KING IS CASH: In a Tough Interest Rate Ecosystem

By Staff Reporters

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Cash is king, especially in this tough interest rate environment. That’s proving true in the mergers and acquisitions market this year, according to PwC’s US Deals 2023 midyear outlook, which says companies and private equity with cash in hand are making deals happen. There are “opportunities for corporates with strong balance sheets. Private equity sponsors with large amounts of dry powder also have been getting deals done,” according to PwC.

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Deal makers need cash because lending has become tougher and more expensive to obtain. Additionally, “the IPO market has remained quiet for over a year.”

Even the private equity market, which often leans heavily on debt financing, is reaching for other ways to get deals done: “Some PE sponsors have turned to more creative financing solutions, including higher equity contribution, seller’s notes, paid in-kind financing and the private credit markets.”

The challenging market is also impacting deal size. PwC found that deal makers are eschewing big deals in favor of smaller opportunities. However, although the deals appear to be smaller, the volume of M&A activity is “relatively strong compared toCOVID pre-pandemic levels.

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DAILY UPDATE: Novartis AG Up, Verizon Down as Markets Surge

By Staff Reporters

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(Bloomberg) — Novartis AG raised its profit outlook and announced plans to buy back as much as $15 billion in shares as it prepares to spin off its Sandoz generics unit.  Operating profit excluding some items will likely grow by low double digits this year, the Swiss drug maker said in a statement, raising its forecast for a second time from a prior estimate of high single-digits gains. The stock rose as much as 4% in Zurich trading. 

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Shares of U.S. telecom giant Verizon (NYSE: VZ) fell 7.5% in trading on Monday after a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the lead in cable sheathing that telecom companies used decades ago. Some analysts downgraded the stock, but the market sold before more details were available from the company. 

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Here is where the major market benchmarks ended:

U.S. stocks extended a rally as better-than-expected bank results boosted the S&P 500 and NASDAQ to fresh 15-month highs.

  • The S&P 500 Index was up 32.19 points (0.7%) at 4,554.98; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 366.58 points (1.1%) at 34,951.93; the NASDAQ Composite was up 108.69 points (0.8%) at 14,353.64.
  • The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was little changed at 3.793%.
  • CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.16 at 13.32.

Financial stocks were among the strongest performers Tuesday, sending the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) up over 4%. Oilfield services shares were also strong as crude oil futures gained over 2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 (RUT) gained over 1% and posted a five-month high.

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MICROSOFT: Takes Over Activision Blizzard

FINALLY?

By Staff Reporters

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Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard cleared for landing

A federal judge rejected the FTC’s attempt to stop Microsoft from buying the video game publisher Activision Blizzard, paving the way for the $69 billion deal to close as soon as this month.

The FTC argued that the takeover would result in less competition in the video game industry and limit access to Activision’s blockbuster games, but the judge disagreed, saying, “To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”

While the deal still needs UK regulators’ approval, they also signaled yesterday they would let it proceed.

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