In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, the MediaRadar 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.
MediaRadar tracked 155 deals in March 2019, for a total disclosed value of $103.8 billion — the largest by far was The Walt Disney Company’s $71.3 billion acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox. But that’s not all that was newsworthy.
This week Charlotte Russe sells off its namesake brand, Merck Research laboratories acquires a promising immunotherapy firm, and Kellogg divests some of its major snack brands.
Charlotte Russe Sells Its Namesake Brand
In its final stages of liquidation, the American retail clothing company Charlotte Russe Holdings has officially announced the sale of its namesake brand to YM, Inc. The Toronto-based fashion company will be adding Charlotte Russe to its line of well-known brands including Urban Planet, Stitches and Bluenotes. The sale comes off the heels of a series of store shutterings after Charlotte Russe declared bankruptcy in early February. The sale was for an undisclosed amount.
Merck Acquires Immune Design
Merck Research Laboratories, a subsidiary of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, has announced the acquisition of immunotherapy firm Immune Design for an all cash deal valued at $300 million. The deal adds to Merck’s portfolio for vaccine development; the company’s President Roger Perlmutter says this deal “builds upon Merck’s industry-leading programmes that harness the power of the immune system to prevent and treat disease.”
Kellogg Sells Some of Its Most Famous Snack Brands
Kellogg Company announced that it has reached an agreement to sell some of its major snack brands to Ferrero SpA, Italian confectionery group that owns brands like Nutella and Tic Tac. The deal is for $1.3 billion and includes snack brands Keebler, Mother’s, Famous Amos and Murray’s. The brands make up a large portion of Kellogg’s snacking business, which accounted for nearly $900 million in net sales in 2018.
In other news
Garmen Ltd. has acquired Tacx, building up its fitness portfolio with the company’s focus on indoor training hardware and software. Truli Technologies, Inc. acquired Recruiter.com along with recruiting assets from Genesys Talent — the company will soon rebrand itself as the Recruiter.com Group. Finally, CPG giant Unilever is reportedly in talks to acquire French skincare and cosmetics brand Laboratoire Garancia.
