The Worst and The Most Recent $1.7B Deals
The Worst:
Nothing says a corporate-merger flop more than the Quaker Oats-Snapple fiasco. Recall: Quaker bought Snapple in late 1994 for $1.7B to sell it three years later to Triarc Companies (the parent company of Wendy’s) for $300 million.
The Most Recent:
MassMutual has agreed to sell its Hong Kong-based operations (MassMutual Asia) for about $1.7B to a group of Asian investors including: Yunfeng Financial Group, Ant Financial, GIC, and SINA. “MassMutual Asia’s insurance products will broaden Yunfeng’s financial product offerings and significantly contribute to the building of its financial service ecosystem, given that insurance and annuity products are indispensable in overall financial planning. This transaction will also enable cross-referrals of existing customers of Yunfeng and MassMutual Asia, thereby facilitating a wider customer reach” – Yunfeng Chairman David Yu. Last, MassMutual said its operation in Japan and a joint venture in China are not part of the transaction. Bottom Line: MassMutual Asia’s employees and management team will remain intact.
