Potash Corp's head office in Saskatoon is pictured.David Stobbe/Reuters
Apparently $8.7-billion just isn't enough. The biggest news in Canadian deals from the last 24 hours is a big rejection of Potash's offer for Germany's K+S. Most of the other big deals today (including Centene's $6.3-billion (U.S.) acquisition of Health Net) took place south of the border. Still, we can celebrate a strong first half of the year here in Canada with RBC and BMO leading the M&A rankings for H1, mainly thanks to that big asset transfer at Enbridge.
DEAL OF THE DAY: German potash supplier K+S AG rejects $8.7-billion takeover from Potash Corp.
German potash supplier K+S AG has rejected an $8.7-billion (U.S.) takeover offer from Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., saying the bid is too low. The proposed offer of 41 euros a share doesn't reflect the value of K+S, the company said in a statement on Thursday. CEO Norbert Steiner of K+S AG indicated that an offer of at least €50 a share would have been more appropriate. Full story
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Health insurer Centene adds muscle with $6.3-billion Health Net deal
U.S. health insurer Centene Corp. will buy smaller rival Health Net Inc. for $6.3-billion (U.S.). The deal comes a week after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld subsidies for individuals under President Barack Obama's signature health care law, keeping a large chunk of patients intact under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Full Story
PayPal to buy online money-transfer company Xoom
PayPal Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy online money-transfer company Xoom Corp. for $890-million (U.S.) in an all-cash deal, marking incoming chief Dan Schulman's first big move ahead of his company's planned spinoff from eBay Inc. later this month. Full Story
Anthem, Cigna in new round of talks
U.S. health insurer Cigna Corp. has had its first meetings with competitor Anthem Inc. after it rebuffed Anthem's $47-billion (U.S.) merger proposal last month. It's not immediately clear yet if the new talks, which were held in the last few days, would lead to the companies reaching a deal. Full Story
NY Life seeks deals after adding $12-billion of Hancock assets
New York Life Insurance Co. is targeting more deals after purchasing about 1.3 million policies from Manulife Financial Corp.'s John Hancock unit. The finished transaction brought about $12-billion (U.S.) of assets under management to New York and was first announced last December along with a separate deal in which Manulife agreed to buy a retirement-plan services business from New York Life. Full Story
PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL
Relay Ventures takes part in $20-million funding of PubNub
PubNub has secured $20-million (U.S.) in series C financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Sapphire Ventures and was joined by existing investors, including Canada's Relay Ventures, which led the company's series A financing in 2012. Press release
Achievers acquired by Blackhawk Network for $110-million
Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. has bought Achievers Corp. for $110-million (U.S.). Achievers, which has an office in Toronto, received venture capital funding from a mix of investors, including Canada's JLA Ventures and Northleaf Capital Partners. Press release
ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT
RBC, BMO grab top spots in M&A adviser rankings
Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal were the top two advisers on Canadian M&A deals in the first half of 2015, a period during which the overall dollar value of deals surged despite a decline in the actual number of transactions. RBC and BMO snagged the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings by value, respectively, largely on the back of a single large intercompany deal: Enbridge's transfer of some of its Canadian pipeline and renewable energy assets to Enbridge Income Fund. Full Story
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Brookfield in talks to acquire Australian freight network
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP will expand its rail investment through a deal for Australia's only operator of both rail freight and ports, Asciano Ltd. The offer price is $9.05 (AUS) a share, valuing the deal at $8.8-billion. Full Story
Know of any upcoming deals we should cover? Have suggestions for making the Daily Deal Roundup more useful? E-mail me at deals@globeandmail.com. I'll respond personally to every e-mail.