Boom to bust in a just a few months

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly things can change in mega cap dealmaking.

Last year, markets witnessed record breaking takeovers - such as Anheuser-Busch Inbev's £75 billion takeover of SAB Miller and Royal Dutch Shell's £40 billion purchase of BG Group - but the first few months of this year has seen M&A activity fall of a cliff, with several major announced deals collapsing altogether.

Exxon Mobil said to have abandoned £70 billion BP takeover deal - part 2

Wow - these "old" or "stale" deal stories are becoming quite fashionable.

Reuters has just unveiled an "exclusive" scoop revealing ChemChina made a multi-billion takeover approach for BG Group, which has just been bought by Royal Dutch Shell. Here is the link:

Mr Nobody

So, rival hacks and news organisations are mocking the FT's Burberry scoop on the Twittersphere following this morning's news from HSBC. Burberry shares are down about 7pc after the bank released a statement to the market that implies it's not holding a stake on behalf of a mystery investor looking to make a takeover bid. Here is the link:

http://www.investegate.co.uk/burberry-group-plc--brby-/rns/holding-s--in-company/201603041054170987R/

Weekend review on Sky, Home Retail Group, J Sainsbury, Slater & Gordon, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group.

There is plenty to reflect on in the British business press this weekend.

First off, I note that the Financial Times has done a reverse ferret of its position on whether wiley old Rupert Murdoch will have another run at Sky.

Shell/BG Group worries - part 5

I see Royal Dutch Shell's £35 billion purchase of BG Group has been approved by over 80pc of the  Anglo Dutch company's shareholders.

So I guess the Telegraph's recent scaremongering about the deal collapsing, led by Jupiter fund manager Ian McVeigh, was just, err, scaremongering....

Shell/ BG Group worries - part 4

Wow - Ian McVeigh of Jupiter Fund Management has written another column in The Sunday Telegraph criticising Royal Dutch Shell's £40 billion purchase of BG Group.

In case you missed it, here is the link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/12078269/Fund-management-industrys-credibility-on-show-in-planned-BG-Shell-merger.html

Shell / BG Group worries - part 3

There has been a lot of debate in the British financial press in recent weeks about whether Shell should press ahead with its multi-billion pound purchase of rival BG Group.

Ian McVeigh of Jupiter Fund Management has been particularly vocal in his opposition, likening the transaction to Royal Bank of Scotland's disastrous purchase of Dutch rival ABN Amro at the height of the credit boom. Read all about it here:

Deals, deals and...er...lack of UK deals

Ping! Another email arrives containing a press release celebrating the fact that it's been a "record" year for global dealmaking. The latest missive comes from Deloitte, whose release is entitled:

Global M&A deal activity to top US $4 trillion this year, the highest value since 2007

I guess the bean counters round at Deloitte might be onto something. Yesterday, for example, it emerged Dow Chemical is in talks to combine with rival Du Pont as part of a $120 billion merger deal.

Shell/BG Group worries - part 2

I guess merger arb funds don't need to worry after all about the Royal Dutch Shell / BG Group deal falling apart as the The Times business section has this morning revealed the Qataris (who have been selling out of both companies recently) are backing the deal.

In fact, the tale is the splash (UK journo parlance for main story on the front page) and appears to be well sourced. Here is a link to the piece:

Shell/BG Group worries

Risk arbitrageurs (otherwise known as the hedge funds that bet on takeover deals) have been getting increasingly nervous about Shell's £43 billion bid for BG Group following a series of bearish articles on the transaction by my old employer, The Telegraph Media Group, publisher of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.

I expect those worries to transform into full scale paranoia after The Times decided to follow the Telegraph's lead and publish a news story (re?) quoting Ian McVeigh's opposition to the mega deal.
If you don't recall, McVeigh of Jupiter Fund Management wrote a piece in The Sunday Telegraph a few weeks ago likening the transaction to Royal Bank of Scotland's disastrous acquisition of ABN Amro.

Back on Tip TV talking about IHS, BG Group and Fagron

It's a Monday, so here is a link to today's session on Tip TV:

http://www.tiptv.co.uk/finance/ma-roundup-renewed-worries-on-shell-bg-merger-and-the-astrazeneca-zs-farmer-deal/

Sunday review on a Monday

There were a couple of stories that caught my eye in yesterday's Sunday newspaper business sections.

Oliver Shah's Prufrock item in The Sunday Times on Guy Hands's global restaurant preferences drew a wry smile, particularly as the financier's taste in eateries didn't appear to be particularly good.

Back on Tip TV talking about BG Group, Radius Healthcare and Fagron

It's a Monday, so it's time to post this morning's clip. Here is the link:

http://www.tiptv.co.uk/finance/ma-roundup-bg-group-shell-deal-in-jeopardy/

Back on Tip TV talking about WellCare Health Plans Inc, BG Group and Inmarsat

I hope US readers had a good holiday weekend. Here is a link to today's Tip TV clip, in which I opine on the the wave of consolidation in the US health insurance market.

http://www.tiptv.co.uk/archives/ma-weekly-update-with-ben-harrington/

Back on Tip TV talking about Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Anadarko, Pharma deals and Quindell

It's been a while since I was invited on Tip TV. Today Moose - aka Nick Batsford - very kindly asked me to come back onto the show. Here is a link to today's clip:

http://www.tiptv.co.uk/archives/update-on-the-latest-in-the-ma-market/

Mega deals are back in vogue...and so are the rows with British banks over mis-selling and Libor

I realise today has been all about the return of the "mega deal" - see Shell's £47 billion purchase of BG Group or Mylan's $30 billion takeover offer for Perrigo - but I also noticed that a fresh legal claim against Lloyds Banking Group appears to be getting significant traction in the mainstream press.

Earlier this week my old Telegraph colleague Harry Wilson, now City Editor at The Times, revealed in his publication that Guardian Care Homes - run by Gary Hartland, the man who cost Barclays £40 million as part of a settlement over interest rate swap mis-selling - has launched a new legal claim against Lloyds.

WSJ reporting Shell in talks to buy BG Group for more than $45 billion! - boom

It would appear the venerable Wall Street Journal has got the scoop of the day, week and, possibly, year. Check this out:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/shell-in-talks-to-buy-bg-group-1428437955