#acquisition

Good luck to everyone.

Certainly helped AIG stock today! Interesting read: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/chubb-reportedly-makes-takeover-offer-for-aig-stock-soars-93CH-4401708

https://www.wsj.com/video/att-ceo-not-surprised-by-netflix-warner-deal/BE9CCAD6-870E-4A25-829C-FE43921B35E0

The Street sees through the smoke and mirrors.

https://www.investors.com/news/technology/ibm-stock-confluent-cflt-news-ai-software/

Any rummors about possible divestment of Shell Chemicals ? Have heard that they want to somehow separate it.

Where are we with this? Is the BT / Private Equity move true ?

Will this be the next move per pressure from Elliott?

Any update news? We don't care about employee layoffs now. It will always happen at anytime, no matter of the company conditions. Who are going to buy Intel?

AT&T (T) chief executive John Stankey will speak at Tuesday’s UBS Global Media & Communications Conference where he will discuss the company’s network and financial outlook.

Besides the mid-band spectrum the company agreed to acquire from EchoStar (SATS), AT&T (T) expects to continue to accelerate the pace of its fiber reach through an agreement to acquire substantially all of Lumen’s (LUMN) Mass Markets fiber internet connectivity business.

This transaction is expected to close in early 2026 and will enable the company to reach more than 60 million total fiber locations by the end of 2030.

The company said it is also on track to achieve its 2025 financial goals and return $4 billion to shareholders through share repurchases in 2025 and $20 billion of share repurchase capacity during 2025 and 2027.

This includes consolidated service revenue growth in the low single-digit range, adjusted EPS in the higher end of $1.97 to $2.07 range, and adjusted EBITDA growth of 3% or better.

Subscriber net additions to its mobility business will be higher during the second half of 2025 than it reported during the first half, including an expectation for seasonal trends in net adds during Q4.

Additionally, AT&T (T) expects its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio will return to its 2.5x target within roughly three years of closing the EchoStar transaction and achieve “strong free cash flow” from the Lumen and EchoStar acquisitions.

NetDocuments acquired eDocs from Opentext. Does anyone know of any other noncore solution being sold off?

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/opentext-sells-non-core-business-120629553.html

Apparently the Confluent Cloud is not a Cluster*fook

Confluent's cloud revenue was a primary driver of growth in 2025, with Q3 2025 cloud revenue reaching $161 million, a 24% increase year-over-year.

Confluent reported its Q3 2025 earnings in October 2025, where total revenue surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The company was recently announced to be acquired by IBM in an $11 billion deal, a transaction expected to close by mid-2026.

Confluent's annual revenue for the trailing twelve months ending September 30, 2025, was $1.113 billion, a 21.58% increase year-over-year.
More detailed financial data is available through Confluent's investor relations website.

Confluent 2025 Revenue Breakdown
Fiscal Period Total Revenue Subscription Revenue
Q1 2025 $271.1 million $261.0 million
Q2 2025 $282.3 million $271.0 million
Q3 2025 $298.5 million $286.3 million
Q4 2025 Outlook N/A $295.5 - $296.5 million
FY 2025 (Total) ~$1.16 billion $1.1135 - $1.1145 billion

What happened Paramount launched a $108.4 billion hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery, outbidding Netflix's $72 billion offer. Paramount's bid includes $18 billion more in cash and aims to challenge Netflix's dominance.
Why it matters This bid could impact streaming services, movie theaters, and consumers by enhancing competition. It also raises antitrust concerns due to the consolidation of major television operators.


Key details


• When: Paramount's bid was launched on Monday, December 8.
• Who: Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O), Netflix (NFLX.O), Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O).


• Numbers: Paramount's bid is $108.4 billion, including $18 billion more in cash than Netflix's offer. Paramount's offer is $30 per share, a 139% premium over Warner Bros Discovery's undisturbed stock price. Netflix's offer is $27.75 per share, mixing cash and stock.
• Financing: Paramount's offer includes financing from Affinity Partners (Jared Kushner's firm), Middle Eastern government-run investment funds, and the Ellison family.
• Regulatory concerns: Paramount's offer may face antitrust scrutiny, as it would create a major television operator and increase market share.


• Market reaction: Paramount shares up 7.7%, Warner Bros Discovery up 5%, Netflix shares down 4.5%.


