On Monday, SanDisk
purchased Pliant Technology for $327 million in an all-cash deal.
Shares for the data storage giant were up over 3% on this news. Also
that day, TPG Capital purchased magazine group Primedia for
$316 million. Primedia’s share price was up around 60% above its
previous close, reflecting the premium that the private equity firm
was willing to pay for them. Joy Global expanded its mining
operations in purchasing Letourneau Technologies from The Rowan
Companies for $1.1 billion. Joy Global was up 1% while there was
little movement in the seller’s shares. Midweek saw Shire PLC
acquire Advanced Biohealing for $750 million. This move was greeted
positively by investors, with shares in the buyer up 2%.
On Thursday, it was
announced that Deckers Outdoor would buy Sanuk for $120
million, however this had only a superficial effect on shares in the
purchasing company. Thursday also saw movement in the food market,
with General Mills acquiring a 51% stake in Yoplait for just
over $1.1 billion. Shares in the food giant were up 0.15% on this
news. Later that day, it was announced that Thermo Fisher will
buy Phadia for $3.5 billion. Shares in the scientific manufacturer
were up over 4% at market close. Thermo Fisher said that they were
looking to increase their presence in global diagnostics. Also in
pharmaceuticals, Takeda Pharmaceutical purchased Nycomed for
$13.7 billion. Takeda closed up half a percent. Wrapping up what was
an extremely eventful day, Toshiba announced that they would
takeover Landis and Gyr for $2.3 billion, increasing its energy and
infrastructure solutions. This was met with little positive sentiment
on the markets, with Toshiba shares down almost 4%.
On Friday, Fila Korea
purchased the Golf division of Fortune Brands for $1.23
billion. Investors reacted somewhat negatively, with the share price
of the seller down 1.5%; its main activity is now in the liquor
market. Also that day, Liberty Media purchased the Barnes and
Noble chain for $1 billion. Shares in the bookstore chain were
boosted by almost 30% due to the premium being offered to investors
by Liberty. It is believed that one of Liberty’s main motives was
acquiring the Nook, Barnes and Noble’s e-book reader. The buyer’s
shares were down 1.5%.
