Coty Inc. said Monday it has agreed to buy the personal care and beauty business of Brazil’s Hypermarcas S.A. for about $1 billion in cash. Coty said it will fund the deal with a mixture of cash and existing debt facilities, and expects it to close by end March. The business had $253.5 million in revenue as of 2015, and has leading positions in the Brazilian market, the third largest in the world. “We expect that the strength of the brands, the impressive leadership team and its robust infrastructure will enhance Coty’s competitive position and very much complement our contemplated merger with the P&G Specialty Beauty Business,” Coty Interim Chief Executive Bart Becht said in a statement. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 40% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1%.
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TreeHouse Foods Inc. said Monday it has agreed to acquire ConAgra Foods Inc.’s private brands business for $2.7 billion. TreeHouse said the deal will create the biggest U.S. private label food and drinks maker with annual revenue of nearly $7 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016, and to shave 20 cents to 35 cents off adjusted per-share earnings in the first year after closing. It’s expected to add $1.50 to $1.65 to EPS in year three. TreeHouse will fund the deal with a combination of $1.8 billion in new debt issuance and about $1.0 billion in equity stock issuance. It has also entered new arrangements with its lenders for other borrowing facilities. TreeHouse said it now expects third-quarter EPS of 64 cents to 65 cents and sales of $799 million. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 0.1% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1%.
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Shire PLC said on Monday it is buying biotech company Dyax Corp. for $37.30 in cash per Dyax share, or $5.9 billion. Dyax shareholders may receive an additional $4 per share, depending on the approval of its DX-2930 drug to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema. That would increase the deal to $6.546 billion. Shares of Dyax rallied 31% ahead of the bell, while Shire fell 1.2% in London. Dyax shares moved sharply higher in mid-October on market rumors that the biotech firm was a takeover target.
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Payments giant Visa Inc. has reached a deal to acquire Visa Europe Ltd., the companies said in a news release Monday. The deal has a total value of up to €21.2 billion, or $23.4 billion, stemming from an upfront consideration of €16.5 billion and a potential for an additional earn-out of up to €4.7 billion payable following the fourth anniversary of closing, the release said. Reports last week said Visa was in advanced negotiations to buy its European counterpart for about $22 billion in a move that would unite Visa’s global payments operations under one roof. Shares in Visa were up 0.4% on Monday in thin premarket trading.
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It ain’t a beauty, but, hey, it’s all right — and it’s getting lots of attention as the home where Bruce Springsteen wrote “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road” and “Backstreets.”
This 828-square-foot cottage, listed for $299,000 in Long Branch, The Boss’ hometown in New Jersey, is a couple of blocks from the beach.
Getty ImagesBruce Springsteen, 1985
In the mid-1970s, the neighborhood was bohemian and the songwriter was under pressure to write a breakout album — which he did. The songs are iconic, and they are tied to their place in much the same way Springsteen is.
He was sitting on the edge of his bed in this home when the words “born to run” came to him, Springsteen said in the documentary “Wings for Wheels.”
“I worked very, very long on the lyrics to ‘Born to Run,’ because I was very aware that I was messing with classic rock ‘n’ roll images that easily turned into cliches,” he said.
The current owners bought the home six years ago because of its rock legacy.
Saving it from possible demolition, they planned to renovate and turn the home into a tribute to Springsteen. Marriage, divorce and work got in the way, although the home does have a new roof and new wood floors.
They hope the next owners will preserve the spirit of the 40-year-old album that started here. While it’s no mansion of glory, one of the owners told NJ.com, “I hope it doesn’t just become some house on West End Court.”
Rental rates have continued to rise year over year, while rental vacancies have steadily decreased since the burst of the housing bubble. While renting is still more affordable than purchasing a home in many markets, this perfect storm of low supply and high demand is putting a dent in renters’ budgets.
Rent.com surveyed over 500 property managers for the 2015 Property Owner and Manager Report to find out what renters can expect in the next year to help prepare for what’s to come. (Spoiler alert: Rental hikes are not going away.)
Rental rates have been rising since Rent.com’s first report in 2009. An overwhelming 88 percent of property managers raised their rent in the last 12 months, citing low inventory and increased demand as the primary reasons for increasing rental rates over the last year.
Additionally, 68 percent of property managers predict that rental rates will rise again in the next year by an average 8 percent. This is an increase of 2 percent over the estimated 6 percent rent hike predicted by property managers in 2014.