• Next steps: Paramount will appeal to shareholders, regulators, and politicians to challenge Netflix's bid. The battle may become prolonged.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/paramount-makes-1084-billion-bid-warner-bros-discovery-2025-12-08/

Meta has acquired AI-wearables startup Limitless, maker of a pendant-style device that records and transcribes real-world conversations, as the social media giant doubles down on efforts to build AI-enabled consumer hardware.

https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-acquires-ai-wearables-startup-limitless-2025-12-05/

Every acquisition brings layoffs and one of this magnitude will certainly result in a major, major RIF. People in what could be considered redundant positions (and there are many of those) should start looking right away. You have about a year or so before this becomes a reality.

A job i applied to I had heard good feedback however was told due to the acquisition the role is on hold and detail on how long this could be? Is this normal here? Seems like larger internal things are not being shared

Paramount was poised to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. What went wrong
By Meg James and Stacy Perman
Dec. 6, 2025

Paramount’s 30 dollars per share bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, backed by Larry Ellison, collapsed Friday when Netflix swept in with a competing 82.7 billion dollar deal. Analysts and auction insiders told The Times that several issues complicated Paramount’s effort, including low initial offers and overconfidence. Paramount is accusing Warner Bros. Discovery of rigging the auction and is expected to press regulators to block the Netflix deal as anti competitive.

Source: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-12-06/paramount-larry-ellison-hollywood-warner-bros-netflix-skydance-sarandos

Ellison, the Oracle founder, had recently financed his son David’s 8 billion dollar acquisition of Paramount Pictures. The Ellison family then moved to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for at least 60 billion dollars. With substantial financial backing and support from President Trump, many Wall Street analysts and Hollywood insiders assumed Paramount would win.

But Netflix shocked the industry by announcing its own blockbuster agreement to acquire the Burbank studio, HBO Max and HBO for 82.7 billion dollars. The Warner board judged Netflix’s 27.75 dollars per share offer, which excluded CNN and other basic cable channels, a better deal for shareholders. It was a rare defeat for Ellison and a victory for Netflix’s co CEO Ted Sarandos.

Auction insiders said Paramount’s first major misstep was submitting low ball bids. By mid October, Paramount had made three unsolicited offers, starting at 19 dollars a share. The Warner board unanimously rejected them as too low. Some Warner executives were irritated, feeling the Ellisons had swept into Hollywood and were trying to exploit the studio’s weakened state.

Paramount’s bid relied on Ellison’s pledge of 30 billion dollars in Oracle stock, according to a person familiar with the matter. As bidding escalated, Paramount sought additional capital from Apollo Global Management. When Warner opened the process to other suitors in late October, Netflix and Comcast joined. Paramount underestimated Netflix, in part because a senior Netflix executive had downplayed interest in public.

Analysts speculated that Netflix had been playing possum. One auction insider said Paramount acted as if it were the only serious contender. Meanwhile, David Ellison and RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale were trying to secure funding from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. Their outreach to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates raised concerns among Warner board members about the stability of the Paramount offer. The fall of Oracle stock during broader market concerns about an AI bubble further complicated Paramount’s position.

Ellison’s ties to Trump also generated concern in Hollywood. Oracle is among the US investors expected to take a majority stake in TikTok’s US business after its separation from ByteDance, a move influenced by Trump. Paramount’s recent 16 million dollar settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over an edited 60 Minutes interview, its cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show due to losses, and David Ellison’s hiring of Bari Weiss to run CBS News all contributed to perceptions of political alignment. Trump publicly praised the Ellisons and expressed support for the Paramount bid.

Paramount’s agreement to distribute Brett Ratner’s Rush Hour 4 just after renewed pressure from Trump added fuel to that perception. Some observers said the once advantageous relationship with the administration began to seem less appealing to potential regulators and international partners.

A White House meeting last month addressed Paramount’s bid and concerns about Netflix. During the same week, David Ellison attended a White House dinner for Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. A Guardian report, citing anonymous sources, claimed White House officials had informally discussed with Larry Ellison a list of CNN anchors Trump disliked and wanted removed if Paramount won the auction. That report raised alarms among foreign regulators.

People close to Paramount argued that CEO David Zaslav and board member emeritus John Malone were biased against the Ellisons and that Zaslav wanted to maintain his status as a Hollywood mogul. Paramount ultimately submitted six offers, including a final 30 dollars per share proposal, but none matched Netflix’s bid.

According to those familiar with the process, Paramount executives realized last Monday that they had been beaten. Two days later, the company accused Warner Bros. Discovery of abandoning any semblance of a fair auction process. Netflix said Friday that its deal will take 12 to 18 months to secure regulatory approval. Approval is far from guaranteed due to antitrust concerns about Netflix’s market strength.

Warner Bros. Discovery now faces a legal fight over its handling of the auction.

