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Reuters – In the world of stock exchanges, bigger is better. And although Deutsche Boerse AG said on Sunday that merger talks with NYSE Euronext had ended with no result, exchanges will still have to make cross-border mergers to contain costs.
A merger between the German bourse and the operator of the New York Stock Exchange would have generated huge synergies — around $300 million on a combined $3 billion cost base — and challenged derivatives market CME Group Inc CME.N.
"The more volume they can get on one platform, the better for exchanges, so all the mergers make sense," said Octavio Marenze, head of consultancy firm Celent.
Merchant News – British Airways is going to woo Caja Madrid, the saving bank that has a key hold in Iberia, in order to try to persuade the Spanish carrier into joining a 3-way merger. British Airways sources say that they plan to merge with Qantas first, which involves developing a dual-listed corporate structure. Then they plan to merge the two companies with Iberia. The final structuring of a deal with Qantas may be complete early next year, with a deal to follow with Iberia a few months after that.
Iberia and British Airways have been in merger talks for about 5 months now, but finalizing a deal has been delayed due to worsening pension deficit at British Airways. Executives at Iberia were stunned when British Airways announced merger talks with Qantas last week, which was initiated in August by the Australian carrier.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Activist investor Carl Icahn purchased another 6.8 million shares of Yahoo stock last week at a price tag of about $67 million, further boosting his already vast stake in the company to almost 5.5 percent.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that stake is equal to 75.6 million shares in the Internet giant, or about $870 million.
The Corporate Raider has been outspoken about his beliefs that Yahoo should strike a deal with Microsoft Corp. in hopes of better competing with Google. Although no merger talks are currently in the works, some believe Icahn is still pushing for the deal.
Icahn was also vocal about his desire to dump Jerry Yang, saying that the former Yahoo CEO did everything he could to discourage a deal with Microsoft. Yahoo is currently seeking a replacement for Yang after he stepped down on November 17. Yang had previously rejected a $31-a-share offer by Microsoft earlier this year, prompted Icahn and other board members to question his leadership.
After news circulated on Friday that Icahn had increased his stake in the struggling company, Yahoo shares rallied almost 9%, up to $11.51 in the shortened trading session. Icahn may be trying to reverse the massive losses he incurred this year, after shares of Yahoo plummeted almost 60 percent.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
Reuters Singapore – U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley is weighing whether it should remain independent or merge with a bank, given the recent turbulence in the company’s share price, broadcaster CNBC reported on Wednesday.
Morgan Stanley officials were not in merger talks as of late Tuesday, CNBC said, citing unnamed people close to the matter.
"But senior people at Morgan concede that further zig-zags in the company’s stock price could and possibly will force the company to change course and seek a merger partner, probably a well capitalized bank," CNBC reported on its Website.
Morgan Stanley shares closed down 10.8 percent at $28.70 on Tuesday, having fallen 46 percent so far this year.
Morgan Stanley officials in Hong Kong declined to comment on the report.
Reuters- Officially, a potential $47.5 billion deal for Microsoft Corp to buy Yahoo Inc is over, at least for now.
But longer term, hedge fund managers and analysts said the Yahoo board now faces more pressure than ever to deliver shareholder value in the wake of the collapsed deal and could be forced to reopen merger talks with the software maker.
"This board is toast with a capital T," said Herb Denton, a veteran shareholder activist and head of Providence Capital. "They managed to leave $14.5 billion on the table. Name one shareholder that can be pleased with this outcome, other than the insiders."
