Hey folks, welcome to this week's rundown of the top news.
[Debt] Chinese property developers’ issuance of dollar debt has come to a near standstill as the escalating Evergrande crisis severs other real estate companies’ access to global capital markets. High yield dollar bond issuance by Chinese developers during the year to date is down a record 97 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2021.
Over60: FT
[M&A] Berkshire Hathaway said Monday morning it agreed to buy insurance company Alleghany for $11.6 billion, or $848.02 per share, in cash. This transaction would mark Berkshire’s biggest acquisition in six years when the conglomerate bought industrial company Precision Castparts for $37 billion, including debt.
Over60: CNBC
[Food] President Joe Biden said that the world will experience food shortages as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are both major producers of wheat, in particular, and Kyiv’s government has already warned that the country’s planting and harvest have been severely disrupted by the war.
Over60: Bloomberg
[M&A] Indian food delivery firm Zomato will be conducting an all-stock merger with Blinkit which will value the instant-delivery service between $700 million and $750 million. Last August, Zomato acquired over 9% stake in Blinkit for almost $68 million. Earlier this year, Zomato also said it would be investing as much as $400 million to the Indian quick commerce market for the next two years. Earlier this week, Zomato also announced a new pilot programme wherein they were targetting food delivery within 10 minutes.
Over60: PYMNTS