisition. Rohm & Haas specializes in chemical s used in electronics (such as those used in making computer chips), in adhesives, and in coatings (it is 1 in the chemicals in making acrylic paint).The move comes as Dow has seen a drop in value thanks to the cost of petroleum used in many of...http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/10.html#a1258 (Untitled)- July 10, 2008 GE: Not easy being a conglomerateGeneral Electric has long been the counter-example. Whereas most other large companies have tried to specialize in adjacent areas and have gotten away from conglomerate status, GE has thrived on managing a wide variety of businesses, from light bulbs to jet engines to TV and movies (NBC Universal). The secret, or sp we were told, was a special GE management technique. It is a conglomerate.In recent years, GE itself has tried to simplify operations, by shedding...http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/09.html#a1257 (Untitled)- July 8, 2008 Weather Channel boughtCable TV, which once promised to be this multiplicity of independent voices, has dwindled down to a half dozen owners, mostly the usual media suspects: DisneyABC, GE.NBC, Viacom, Time-Warner, Comcast, News Corp. So it's significant when one of the few generally distributed basic cable channels gets bought out.This time it is the Weather Channel, bought by NBC Universal, along with some private equity partners. The deal is for $3.5 billion - apparently this network has...http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/07.html#a1256 (Untitled)- July 6, 2008 Odds and endsSome notes and follow-ups on recent deals or non-deals.1. Blockbuster finally gave up on its crazy idea to buy Circuit City - which we laughed at here.2. Discover Financial Services, owner of the Discover card, completed its purchase of Diners Card International from Citigroup. The deal was for $195. It's a funny little move. Neither Discover nor Diners look likely to get nay traction, especially with the credit card business catching the flue from the subprime mortgage crisis....http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2008/07/06.html#a1255 |