Larry Ellison, often remembered in Hollywood for a cameo in Iron Man 2 in which Tony Stark calls him the Oracle of Oracle, has long funded the film careers of his children David and Megan. Despite his age, the 81 year old Ellison remains deeply involved at Oracle as executive chairman and chief technology officer.

Ellison grew up in a modest South Side Chicago apartment, raised by relatives after his teenage mother gave him up. After dropping out of the University of Chicago, he moved to California, worked various programming jobs and helped develop early database systems at Ampex. Those ideas eventually became the core of Oracle, which he co founded in 1977 with 1,200 dollars and concepts inspired by an IBM research paper. Oracle grew rapidly, won its first contract with the CIA, went public in 1986 and propelled Ellison to billionaire status by 1993.

Ellison developed a reputation for flamboyance and intensity. He collected super yachts, fighter jets, mansions and samurai swords, and won the America’s Cup twice. He was unafraid of confrontation, once hiring investigators to comb through Microsoft’s trash during the company’s antitrust trial, calling it his civic duty.

At Oracle, Ellison pushed into cloud computing, healthcare and AI, partnering with Nvidia, Meta and xAI.

Hollywood, however, was shaped by his children. With large trusts of Oracle and NetSuite stock, both entered the film business. Megan founded Annapurna, known for films like Zero Dark Thirty and Her. David tried acting and produced the unsuccessful 2006 film Flyboys before launching Skydance Media, producing major hits including Top G-n Maverick, Star Trek and Grace and Frankie and expanding into animation, sports and gaming.

Larry Ellison stepped in when needed, including restructuring Annapurna in 2018 after heavy losses. He financed David’s 8 billion dollar deal to buy Paramount and holds nearly 78 percent of the new company’s stock. The family announced plans to rejuvenate Paramount through technology investments and franchise building around Top G-n, Star Trek and Yellowstone.

They also made clear they are not walking away from Warner Bros. Discovery. Those who know Ellison say he should not be underestimated. History shows he is always ready for a fight.

Heard it here first. Is a merger really in the works between BNY and _ in 2026?

Looks like beginning of end for Gainwell. Any predictions on doomsday when Veritas will piecemeal and sell it to two/three other VCs? Mar 1st 2026?

Most likely it will be before FY26 end ~Feb/Mar 2026.

“Back at the All-In Summit, David Friedberg asked Musk: "Could you buy some carriers to acquire more spectrum? Maybe buy Verizon?"

Musk replied: "Not out of the question. I suppose that may happen."

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/spacex-trademark-filing-signals-starlink-mobile-may-soon-take-aim-att-verizon

So another failed venture by ATT gets sold to Discovery for $43billion. Today, Netflix buys WB for $82billion. ATT must be the worst negotiators ever.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/media/netflix-paramount-wbd-bidding-war-warner-bros-discovery

Genuinely curious, have any Neustar VP’s and above been laid off since joining TU?

I guess this turns out to be true !!!! Field service is gonna be all Mastec

Upstream: Cold Lake, Kearl, Syncrude
Downstream: Strathcona, Sarnia, Nanticoke, Terminals, Pipelines
Chemical: Sarnia

Or does it make more sense DW finally recommends to the EM board to buy the minority interest of IOL (30%)?

Looking back over the last year and a half: supposedly setting ourselves up for growth and durability (whatever that means), pulling back on travel, pulling back on new roles, eventually not refilling roles, teams are stressed and overworked, removing dollars for team meetings and culture building (formally culture was important), more and more town halls and Blue pulses - although those meetings and surveys were less and less substantive - saying for the most part nothing. Simply giving the appearance of communication but empty of anything real. Perpetual lack of funding and what is funded is only to minimum viable value, always behind and not addressing technical debt, Anxiety is high, RIF for tenured expensive people short term gain (although with a lot of experience navigating giant enterprise - long term very costly) and now sounds like possibility of early retirement options. For a supposedly giant healthy business it seems far from it. Putting aside the constant exec pay and exec bonus commentary, as a business did the Cigna purchase over-leverage HCSC or are there Convenants in the debt service for that purchase that require certain ratios or performance metrics that should of never been accepted? Should we all be looking for a job now?

https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/11/26/news-beyond-ex-vp-lo-intel-is-reportedly-poaching-tsmc-arizona-engineers-with-20-30-higher-salaries/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Oil producer Chevron is laying off more than 100 workers in North Dakota after acquiring Hess Corp., a greater impact than initially expected.

https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/10/08/chevron-cutting-more-than-100-oil-industry-jobs-in-north-dakota-with-hess-merger/

https://www.arctera.com/press-releases/cloud-software-group-completes-acquisition-of-arctera

"Additionally, because Leggett & Platt's business is complementary to Somnigroup's
businesses, we would expect to not only retain most of Leggett & Platt's management team and employees, whose knowledge, experience and talent would be invaluable to the
Somnigroup organization, but also provide them future career opportunities in the broader Somnigroup organization. We also expect to retain a significant presence in Carthage."

