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Mergers & Acquisitions

Mergers & Acquisitions
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Mergers & Acquisitions. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
China’s Sinochem owns a 37 per cent stake in Pirelli through its Italian branch Marco Polo International. Photo: Reuters
Italy

Pirelli sidelines China’s Sinochem over control of the Italian tyremaker

The governance status of the Chinese conglomerate has been downgraded following a request from Italian regulators.

Hong Kong

Ant pays US$362 million to buy Hong Kong retail broker Bright Smart

Hong Kong economy

Twist in Hutchison ports deal as Italian shipping family’s role surfaces

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Banking & finance

China Mobile gets 15.5% stake in HKBN to fend off rival I Squared Capital

Company agrees to pay about US$154.6 million for the block of shares from private equity firm TPG.

HKBN is a takeover target for China Mobile and US infrastructure fund I Squared Capital. Photo: EPA-EFE
CK Hutchison

Hutchison says it is evaluating spin-off of global telecoms business

‘From time to time, the [group] receives proposals and explores and evaluates opportunities that may be available,’ Hutchison said in a statement.

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X (formerly Twitter)

Elon Musk sells X social media platform to his own xAI for US$33 billion

The tech billionaire plans to combine the ‘data, models, compute, distribution and talent’ from the app and start-up.

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China property

Exclusive | BlackRock sells last Shanghai asset at discount amid China retreat

The US firm is selling its last major asset in the city, Trinity Place, for 900 million yuan (US$124 million), according to sources.

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A view of the Shanghai skyline and Huangpu river in 2022. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

China to attract more private equity from Middle East and US: Bain & Co

Asia-Pacific deal value rose 11 per cent to US$176 billion in 2024, according to Bain & Company.

Hutchison’s Panama ports deal

Li may swing BlackRock deal with just 15% of minority owners’ votes

Minority shareholders are also expected to support the sale to receive a special bonus of as much as HK$25 a share, they said.

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China technology

Wingtech sells 4.6 billion yuan assembly assets after losses from US sanctions

The company signed an agreement to sell stake in five subsidiaries to Luxshare Precision Industry, according to filing with Shanghai Stock Exchange.

An undated aerial photograph of Dongguan Luxshare Technology in Guangdong province. Photo: Handout
United States

Hutchison stays mum on plan to sell port assets amid Panama spat, China rebuke

No event that might require disclosure was identified, Hutchison said, leaving the onus on shareholders to question the directors at its AGM on May 22.

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The entrance of the Balboa Port in Panama. Photo: Reuters
ESG investing

Hong Kong investor to leave Webb-site data as ‘gift to public interest’

David Webb says he hopes someone will carry on his work of collecting and distributing data on corporate governance and other topics.

Hong Kong property

ICBC (Asia) backs Hong Kong developers with loan support as sector struggles

Local subsidiary of China’s largest bank has ‘zero’ non-performing loans from Hong Kong developers and plans to increase home mortgages.

Banking & finance

China’s brokerage sector sees mega-mergers but remains competitive, fragmented

China’s intensely competitive securities sector, with more than 140 firms, has been repeatedly pulled up by regulators, S&P Global says.

Late last year, Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities announced a 103 billion yuan merger to create China’s biggest brokerage. Photo: Shutterstock
Infrastructure

UK utility Thames Water eyes Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure as potential buyer

Thames Water wants CK Infrastructure as a potential buyer if court appeal fails, aiming to minimise nationalisation time and financial risks.

A protester holds a placard during a demonstration opposing court approval for Thames Water’s debt restructuring plan in London. Photo: Reuters
CK Hutchison

Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison steps back from global ports amid trade war

CK Hutchison said it would sell 80 per cent of its stakes in 43 ports in 23 countries, including Panama but excluding mainland China and Hong Kong.

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Banking & finance

China’s M&A deals set to rebound from decade-low as DeepSeek, AI fuel interest

M&A fell 16 per cent to a 10-year low in 2024 as jumbo deals dwindled, PwC says in report.

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Artificial intelligence

Baidu’s US$2 billion DeepSeek-infused streaming app adopts meme-inspired name

Live-streaming platform YY Live has launched a chatbot called YYDS in a reference to DeepSeek and a popular meme used to express admiration.

Joyy’s live-streaming YY Live, which Baidu bought for US$2 billion, has launched a DeepSeek-powered chatbot named after a Chinese meme. Photo: Captured from YY Live
Banking & finance

China nudges CICC-Galaxy merger to form nation’s No. 3 brokerage

A combination of CICC and Galaxy has secured backing from Chinese authorities in recent weeks and could be announced in the coming weeks, sources said.

Banking & finance

Citigroup eyes US$500 billion in outbound investments from China and East Asia

Chinese and Taiwanese companies will invest nearly US$300 billion overseas, while those from South Korea will funnel US$200 billion.

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Elon Musk

OpenAI board rejects Elon Musk’s US$97.4 billion offer

The ChatGPT maker is not for sale, the board says, as Musk tries to block the start-up from becoming a for-profit firm.

Elon Musk is seen outside Blair House in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
YouTube and YouTubers

YouTube, the global online video powerhouse, turns 20

More than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.

YouTube was reportedly conceived as a dinner-party lark 20 years ago. The domain YouTube.com was launched on Valentine’s Day in 2005. Photo: AFP
Electric & new energy vehicles

Product of China’s potential car mega-merger would eclipse BYD in sales

Company combining Dongfeng and Changan could allocate resources to the most competitive products and technologies, analyst says.

Nissan

Nissan to bow out of historic tie-up with Honda, Nikkei reports

The pair had been negotiating the terms of a tie-up under which Honda would absorb Nissan, bringing the two brands under a single holding company in 2026.

Banking & finance

Asian investors play big role in megafund focused on secondary PE market

Investors are paying more attention to secondary PE market amid global volatility and liquidity crunches.

Jason Yao, head of Greater China at Ardian. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong media

Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li to sell HKEJ publisher to PCCW for US$9 million

PCCW to pay 0.69 times revenue for the unprofitable publishing firm, versus 0.64 times average of industry peers.

Local newspapers are seen at a news stand in Hong Kong in this file photo from July 2003. Photo: Robert Ng

HongShan to acquire iconic audio brand Marshall for US$1.1 billion, sources say

The Stockholm-based company’s guitar amplifiers have been used by musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Lana del Rey.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk sued by US SEC over delayed Twitter stake disclosure

The SEC said Musk bought more than US$500 million of Twitter shares at artificially low prices at the expense of unsuspecting investors.

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