Deal Of The Week

"The Everything Store" no longer comes close to describing the totality of Amazon. The company's web services drive enterprise cloud computing. Its video and music services compete with the nation's top media companies. Now Amazon is spending $13.7 billion to own Whole Foods. What won't this company do? And why do shareholders seemingly cheer every move? Bloomberg Gadfly columnists Shira Ovide and Shelly Banjo try to get their hands around all that is Amazon and explain what motivated founder and CEO Jeff Bezos's biggest acquisition bet ever.

Sirius XM has explored an acquisition of Pandora for at least two years. Last year, Sirius floated a $15-per-share offer for Pandora. More recently, the CEO of Liberty Media, Sirius's majority shareholder, said it would buy Pandora for $10 per share. CNBC reported Sirius's final acquisition offer valued Pandora at $8. After all the negotiation, Pandora reached a deal to sell about 20 percent of the business to Sirius for $480 million, valuing the company around $2.4 billion, or just under $10 per share. Plus, Sirius's investment comes with a 6 percent dividend on its preferred shares. Bloomberg entertainment reporter Lucas Shaw tells host Alex Sherman that evidence indicates Sirius got the better of Pandora in its deal negotiations.

Is Blue Apron a technology company or a grocery delivery service? How investors answer that question will go a long way toward setting a valuation for the venture capital-backed startup that's gearing up to go public. Blue Apron filed its S-1 last week, a proverbial box of goodies (not food) for potential shareholders. Bloomberg reporter Alex Barinka explains Blue Apron's growth story, its considerable challenges, and its plan to become a multibillion dollar public company to host Alex Sherman.

Most mergers and acquisitions don't involve nationalistic pride and potential government intervention. Toshiba's potential sale of its memory-chip business is different. Bloomberg's Ian King explains why Toshiba's struggles embody Japan's technological downfall, and how that could affect which company or private equity firm ultimately buys its crown jewel. He also explains why SoftBank is interested in owning a stake in Nvidia, following up on his scoops from last week.

Aaron Kirchfeld, Bloomberg's global M&A executive editor, joins Ed Hammond, filling in for host Alex Sherman, to discuss the recent surge in deals between U.S. and European companies, and the different approaches governments take to acquirers coming from overseas.

It was once a scent-filled mecca of teenage coolness. Now, Abercrombie & Fitch stores are, well, that's part of the problem. It's not exactly clear what Abercrombie & Fitch's future is, according to Bloomberg apparel reporter Lindsey Rupp, co-host of the Material World podcast. She joins host Alex Sherman to explain why Abercrombie's stores always smelled of that strange perfume and why apparel mergers and acquisitions have been difficult to consummate.

Just weeks ago, Straight Path Communications was an obscure telecommunications company with a $400 million market capitalization. Today, it has a equity valuation of about $3 billion, and it's only climbing higher. What happened? A bidding war between AT&T and Verizon, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Tara Lachapelle and Bloomberg wireless reporter Scott Moritz explain why Verizon is forcing AT&T to pay top dollar for a little-known owner of wireless licenses and airwaves.

Time and Meredith tried and tried to merge, but the marriage wasn't to be. Greg Mason, CEO of digital media company Purch, tells host Alex Sherman the problem is magazine companies just aren't very good businesses. That makes it difficult to find a price where banks are willing to provide financing and both sides want to strike a deal. Legacy publishing companies with big brand names should turn to technology developed by digital media companies...perhaps like his own.

Round and round it goes, and where will it stop? Nobody knows! Spin the wheel of telecom M&A. Will it match T-Mobile and Sprint? T-Mobile and Dish? Verizon and Dish? Verizon and Charter? Comcast and Charter? Or something else entirely? More than a year has passed since these companies were allowed to discuss merging, a byproduct of the government's wireless spectrum auction. That all ends April 27, when the anti-collusion quiet period concludes. Will the telecommunications world see major changes? Bloomberg reporters Scott Moritz and Gerry Smith discuss with host Alex Sherman.

This week featured a clash of the retail titans in M&A land. Amazon has reportedly looked at buying both Whole Foods and BJ's Wholesale Club. Meanwhile, Walmart is nearing a deal to buy men's fashion retailer Bonobos for about $300 million. Does Amazon want to be Walmart, and vice versa? Bloomberg consumer team leader Nick Turner and Gadfly columnist Shelly Banjo explain both companies might be thinking to host Alex Sherman.

Company A buys Company B. That's the headline. The reality is more complex. Employee benefits must be transferred, 401(K)s rolled over to new plans, pensions are extended. In many cases, employees are terminated. All of these issues -- standard to any takeover -- can doom a deal. That's why Sean Feller, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, gets hired. He's a member of the firm's executive compensation and employee benefits practice group. Feller tells host Alex Sherman about how executive compensation can act as a motivating factor to sell, although not usually a defining one, and explains the many employee-related concerns that must be dealt with when companies merge.

