Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions

Vodafone

18/02/2026 21:29

Updates: Liberty Global, adds: Ebay, Nestle, SM Energy

Feb 18 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2130 GMT on Wednesday:

** EBay EBAY.O said it would buy consumer-to-consumer fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy ETSY.N for nearly $1.2 billion in cash. nL4N3ZE1MD

** Nestle NESN.S is weighing a smaller presence in the ice cream business and has been reviewing options, including a possible reduction of its stake in Froneri, Bloomberg News reported. nL4N3ZE1EQ

** U.S.-based oil and gas producer SM Energy SM.N said it would sell select assets in South Texas to Caturus Energy for $950 million in cash to reduce debt and bolster its capital structure. nL4N3ZE0VG

** Rio Tinto RIO.L, RIO.AX said it has gained majority control of Canada's Nemaska Lithium, advancing its push to build an integrated lithium business in Quebec. nL4N3ZE118

** Cencora COR.N will sell its subsidiary MWI Animal Health to privately held Covetrus in a deal valuing the unit at $3.5 billion, the companies said, as it aims to narrow its focus on drug distribution. nL4N3ZE0Q4

** Western Digital WDC.O is planning to raise $3.17 billion by selling a part of its stake in flash memory unit Sandisk SNDK.O, which it used to own, as the hard disk drive maker looks to reduce debt. nL4N3ZE0D4

** A consortium including Liberty Global LBTYA.O agreed on Wednesday to buy British alternative fibre provider Substantial Group for 2 billion pounds ($2.72 billion) in a bid to take on BT Openreach. [nL4N3ZE11F]

** Vodafone VOD.L said it would sell its 50% stake in Dutch joint-venture VodafoneZiggo to its partner Liberty Global LBTYA.O for 1 billion euros ($1.18 billion) in cash and a 10% stake in a new enlarged Benelux telecoms group. nL4N3ZE0WS

** Australian steelmaker BlueScope Steel BSL.AX said it was considering a sweetened A$15 billion ($10.62 billion) takeover approach from SGH Ltd SGH.AX and U.S.-based Steel Dynamics STLD.O, but investors remain hesitant a deal will go ahead. nL4N3ZD1QJ

** Danaher DHR.N, a $150 billion U.S. company that makes tools used in developing and testing medicines, on Tuesday agreed to buy Masimo MASI.O for $9.9 billion, expanding in patient-monitoring devices in a surprise move outside its main focus. nL4N3ZD0X5

** Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O on Tuesday rejected Paramount Skydance's PSKY.O latest $30-a-share hostile bid, but gave the rival Hollywood studio seven days to submit a "best and final" offer to top an existing agreement to sell its businesses, including HBO Max and "Harry Potter" franchise to Netflix. nL4N3ZD0PX

(Compiled by Rajarshi Roy and Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com))