Fox’s [NASDAQ:FOX] increased offer for Sky [LON:SKY] is the start of a competitive bidding process for the UK company, Crispin Odey, a top minority shareholder in Sky, has said.   Comcast [NASDAQ:CMCSA] is expected to improve its GBP 12.50 per share offer for Sky and Disney [NYSE:DIS] may be compelled to do the same, Odey said.   “This

  Retail pharmacy chain CVS Health [NYSE:CVS] expects the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) ongoing review of its merger with health insurer Aetna [NYSE:AET] to conclude without any remedies required, according to a spokesperson for the company.   The statement comes just one week after a hearing held by the California Insurance Commissioner, where

Long-rumoured break-up candidate Smiths Group [LON:SMIN] recently confirmed it is in talks to combine its medical division with US competitor ICU Medical [NASDAQ:ICUI]. Whilst the structure of any deal remains unclear, the news raises the question - could this be the catalyst that leads to a break-up of the group? Meanwhile, at Uniper’s [ETR:UN01] AGM,

Cotiviti Holdings [NYSE:COTV], the Atlanta-based provider of payment accuracy and analytics for the healthcare industry, is in advanced stages of exploring a sale, said three sources briefed on the situation.   The health care information technology (HCIT) company, backed by financial sponsor Advent International, is expected to collect final bids

    The US Department of Justice (DoJ) Antitrust Division is taking steps to make economic merger analysis more accessible to attorneys and other stakeholders, according to the agency’s top economist.   Last Friday [5 June] at Concurrences Review’s Global Antitrust Economics Conference, at NYU’s Stern School of Business, opening keynote

More consolidation may be coming to the US payments industry with Global Payments [NYSE:GPN], First Data [NYSE:FDC] and TSYS [NYSE:TSS] all potential participants, several sector advisors said. After years of deal making, the three fintech groups are among the largest players in the shrinking pool of traditional payment processing companies that sell

  Twenty-First Century Fox [NASDAQ:FOXA] suitors Comcast [NASDAQ:CMCSA] and Disney [NYSE:DIS] both face possible antitrust concerns over the consolidation of Hulu in their competing quests to purchase their rival content provider, according to two people familiar with the matter and two industry executives.   The vertical issues stemming from

  Even if National Amusements (NAI) is successful in its attempt to recombine CBS [NYSE:CBS] with Viacom [NYSE:VIA.B] after board room drama last week, the net result is unlikely to turn out well for the investor, said a former CBS executive and a veteran media banker.   A potential challenge for the merger is that Shari Redstone—who now leads

Dominion Energy’s [NYSE:D] ability to close its USD 14.6bn merger with South Carolina electric utility SCANA [NYSE:SCG] during an election season may hinge on the duration of the proposed rate cuts, said a source familiar with and two sources briefed on the situation.   The South Carolina General Assembly is debating temporary rate cuts for SCANA

Takeda Pharmaceutical [TYO: 4502] might be able to count on support from its cross shareholders, which account for 30%-40% of its shareholder register, for its proposed acquisition of Shire [LON: SHP] at its EGM, said several fund managers and Takeda shareholders. “Cross shareholders who do business with Takeda and have supply relationships basically do