Over the weekend, it was announced that UPS would buy
rival TNT Express for $6.8 billion. This is expected to increase the shipping
giant’s exposure to the European and Chinese markets. The bidder and the target
gained 3.44% and 1.05% respectively. On Monday, Vista Equity Partners purchased Misys for $2 billion. The private equity group plans to combine it with
Turaz, another risk systems firm in their portfolio. The financial software
company was up 9.8%. AboveNet was taken over by fellow fiber optics provider Zeyo
Group in a $2.2 billion all-cash deal. As cloud computing grows rapidly, Zeyo
may be looking to increase their higher bandwidth infrastructure. AboveNet was
boosted 12.8%, reflecting the premium offered. Later that day, it emerged that Williams
Partners would absorb shale processing subsidiary Caiman Eastern Midstream for
$2.5 billion. This is the latest in a string of deals by gas companies looking to
cash in on fracking. The buyer was down 3.4%. Also that evening, Amazon acquired
Kiva Systems, which makes its warehouse robots, for $775 million. Amazon’s move
will improve not only its productivity, but also its margins as it strikes off
another cost. The online marketplace increased by 3.7%.
The following day, Glencore bought Viterra for $6.2
billion. This will strengthen the diversified giant’s presence in agribusiness;
Viterra is Canada’s largest grain handler. In an attempt to appease regulators,
Glencore also divided some of the purchased assets among smaller firms in what
was officially a consortium. The commodity trader dropped 1.1%. Also that day, On
Assignment purchased rival staffing firm Apex Systems for $600 million. By supplementing
its current offerings with Apex’s IT operations, On Assignment is creating one
of the largest staffing businesses in the US. Its stock jumped over 26% on the
news. The midweek saw Indian technology firms Tech Mahindra and Satyam merge
in a $1 billion deal. The target had only recently recovered its reputation
following allegations of accounting fraud three years ago. The bidder and
Satyam grew 5.4% and 4.7% respectively. JPMorgan purchased a 20 percent stake
in Bridge Trust Company for an undisclosed amount. Many see this as a safer bet
on Chinese growth than that of its competitors; smaller investment trusts like
these don’t take consumer deposits and bear much less of their client’s risk. The
financial conglomerate finished 0.6% lower. Also that day, Zynga acquired
OMGPOP for an unknown fee. In absorbing the mobile games company, the entertainment
firm is looking to become less reliant on Facebook for earnings. They gained
2.5%. On Thursday, Lloyds sold $793 million worth of loans to Sankaty Capital, a subsidiary of Bain Capital. This comes as European banks look to divest non-core assets to strengthen their balance sheets. The British bank lost 2.7%.
