4/21/08 M&A & IPO News from AIRS

[David Sandusky]

Monday, April 21st, 2008 M&A & IPO News from AIRS


IPO - No companies are scheduled to go public this week.



M&A - Airlines

Buyer: Delta Air Lines, Inc., Atlanta, GA

Target: Northwest Airlines Corporation, Eagan, MN



Delta Air Lines has reached an agreement to take over Northwest Airlines for $3.63 billion in stock. The new airline, the world's largest, will keep Delta's name, Atlanta headquarters, and chief executive officer. Both companies emerged from bankruptcy protection last year and, like the airline industry as a whole, have struggled amid record-high fuel costs.
Bloomberg, April 15, 2008





M&A - Biotechnology

Buyer: Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Osaka, Japan

Target: Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, MA



Takeda Pharmaceutical of Japan will buy Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company, for $8.8 billion. It's the largest acquisition for Takeda, which hopes to take advantage of Millennium's best-selling blood-cancer treatment, Velcade.
The Wall Street Journal, April 11, 2008





M&A - Computer Peripherals

Buyer: EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, MA

Target: Iomega Corporation, San Diego, CA



EMC, a leading provider of information infrastructure solutions, will buy Iomega, best known for its Zip and Rev storage drives, for $213 million in cash. The acquisition will allow EMC to expand its reach in the fast-growing consumer and small business markets.
PC World, April 8, 2008





M&A - Computer Software

Buyer: Nuance Communications, Inc., Burlington, MA

Target: eScription, Inc., Needham, MA



Nuance Communications, a provider of speech and digital imaging software, will acquire eScription, a provider of computer-aided medical transcription technology. The deal is valued at about $363 million in cash and stock.
CNNMoney.com, April 8, 2008





M&A - Foodservice & Food Retail Equipment Manufacturing

Buyer: The Manitowoc Company, Inc., Manitowoc, WI

Target: Enodis plc, London, UK



Manitowoc Co., a U.S.-based maker of restaurant equipment and cranes, will buy Enodis, a London-based restaurant equipment maker, for about $1.9 billion. The addition of Enodis, which makes fryers for McDonald's and Burger King, will make Manitowoc one of the world's leading suppliers of restaurant equipment.
Reuters, April 14, 2008





M&A - Health Care Products

Buyer: Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland

Target: Alcon, Inc., Hunenberg, Switzerland



Pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to buy eye-care company Alcon from Nestle for $39 billion. The move on the part of Novartis to diversify is one of the largest-ever takeovers in Switzerland, where both companies are based. Alcon is best known for its contact lens solution, but the company is also a major player in the area of eye disease treatment, supplying devices used in eye surgery as well as medicines.
The Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2008





M&A - Market research Services

Buyer: The Nielsen Company B.V., Haarlem, The Netherlands

Target: IAG Research, Inc., New York, NY



The Nielsen Co., best known for rating television shows, will acquire IAG Research, a privately held company that measures advertising effectiveness, for $225 million.
Nielsen plans to merge IAG with one of its subsidiaries, as yet unnamed.
Tampa Bay Business Journal, April 7, 2008