Bizwatch

Let’s Make a Deal
With merger mania back in fashion, deals are sprouting across Europe this spring. Globally, companies and investors struck deals totaling $589 billion in the first quarter, $91 billion more than a year ago, says Thomson Financial, which calculates that the level of activity in the past six months is the highest since 2000. What’s propelling the merger boom?

The rise of private equity investment groups, including U.S.-based Carlyle Group, which announced last week that it has raised about $2.2 billion to spend on European acquisitions. Such firms accounted for more than 10% of European deals in 2004 and are big players this year; rival groups are currently bidding for Italian telecommunications firm Wind. The other trend: cross-border mergers are increasingly becoming a

INDICATORS
Board Battle
A nasty public dispute engulfed the board of U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley, following CEO Philip Purcell’s promotion of two co-presidents. Dissident shareholders accused Purcell of poor management.

A Thirst To Acquire
Coca-Cola and its Greek bottling unit bought Multon, the second-largest juice company in Russia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but analysts valued the purchase at about $650 million.

Reverse Gear
DaimlerChrysler announced a worldwide recall of 1.3 million Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold between 2001 and 2004. Customer complaints prompted the decision to fix brakes, alternators and batteries.

A Thirst To Acquire
Coca-Cola and its Greek bottling unit bought Multon, the second-largest juice company in Russia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but analysts valued the purchase at about $650 million.

reality. Top of the list is the $7.1 billion acquisition by Spanish real estate firm Metrovacesa of France’s Gecina. While the flurry of activity is great news for bankers, it may be less great for the firms themselves. Robert Holthausen, a professor at Wharton business school, argues that between 50% and 80% of mergers fail to deliver long-term results.

Making Baseball A Hit
Baseball may not yet be a favorite in Europe, but at least one firm believes that broadcasting the U.S.’s national pastime can be a viable European business. This week Dublin-based North American Sports Network (NASN) is set to reveal agreements with cable operators in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Iceland to bring the channel’s mix of baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football to viewers. With NASN already available in Britain, Ireland and Germany, the expansion will provide nearly 20 million homes with access to its sports fare — which this week includes three opening-day Major League Baseball games.

The channel’s strategy is to gain a foothold as part of a basic digital service. Baseball is played in leagues from France to Russia — and with considerable skill by the Dutch, Spanish and Italians. The popularity of televised NBA games, and transplanted NFL Europe football league, demonstrate a European appetite for U.S. sports. So it’s perhaps not surprising that NASN co-founder and CEO Amory Schwartz says it’s local fans, rather than U.S. expats, who make up the majority of NASN‘s audience. “American sports are exporting to Europe much better than American politics,” Schwartz notes. Perhaps, but what’s Icelandic for “infield fly rule”? — By Bruce Crumley

All In The Famille
France’s powerful Moulin family offered to buy a majority stake in the century-old retail chain Galeries Lafayette. The family, which was one of the firm’s founders and owns 32%, would pay about €2.12 billion to buy out other shareholders.