Chinese Bank Signs Deal to Buy US Branches
In a news report today, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has agreed to a deal to buy US branches of Bank of East Asia of Hong Kong. ICBC is 70% owned by the government of China and is number 13 in The Global 5000 banking sector with approximately $70 billion in revenue. Bank […]
Numbers Can Be Head Scratchers
Like many of us these days, we have been watching for the hopeful signs of economic growth and much of the attention naturally turns to GDP and GDP growth. While we ‘kind of’ know what GDP represents, the details are best left up to the economists — those of the dismal science. To see an […]
A Merger of Utilities
This past week we noted the announcement of a merger/acquisition involving Nicor (#1536 on the Global 5000) and AGL Resources (#1839). These are not that common in that many utility companies are either state / government owned or quasi-government. We have 120 Utility companies in the Global 5000 representing approximately $1.4 trillion in revenue. The […]
Airlines Flying Again
During this recession, the airlines have been hit as hard as any industry … and all who have done any travel during these years have felt it as well with reduced services. After a year of back and forth jumping thru the regulatory hurdles, British Airways and Iberia announced their shareholders have approved their merger. […]
Caterpillar Makes a Buy
Caterpillar announced they are acquiring Bucyrus International. Caterpillar is number 2 in their industry segment and #153 in The Global 5000 list. Bucyrus is ranked 65 in Farm and Industrial Equipment industry and #1953 in the Global 5000. This industry segment has really felt the effect of the recession. Industry growth in 2007 was 14.9%, […]
Everyday Happenings – Ch 11, M&A and Divesting to Bimbo
Watching the global business wire on a dailybasis can be like looking into a kaleidoscope. It is an ever changing picture. Just this week we noted a few events that reflect the overall trends in today’s world. Ambac Financial filed Chapter 11 – another financial firm struggling in the wake of the recession and financial mess. Chevron […]
A Health Care Merger
In the news today, McKesson (# 46 on the G5000 list) has agreed to acquire private company US Oncology (#1686 on the G5000 with $3.3 billion) . We know the Health Care sector is huge — over $3 trillion – and a hot spot in the news these days. There are 250 companies in all […]
Merger of Utilities
Northeast Utilities and NSTAR announced they are combining forces. These are two big utility companies. Northeast is #1231 on the Global 5000 list and NSTAR is ranked #1672. Combined, they will be in the top 1000 companies in the world. Utilities did not escape the economic downturn — and in fact, coming off robust growth […]
More Big(ger) Pharma
This week, Pfizer (#163 of the Global 5000 list) announced it was acquiring King Pharmaceuticals (#2441 on our list). This will add another $1.7 billion of revenue to Pfizer and move them up a few notches on our list. As always, those who sell products and services to King will now have to monitor the […]
Telecom & Technology – a Sliding Revenue Trend
Each company in the Global 5000 is categorized according to the industry group to which it belongs. In this scheme, we separate technology companies (computers, software, semiconductors) from telecommunications providers. As we look at the companies in these two segments, we get an inkling of the struggles the global economy is having coming out of […]