If you are searching for a rental, here are some tips for navigating this tough rental market to find the right place for you, at a price you can afford:
1. Be a smart searcher. Use a reputable and trusted site to conduct your search. By using listing services that offer verified reviews, HD photos and 3-D floor plans, you can be more savvy about your search. This will also help you minimize the time spent looking for options that best suit your needs and budget.
2. Check out the competition in the neighborhood. While rental rates seem to be increasing everywhere, you should make sure to check rental prices in comparable apartments in your desired neighborhood. Not only will this give you a good indication if the apartment you’re looking at is priced fairly, but it might also give you some negotiating power when you are signing your lease.
3. Start your search now. It is officially the offseason for finding an apartment. While this means you’ll hit more barriers in terms of finding available apartments, you will likely be able to sign a lease for less.
4. Get a cosigner or guarantor. As a result of ever-increasing rental rates, 43 percent of property managers reported seeing an increase in the number of applicants who do not meet the income requirements on their own and therefore require a guarantor. However, 56 percent reported that the increased demand has not made them become more selective about potential renters (this includes not overlooking renters requiring a guarantor in order to make the income requirement for lease signing). If you have found an apartment you love, it’s not necessarily out of reach if you don’t have stellar credit or a high rent-to-income ratio.
5. Be prepared to sacrifice. Over half of property managers said they are less likely to …read more
Rental rates have continued to rise year over year, while rental vacancies have steadily decreased since the burst of the housing bubble. While renting is still more affordable than purchasing a home in many markets, this perfect storm of low supply and high demand is putting a dent in renters’ budgets.
Rent.com surveyed over 500 property managers for the 2015 Property Owner and Manager Report to find out what renters can expect in the next year to help prepare for what’s to come. (Spoiler alert: Rental hikes are not going away.)
Rental rates have been rising since Rent.com’s first report in 2009. An overwhelming 88 percent of property managers raised their rent in the last 12 months, citing low inventory and increased demand as the primary reasons for increasing rental rates over the last year.
Additionally, 68 percent of property managers predict that rental rates will rise again in the next year by an average 8 percent. This is an increase of 2 percent over the estimated 6 percent rent hike predicted by property managers in 2014.
If you are searching for a rental, here are some tips for navigating this tough rental market to find the right place for you, at a price you can afford:
1. Be a smart searcher. Use a reputable and trusted site to conduct your search. By using listing services that offer verified reviews, HD photos and 3-D floor plans, you can be more savvy about your search. This will also help you minimize the time spent looking for options that best suit your needs and budget.
2. Check out the competition in the neighborhood. While rental rates seem to be increasing everywhere, you should make sure to check rental prices in comparable apartments in your desired neighborhood. Not only will this give you a good indication if the apartment you’re looking at is priced fairly, but it might also give you some negotiating power when you are signing your lease.
3. Start your search now. It is officially the offseason for finding an apartment. While this means you’ll hit more barriers in terms of finding available apartments, you will likely be able to sign a lease for less.
4. Get a cosigner or guarantor. As a result of ever-increasing rental rates, 43 percent of property managers reported seeing an increase in the number of applicants who do not meet the income requirements on their own and therefore require a guarantor. However, 56 percent reported that the increased demand has not made them become more selective about potential renters (this includes not overlooking renters requiring a guarantor in order to make the income requirement for lease signing). If you have found an apartment you love, it’s not necessarily out of reach if you don’t have stellar credit or a high rent-to-income ratio.
5. Be prepared to sacrifice. Over half of property managers said they are less likely to …read more
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Friday lowered Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s credit rating by one notch to B+ from BB-, citing the company’s mounting legal and regulatory problems related to its affiliate Philidor RX Services. “Given the multitude of legal, regulatory, and reputational issues that Valeant faces, we are revising our assessment of management and governance to ‘weak’ from ‘fair,’ which is the primary driver of the ratings downgrade,” said credit analyst David Kaplan at S&P. Valeant has severed ties with Philidor but its association with the specialty pharmacy has already hurt the company’s reputation, according to the ratings agency. Short-seller Andrew Left last week alleged that Valeant was using Philidor as a front for fraudulent activities to boost its results. Shares of Valeant sank 16% to close at $93.77 on Friday for a weekly decline of 19%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
