Apr 17, 2017

Chinese M&A faces scrutiny from all sides

Dan Primack

The Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa, where China President Xi Jinping will stay is shown in Manalapan, Florida/ Reuters' Joe Skipper

It used to be that regulatory problems on cross-border deals went in one direction, depending on that particular moment's geopolitics. When it comes to Chinese companies trying to buy foreign entities, however, the roadblocks are being installed on all of the rotary exits. Just look at what's happened in the past 24 hours:

  • China's Lander Sports bailed on a deal for British football club Southampton, due to a Chinese crackdown on overseas purchases.
  • China's Anbang Insurance Group abandoned its $1.6 billion purchase of Iowa-based Fidelity & Guaranty Life, due to opposition from U.S. state regulators (not from the feds).
  • China's Ant Financial sweetened its bid for MoneyGram by 36%, in part because MoneyGram seemed partial to a rival offer from U.S.-based Euronet because it expects the Ant Financial deal to face CFIUS pushback. The theory now is that MoneyGram will lobby CFIUS particularly hard, given the the increased value.

Bottom line: Chinese cross-border deals will continue, but deals will take longer to close and, in many cases, will have to come at a premium.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

Trump signs $2 trillion relief bill as U.S. coronavirus case count tops 100,000

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

President Trump signed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package on Friday, as infections in the U.S. topped 100,000 and more cities experience spikes of the novel coronavirus.

The big picture: The U.S. has the most COVID-19 cases in the world, exceeding China and Italy, per data from Johns Hopkins. A second wave of American cities, including Boston, Detroit, New Orleans and Philadelphia, are reporting influxes of cases.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 7 hours ago - Health
Axios

Coronavirus updates: Italy records deadliest day with nearly 1,000 dead

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Italy on Friday reported 969 COVID-19 deaths over a 24-hour period, marking the deadliest single-day for the country since the global outbreak began, according to data from the Health Ministry.

The big picture: The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases, as the number of global cases nears 600,000. Governments around the world are trying to curb the medical and financial fallout of COVID-19, as infections surge across Europe and the U.S.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 7 hours ago - Health
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 595,800 — Total deaths: 27,324 — Total recoveries: 131,006.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 103,942 — Total deaths: 1,689 — Total recoveries: 870.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump signed the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill to provide businesses and U.S. workers economic relief.
  4. State updates: Nearly 92% of cities do not have adequate medical supplies — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month.
  5. World updates: Italy reported 969 coronavirus deaths on Friday, the country's deadliest day.
  6. Business latest: President Trump authorized the use of the Defense Production Act to direct General Motors to build ventilators for those affected by COVID-19. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has been appointed to enforce the act.
  7. 🏰 1 Disney thing: Both Disney World and Disneyland theme parks in the U.S. are closed until further notice.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 8 hours ago - Politics & Policy