Nov 25, 2019
Pre-Thanksgiving Merger Monday sees over $60 billion in announced deals
- Dan Primack, author of Axios Pro Rata
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
It's been a while since we've had a full-fledged Merger Monday, but today we've seen over $60 billion in announced deals.
Why it matters: This isn't about a macro economic shift. It's about bankers and boards wanting to enjoy their Thanksgiving breaks, without constant cell phone pings.
Charles Schwab confirmed it will buy TD Ameritrade for $26 billion in stock.
- This creates a discount brokerage with over $5 trillion in AUM, assuming it can pass regulatory muster.
LVMH confirmed it will buy Tiffany & Co. for $16.2 billion (not including assumed debt), or $135 per share.
- The deal ends Tiffany's 182-year run as an independent company, and comes as the U.S.-China trade war has taken a painful toll.
Viagogo agreed to buy StubHub from eBay for $4.05 billion in cash.
- Viagogo founder and CEO Eric Baker also co-founded StubHub, and now gets to manage both ticket resale marketplaces under the same umbrella. It also represents a whiff for PE-backed Vivid Seats, which for months had seemed to be the favorite.
- Baker tells Axios that VC-backed Viagogo is profitable, and that the deal was financed through a combination of cash on hand, debt underwritten by JPMorgan, and new equity funding from existing backers Bessemer Venture Partners and Madrone Venture Group.
Novartis will buy The Medicines Co. for $9.7 billion in cash.
- This is a pricey bet on a cholesterol-fighting drug that's being prepped for an FDA approval filing that should come within the month. A similar submission for Europe is expected in Q1.
Mitsubishi Corp. agreed to buy Dutch utility Eneco for €4.1 billion, beating out KKR and Royal Dutch Shell.
- It's a major loss for Shell, which has said it wants to buy its way into becoming a power generation leader.
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