Dundee Precious Agrees to Buy Adriatic Metals for $1.25 Billion
The cash and share offer values Adriatic at 268 pence, which is a premium of about 51% to where the company's stock was trading before takeover talks were announced last month, Dundee said in a statement on Friday.
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3 days ago
- Yahoo
The Rise of Broker Consolidation – What It Means for Small Carriers
If you've been in the game long enough, you've seen this coming. Quiet acquisitions. Big-name brokerages merging. The same five players showing up on every load board. Broker consolidation isn't a trend—it's a tidal wave. And like every major shift in this industry, it's the small carriers who feel the hit first. But this ain't a doom-and-gloom story. It's a reality check. And like every challenge in trucking, there's a way to move smart and come out stronger—if you're paying attention and playing the long game. Let's unpack what's really going on, what's driving these moves behind the scenes, and how you, as a small carrier or fleet owner, need to adjust your strategy now before the landscape shifts even further. Consolidation doesn't happen randomly. It happens because the freight economy is tightening—and big brokerages are realizing that scale equals survival. When margins shrink and shippers demand more transparency, brokers need more leverage. So, they merge, acquire, and grow—fast. In the last few years, we've seen multi-million-dollar deals between mid-tier brokerages and publicly traded giants. What's the end game? Fewer brokerages with more control over freight volume, pricing, and capacity. Technology is playing a big part too. TMS platforms, AI-based pricing tools, and load-matching software are expensive to build but easier to scale once you reach critical mass. Smaller brokers simply can't keep up. So they sell—or get swallowed. But here's the kicker: the average carrier isn't watching the back end of these deals. They're just seeing fewer broker names, tighter margins, slower payments, and more hoops to jump through just to get the same freight they ran last year. And that's where things get real. Let's not sugarcoat it. Broker consolidation is a direct threat to the independence and leverage of small carriers. When five brokers control 80% of your outbound lanes, your negotiating power shrinks. Period. Here's what else it means: 1. Fewer Relationships, Less Leverage When regional brokers get bought out, the personal relationships you built over years disappear overnight. You're no longer dealing with Sarah, who knew your schedule and lanes—you're calling into a general dispatch queue with 500 other trucks. 2. Standardized Rates and Less Flexibility Big brokerages operate on margin control and volume, not relationships. That means rates are algorithmic, not negotiated. You'll get what the system offers, and if you push back too hard, you'll just get skipped over. 3. Stricter Onboarding RequirementsMega brokers want to protect their shippers. So they tighten onboarding: higher insurance minimums, stricter safety scores, longer payment cycles. If your back office isn't dialed in, you're out before you're in. 4. More Competition on the Load BoardConsolidated brokers push more freight to digital platforms, which sounds good—until you realize you're bidding against every other small carrier who saw the same load five seconds after you did. This isn't a playing field. It's a meat grinder. And if you don't adapt, you're going to find yourself hauling cheap freight with rising costs and no seat at the table. Here's something most folks miss: large brokers win because they aggregate capacity. That means the more trucks they can 'control'—whether through contracts, apps, or consistent use—the better pricing they offer to shippers. But where does that leave you? If you're a 1–10 truck operation, you can't play the volume game. You've got to play the relationship game. That means: Finding shippers who value consistency over cost Narrowing your lanes and becoming irreplaceable Getting off load boards and onto routing guides You can't win by playing their game. You win by building your own. Now here's the good news: being small still has its advantages—if you know how to use them. 1. Stay Niche, Stay ProfitableStop chasing everything. Specialize. If you run reefer, get tight on lanes and seasonal cycles. If you run flatbed, focus on niche commodities. Brokers can't replicate the precision and flexibility of a specialized carrier. That's your edge. 2. Build Direct Relationships—NowThe clock is ticking. Every week you stay dependent on brokers is another week you lose leverage. Start mapping your lanes. Identify potential direct shippers. Make calls. Send emails. Drop in face-to-face. Relationships built today pay off when capacity tightens again. 3. Level Up Your Back OfficeIf your safety scores, invoicing, or paperwork is sloppy, you'll get left behind. Clean it up. Build systems. Automate what you can. Make your operation easy to work with and compliant with larger broker or shipper expectations. 4. Watch the Freight Tech StackThe big players are using technology to move faster. That doesn't mean you need to break the bank, but you need to pay attention. Digital rate confirmations, GPS tracking, ELD integrations—all of that matters now. If your systems are outdated, you're adding friction to every transaction. 