Deal of the Week

Aetna and Humana won't be stronger together. A federal judge blocked Aetna's $37 billion deal for Humana, probably ending a deal that was announced way back in July 2015. The transaction would violate antitrust laws by reducing competition among insurers, particularly among elderly users of Medicare Advantage, a U.S. district judge ruled earlier this week. Bloomberg reporter Ed Hammond, who covers health-care M&A, tells host Alex Sherman that Anthem's $48 billion deal for Cigna is almost certainly dead in the water with the decision. The two discuss what other deals may or may not make it through a new Donald Trump-led regulatory administration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neither Bloomberg's M&A executive editor Jeff McCracken nor host Alex Sherman can remember a deal quite like Johnson & Johnson's pursuit of Swiss drugmaker Actelion. First J&J publicly stated it was in talks with Actelion. Then, J&J said talks were over, and another party (Sanofi) had entered talks to buy Actelion. But just a week later, J&J and Actelion announced they'd re-entered talks. Now Bloomberg reports the sides have reached a tentative agreement on price, and a deal may be announced before the end of the month. McCracken explains why Actelion is such a coveted asset and what other large health care deals may emerge in 2017.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At first blush, it's not obvious why Mars, the owner of M&Ms and Snickers, agreed to pay more than $9 billion including debt to acquire animal hospital-owner VCA. Bloomberg consumer reporter Craig Giammona didn't even realize closely held Mars already owned 900 animal health clinics, many of which reside in PetSmart retail stores. Still, the deal pushes Mars away from its core food business. Is it a signal we could be seeing a new wave of consumer conglomerates? Or is it unfair to say this deal is trend-setting? Giammona discusses with host Alex Sherman.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is 2017 the year big energy deals come back? What about monster food mergers? Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Brooke Sutherland gave us five M&A deal predictions for 2016 back in December 2015. Now she returns to give us "Brooke's Five Bold Predictions" (trademark!) for 2017. She joins host Alex Sherman to explain why she was right -- and wrong -- in 2016, and explains what's behind her guesses for the coming year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner led the way as the biggest deal of 2016. The implications of the deals that did -- and didn't -- get announced this year set up 2017 as a year of uncertainty for mergers and acquisitions. That's usually a bad sign for deal volume, as chief executive officers like certainty when deciding to spend billions. Still, equity markets are booming, and there's a lot of optimism for a very big 2017 among M&A bankers and lawyers. Bloomberg M&A Executive Editor Jeff McCracken, M&A Managing Editor Aaron Kirchfeld and host Alex Sherman run down the biggest and most influential deals of 2016 and what the domino effects could be in 2017.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fallout from AT&T's $85 billion deal for Time Warner has begun, but maybe not how investors expected. 21st Century Fox has reached a preliminary deal to buy the 61 percent of Sky it didn't already own for $14.1 billion. But Fox may need to boost its bid to convince Sky shareholders they're paying a high enough price. Meanwhile, Shari Redstone, who controls CBS and Viacom with her father, Sumner, pulled the plug on her proposal to merge the companies. Bloomberg entertainment reporter Lucas Shaw and host Alex Sherman discuss what CBS and Viacom may do now without a combination, and why Fox moved on Sky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the big question everyone's asking in the M&A world: Will Donald Trump stay true to his business roots and champion mega-mergers, or will his protectionist, anti-media, anti-lobbyist tendencies lead to an administration that's tough on big corporations? Bloomberg Gadfly columnists Tara Lachapelle and Max Nisen give their opinions to host Alex Sherman.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode functions as a companion piece to a television interview between Methuselah Advisors managing partner, John Chachas, and host Alex Sherman earlier this week. Chachas, who has advised media companies on M&A for more than two decades, has a lot to say on how Donald Trump's election outed the news media as increasingly marginalized among all Americans as arbiters of truth. He says some news organizations will need to change how they report the news or lose ground to direct-to-consumer mouthpieces like Twitter. Plus, he says newer digital media companies such as Netflix may be the big acquirers, rather than the sellers, in 2017.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At long last, FanDuel and DraftKings have finally agreed to merge. But that doesn't mean the deal will actually happen. Bloomberg sports business reporters Eben Novy-Williams and Scott Soshnick tell host Alex Sherman that the future of both companies rests on the FTC's conception of fantasy sports and the future of legalized sports gambling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Need a break from politics? Relax and have a Twinkie with Hostess Brands CEO Bill Toler, who stops by Deal of the Week to explain why his company went public again. Hostess almost liquidated in 2012, sparking a brief consumer panic that Ho Hos and Ding Dongs would go the way of the Dodo. But Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co. acquired the company for $410 million in 2013, saving the brands. Earlier this year, they agreed with the Gores Group, a special purpose acquisition company, to take Hostess public. Now that Hostess is trading under the ticker TWNK, Toler explains to host Alex Sherman how the new company is different from the past -- even if the brands remain the same.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.