This will be short: I haven’t posted a “Transnational Take-Over Alert” in a long time, but given Walmart’s history of failures in international markets, it seemed important to write one now. As various news outlets recently reported, Wal-Mart has doubled down on the Indian market by acquiring Flipkart, India’s largest commerce platform – an Indian […]
As has been announced a few days ago, Walt Disney is plunking down about $300 mio to acquire a major stake in the Russian Channel Seven with the objective of entering the Russian market. This is their second attempt. About three years ago, Disney had plans to acquire a 49 percent stake in Russian Media-1 […]
Who would have ever thought? Not only is Volvo in Chinese hands, now Saab is, too! Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. of China have announced that they will purchase insolvent Saab for approximately 100 million Euros. What remains to be seen are two things – first, if the Chinese […]
Looks like Deutsche Boerse and the New York Stock Exchange are in their final stages of negotiations over a takeover by the Germans. Price-tag: about 10 billion. Upside: synergies and better competitive position vis-a-vis emerging stock exchanges in other parts of the world. Downside: integration is never easy. Neutral: the home of capitalism is no […]
Wal-Mart has made a multi-billion Dollar offer to acquire South African retailer Massmart Holdings. As someone who’s been following Wal-Mart’s failures around the globe, I can’t help but to think, why? And, more importantly, how? Well, what is the attraction of the African market to a company that employs about 2 million people around the […]
Looking at the mere numbers, Burger King does look impressive. Burger King operates close to 11,000 franchises and owns close to 1,500 restaurants globally. It is present in 76 countries where 40 % of all of its restaurants are located. Unfortunately, 40 % of the restaurants abroad only generate about 30 % of the […]
Yes, we have all heard the stories. Stories of patients in need of treatment in the Western hemisphere traveling to countries such as Thailand or India in need for more affordable healthcare, stories of hospitals in the so-called developed world outsourcing certain diagnostic procedures to the so-called emerging markets, or stories of hospitals in the […]
If approved by UK authorities, Asda, Wal-Mart’s British arm will be acquiring almost 200 UK stores of the Danish Netto chain for an alleged amount in excess of 1 billion US$. Acquiring smaller stores seems like a good move for Wal-Mart in Europe. First, shopping habits in many regions seem to change in a way […]
Consultant McKinsey & Company reports on two seemingly unrelated facts of the global business world: first, many transnational mergers go down the drains, and second, the age of Asia continues to dawn. At the intersection of these two topics, evidence is emerging that Asian companies approach post-M&A integration slowly and cautiously, sometimes to the extent […]
Inspired by the recently announced sale of Volvo to Zhejiang Geely by Ford Motor, I tried to find out what’s happening to British Jaguar Land Rover that has been acquired by Tata Motors of India in 2008. Well, the news has been mixed. In fall 2009, Tata Motors has announced plans to close one of […]
Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely will acquire Swedish Volvo from American Ford Motor. Geely has come a long (and fast) way from its modest beginnings as a motorcycle parts manufacturer to what is now China’s 12th largest automotive manufacturer. Being the 12th may not mean a lot in other markets, but consider two things: First, China […]
It seems that Spyker and GM have finally reached a deal. After initial rumors that the deal is off, Reuters reports of signs that GM has agreed to sell the Saab brand to automaker Spyker of The Netherlands for a total of US$ 400 million.