Sure.

Is it true that KKR is working on a deal to sell Omnissa? If so, who do you think the buyer will be? Does anybody know? Any hints?

"The decision to step away from a stock in the middle of a transformational transaction can be as revealing as a new stake. Frontier is deep into its pending acquisition by Verizon, a deal that was announced more than a year ago and aims to accelerate fiber rollout and reshape the company’s competitive position. Yet even with record operational momentum—including 25% year-over-year consumer fiber broadband revenue growth and 133,000 quarterly fiber net adds—the uncertainty surrounding regulatory approval, capital intensity, and integration risk may be prompting some managers to de-risk exposure."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/investor-exits-3-4-million-172230032.html

Huntington National Bank to begin layoffs tied to Veritex acquisition
The Business Journals
Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:25:00 GMT

Huntington National Bank is preparing to begin layoffs as a result of its recent acquisition. These job reductions are directly tied to the integration of Veritex. The process of merging the two companies often results in overlapping roles and redundancies. Affected employees will experience job loss as the bank streamlines its combined operations. This move is part of an effort to optimize the workforce and structure following the acquisition.

https://www.wfaa.com/article/money/business/huntington-national-bank-dallas-layoffs-veritex-acquisition/287-e9d05913-ea3a-4079-8313-20a64524db2d

What global and regional teams got cut due to the recent Amazon corporate takeover?

A group of US state AGs requested a hold separate motion to block/pause further integration while court reviews the deal. Hearing scheduled for early Jan. What would this mean considering how far the integration already is?

Corporate office here. Our team cancelled our Holiday Party due to budgetary concerns after our recent acquisitions. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

The recent Verizon layoffs are primarily linked to the company’s acquisition of Frontier assets. Verizon now needs significant capital to fund the integration of Frontier into its existing systems as well as to cover the acquisition-related expenditures. These financial pressures are the real drivers behind the workforce reductions.

Claims that the layoffs were caused by pricing competition with T-Mobile or customer poaching are largely unfounded and do not reflect the actual strategic motivations behind these decisions.

While Verizon attributes the recent layoffs to financial pressures from the Frontier acquisition and the massive integration effort ahead, there is another internal reality often overlooked. Certain internal groups “the termites” are using the Frontier merge as a convenient narrative to justify aggressive outsourcing. These teams benefit from vendor deals, back-channel incentives, and the opportunity to extract as much as possible from the outsourcing process.

In the shadow of the Frontier integration, these internal agendas are quietly shaping decisions far more than the publicly stated reasons like pricing competition or customer churn.

Less than four months later, Tim Stejskal, CEO of organicgirl, announced they would be closing the Braga Fresh processing facility in Spreckels, resulting in the loss of 260 jobs.

https://www.montereycountynow.com/news/local_news/recent-acquisition-and-staff-cuts-at-braga-fresh-reflect-larger-trends-in-the-ag-sector/article_c6ae167a-fa25-4437-b494-57ee0a394c56.html

Someone Just Bought 1,046,068 Xerox Shares for $2.74 Million (XRX at $2.74 ea)
https://tonernews.com/forums/topic/someone-just-bought-1046068-xerox-shares-for-2-74-million-xrx-at-2-74-ea/

Truelink Capital ("Truelink"), a Los Angeles based private equity firm focused on growth and long-term value creation, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SouthernCarlson, Inc. ("SouthernCarlson" or the "Company"), a leading distributor and service provider of construction and industrial fasteners, tools, packaging, and supplies, from Kyocera Corporation ("Kyocera"), a global Japanese conglomerate. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/truelink-capital-to-acquire-southerncarlson-inc-from-kyocera-corporation-302624208.html

Form 4] VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC Insider Trading Activity

Filing Impact
(Low)
Filing Sentiment
(Neutral)
Form Type
4
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) executive vice president and Chief HR Officer Samantha Hammock reported an acquisition of 84.289 phantom stock units on 11/20/2025 under a deferred compensation plan. After this transaction, she beneficially owns 29,098.676 phantom stock units, held indirectly through the company’s deferred compensation plan.

Each phantom stock unit is described as the economic equivalent of a portion of one share of Verizon common stock and is settled in cash rather than actual shares. The units become payable upon events that Ms. Hammock has established in line with the plan’s rules, and the total includes phantom stock accumulated through dividend reinvestment.