In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, the MediaRadar research team puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Comcast boosts its business offerings with the acquisition of Deep Blue Communications, 3M announces its planned acquisition of a medical products company, and the increasingly popular Beyond Meat went public.
Comcast Acquires Wi-Fi Solution Provider
Comcast is seeking to complement its existing business and network solutions with the acquisition of Wi-Fi solution provider Deep Blue Communications. Deep Blue specializes in the engineering and client support of wireless networks, which means Comcast will simultaneously be able to boost its business offerings and expand its customer roster. The details of the deal have not been disclosed.
The 3M Company Expands Its Health Care Unit
The 3M Company has announced its planned acquisition of San Antonio based medical products company Acelity LP for an estimated $4.3 billion. The wound care company will add bandages and surgical-wound care products to 3M Health Care, one of 3M’s most profitable units. The proposed acquisition marks 3M’s largest acquisition in several years.
Beyond Meat Sees Successful IPO
Plant-based food company Beyond Meat started its trading on NASDAQ under the symbol BYND on Thursday morning. Initially priced at $25 per share for a market value of $1.46 billion — but BYND opened at $46 a share and ended the day at $65.75. The total gain was 163 percent, the best performing public offering by a major US company in almost two decades. Appealing to impact investors, Beyond Meat has yet to turn a profit — but it is certainly turning heads.
In Other News
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. has completed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Brammer Bio, an industry leader in vector manufacturing for gene and cell therapies.
- Video streaming network Cheddar Inc. is being acquired by cable and internet provider Altice USA for $200 million.
- Apple is reportedly in talks with Intel to acquire the latter’s chip business to keep iPhone costs down.
- Verizon is seeking to sell its blogging platform Tumblr; the platform banned explicit content last year, but the only interested buyer to come forward so far is Pornhub.