The Business Times

Chris Hughes

Shell is evaluating a potential acquisition of BP, but is taking a cautious wait-and-see strategy.

Where are Shell’s animal spirits for a BP deal? 

There aren’t always first-mover advantages in the merger market

Signage outside a branch of Nomura Securities Co., a unit of Nomura Holdings Inc., in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Nomura Holdings’ $1.8 billion purchase of some Macquarie Group Ltd. assets in the US and Europe adds to a surge in overseas deals by Japanese firms, even with the trade war rattling global markets. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Active fund management isn't dead just yet

It is quite easy to do bad deals in asset management. Option one, overpay for a private capital business in the aggressive dash...

The fact is that scale increasingly matters in the industry, and Omnicom’s unusual move deserves the benefit of the doubt.
THE BOTTOM LINE

A US$31b ad deal shows the Mad Men are scared

Omnicom’s deal for Interpublic faces massive risks – from assuaging regulators to retaining clients and staff. But threats from AI mean doing...

An acquisition of Seven & i has gone from unthinkable to a potentially helpful demonstration of how people can make money in Japanese equities.

How 7-Eleven can get a big price from Circle K

Seven & i must do more than talk to push suitor Couche-Tard to offer a full price. Now is the time to...

Abrdn’s authority to push for governance improvements in its portfolio companies is undermined if it’s vulnerable to criticism itself.
THE BOTTOM LINE

KPMG’s 40 years auditing for one asset manager is plenty, thanks

The long-standing relationship between the Big Four firm and Abrdn sets a poor example on the critical issue of auditor independence

Second-generation billionaires want to enable their descendants to benefit from their wealth and grow what their forebears had achieved.
WEALTH & INVESTING

Billionaire heirs have a how-to-spend-it problem

Ten-figure fortunes come mainly from inheritance, not from hard work. But if heirs don’t know how to make money, are they good...

Stocks with dominant holders should command lower valuations to capture the fact that smaller shareholders are disadvantaged.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Bain Capital’s buyout bid shows the risks of investing in a company with big shareholders

Founding investors in Switzerland’s SoftwareOne are backing a buyout bid that suits them fine. Should they care if the offer is bad...

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