If the FCC rolls back TV regulations this month, as anticipated, broadcasters may jump at the chance to get bigger. The first deal to be announced may be Sinclair Broadcast Group acquiring Tribune Media. But 21st Century Fox is concerned the deal could give the combination too much leverage in so-called retransmission fee negotiations. It's not just boring jargon, as Bloomberg media reporter Gerry Smith, FCC reporter Todd Shields and host Alex Sherman explain.

It's a common love story: PPG, the Pittsburgh-based paint and glass maker, offers to buy rival Akzo Nobel. Akzo Nobel says no, PPG sweetens offer, Akzo Nobel says no, an activist shareholder puts pressure on Akzo Nobel, Akzo Nobel says it'll split the company in two to avoid takeover and may invoke something called a stichting...OK, it's not that common. That's why we've got Bloomberg M&A reporter Ed Hammond to explain it all to host Alex Sherman.

Did Intel yet again overpay for an acquisition with its $15 billion purchase of Mobileye? The takeover aims to give Intel a leg up in the automotive chip industry. Yet some analysts say it's another example of Intel's suspect M&A strategy, Bloomberg's Ian King tells host Alex Sherman. Also, King and Sherman discuss why SoftBank's new $100 billion Vision fund is probably just weeks away from shaking up the technology industry.

Time Inc. has four options: Sell itself, sell some magazines, take a private investment... or do nothing at all. It's decision time for the iconic magazine publisher, whose board is evaluating bids this week. Time's digital advertising growth is promising, but shareholders may be hoping for a sale, says Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Tara Lachapelle and Americas telecommunications and media industry Team Leader Crayton Harrison.

Is Snap Inc. the next Facebook or the next Twitter (or worse)? Bloomberg reporters Sarah Frier and Alex Barinka each take a side, giving listeners the bear and the bull arguments for investing in the technology industry's biggest initial public offering in more than three years. Snap's looking to raise about $3.2 billion, offering 200 million share for $14 to $16 each. But the company's long-term future is the real question. Frier and Barinka debate, moderated by host Alex Sherman.

It would have been among the biggest deals ever. Instead, Kraft Heinz's pursuit of Unilever will become a footnote in history. Kraft Heinz, whose two largest shareholders are 3G Capital and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, pulled its $143 billion offer after news of its takeover offer leaked. Now, Kraft Heinz will look for new targets, and they're probably going to be big, Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Tara Lachapelle tells Alex Sherman. She gives her predictions for what's next on the wish list and explains why 3G's other deal this week -- Restaurant Brands's $1.8 billion deal for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen -- reminds her of Kraft Heinz's M&A strategy.

General Motors Co. hasn't turned a profit in Europe since the late 1990s. Still, the business is improving. GM's European division lost only $257 million in 2016 after $813 million a year earlier. That's why carmaker PSA Group, which owns Peugeot and Citroen, is in talks with GM to buy the business. Analysts estimate GM's European unit, known as Opel, could be worth about $2.8 billion. That may not sound like a lot, but the division brought in a whopping $18.7 billion in total revenue last year. Bloomberg reporter Ed Hammond and Executive Editor Jeff McCracken tell Alex Sherman why GM has struggled for so long in Europe and why it wants to finally exit the region.

Here's what we know: Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam asked Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei to discuss acquiring Charter Communications, the $100 billion U.S. cable provider that bought Time Warner Cable last year. Liberty is Charter's largest shareholder. The government's ongoing wireless spectrum auction forbids Verizon from speaking directly to Charter until March, according to people familiar with the matter. We also know Verizon is contemplating more than a dozen purchases -- both large and small -- now that Donald Trump has become U.S. president. Trump-appointed regulators may be more likely to allow telecommunications megadeals than Obama's administrators. Still, Charter may not be Verizon's top takeover choice. Bloomberg wireless reporter Scott Moritz and media reporter Gerry Smith discuss the art of the deal and the art of the possible with host Alex Sherman.

AppDynamics was set to be the first technology initial public offering in 2017 -- and then it was over. Cisco swooped in and bought the technology "unicorn" for $3.7 billion on the eve of its IPO. That's almost $2 billion more than AppDyanmics's most recent private valuation. Dozens of AppDynamics employees were on a plane heading to New York to ring the bell at the Nasdaq, only to learn that the company had sold itself. Will we see more 11th-hour sales of companies set to IPO? Bloomberg's Alex Barinka speaks with host Alex Sherman.