5. Collaborate with Other CarriersThis one is underrated. You may not have 50 trucks, but if you partner with others in your region or niche, you can co-market to shippers, share backhauls, or present a united front for routing guide bids. That's how small fleets punch above their weight. Real Talk – What I Tell My Carriers When I work with small carriers inside the Playbook, I don't sell dreams. I deliver strategy. And the truth is, broker consolidation isn't going away. If you're waiting for things to go 'back to normal,' you're already behind. Here's what I tell my fleet owners every single week: Stop thinking of brokers as your customers. They're not. They're your middleman. Stop looking at load boards as a strategy. They're a backup plan. Start investing time in what builds long-term leverage: shipper relationships, clean compliance, and operational consistency. Because in this new landscape, the winners will be the ones who control the freight—not the ones chasing it. Broker consolidation is changing the rules of the game, but it's not the end of the road for small carriers—it's just a different road. The ones who adjust, evolve, and build outside the load board will thrive. The ones who don't will keep running harder for less money. Don't let size be your excuse. Let it be to your advantage. Move faster, build tighter, and stay focused. Because in this business, the ones who adapt are the ones who survive—and the ones who dominate. The post The Rise of Broker Consolidation – What It Means for Small Carriers appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
SPACs Regain Popularity as IPO Alternative for Smaller Firms
(Bloomberg) -- After years out in the cold, special purpose acquisition companies are again positioning themselves as an alternative to traditional initial public offerings for businesses that have been left out of the nascent recovery in first-time stock sales. NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing California Exempts Building Projects From Environmental Law Only nine of the 100 traditional IPOs priced in 2025 have raised more than $500 million, while two-thirds of these brought in less than $50 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The figures highlight the IPO market's barbell shape this year, consisting of large, well-established companies on the one hand and riskier small-cap companies on the other. Small and mid-sized companies sandwiched between the two extremes could increasingly seek to merge with SPACs as an alternative to the regular way of going public, said Kristi Marvin, founder and chief executive of data and analysis firm SPAC Insider. 'Many companies that have a $1 billion to $5 billion market value are not given the same priority by bankers as the larger companies,' Marvin said. That's leading firms to consider other options, including the SPAC route, she said. Recent deals include Cantor Equity Partners' $3.6 billion combination with Tether and SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Bitcoin treasury company Twenty One Capital Inc., announced in April, Ares Acquisition Corp. II's $2.5 billion union with driverless truck tech firm Kodiak Robotics Inc. — also unveiled in April — and the announced merger of Michael Klein's Churchill Capital Corp. IX with another driverless truck tech firm, Plus Automation Inc. As a result, the SPAC IPO market is having its busiest year since 2021's boom and bust that saw more than 600 blank check vehicles go public, many of which either turned into disappointing investments following mergers with concept-type companies or timed out without striking a business combination. The prospects for both traditional and non-traditional routes to the public markets are picking up amid a rebound in US stock markets, with eye-popping debuts by companies such as Circle Internet Group and CoreWeave. Stock prices also jumped in the case of SPACs that have announced business combinations, also known as deSPACS. 'The strong aftermarket performance we have seen from recent IPOs and recent deSPACs is certainly catalyzing additional interest in both markets,' said Beau Bohm, Cantor Fitzgerald's global co-head of equity capital markets. 'The resurgence in both the traditional IPO market and the SPAC market is very much related.' Marvin expects more deal announcements this year, even though their current number — at 23 — remains far below that for SPAC IPOs. 'It is always difficult and that's why a lot of names from 2021 got into trouble,' she said. 'It looks easy from the outside but all of the sponsors will tell you it is not.' Sectors such as crypto will likely feature heavily in both the traditional IPO market and the SPAC business, though the new SPAC cycle will potentially provide higher-quality companies than the previous one. 'A distinction between what we are seeing now and what we had seen when the SPAC market cooled a few years ago is an enhancement of the general quality of issuers that are contemplating these alternative means of going public,' said Bohm, whose firm is leading the market by pricing 16 SPAC IPOs this year. Criticism of SPACs often overlooks that most traditional IPOs priced in 2021 also fell sharply from their offering prices, Marvin said. 'It is a better-quality sponsor coming to market and a better deal environment,' she said. And, there are success stories, with former SPACs such as Hims & