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Amazon is entering the stationary food trade in the US on a large scale. The world's largest online retailer acquires the organic chain Whole Foods Market for around USD 13.6bn. It is by far the largest acquisition in the company's history only followed by its purchase of the video game streaming platform Twitch and the online pharmacy PillPack, each for approximately USD 1 bn. Amazon had put pressure on stationary retailers in recent years and has shown an increasing interest in getting involved in their own business. Amazon opened several bookstores and also drives plans for high-tech supermarkets, which can be operated by only few employees. The group has also been expanding in the fresh food trade and the insurance sector for some time.
In the transformation driven by technology and stream-video challenges, media giants have taken acquisition strategies to uphold their current status and seek for vertical business expansion via entering content creation area. AT&T, the telecom and media giant, initiated an acquisition of Time Warner in October 2016 at a bid of USD 85bn, which was considered as the biggest M&A deal that year worldwide. But the process was blocked mainly by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and stagnant for nearly 2 years. In June 2018, the vertical merger was approved by the U.S. District Judge and completed on 14.06.2018. Concerns about legitimate regulation should be largely taken into account of the evaluation of success of acquisitions.
Deal Logic Careem / Uber
(2019)
Confirmed in March 2019, Uber plans to acquire its Middle Eastern rival Careem in a deal worth USD 3.1bn. The transaction value is expected to be a record for a Middle Eastern tech startup exit and among the highest globally for ride-hailing mergers and acquisitions. As part of this deal, which is expected to close in early 2020, Uber will acquire Careem’s mobility, delivery and payments business across the greater Middle Eastern region, which includes operations in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. After pulling out of major markets like China and selling its business in Southeast Asia to Grab last March, Uber has been seeking new avenues of growth.
Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) and First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC) coannounced on Jan 16th an unanimous merger agreement under which Fiserv would acquire First Data in a pure-stock transaction. The merger would combine two well-established Fintech companies into one giant. For each share of First Data, a fixed exchange ratio of 0.303 Fiserv shares is agreed, for a total equity value of USD 22bn. After the close of the transaction, Fiserv shareholders will own 57.5% of the new combined company, and First Data shareholders will own 42.5% on a fully diluted basis. The pure stock transaction is intended to be tax-free to First Data shareholders. The transaction is slated to close in the second half of the year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
Disrupt yourself to avoid getting disrupted: Large firms struggling with further growth, acquiring smaller innovation drivers with complementary assets isn’t something new. But what is hard, in this context, is to justify the surging valuations and to identify the underlying synergies. When it comes to the High-Tech sector this can quickly become a philosophical question. The big question in the acquisition of Red Hat Inc. by IBM, analyzed in this Deal Logic, is the one concerning the future of cloud computing, especially when it comes to customer approval.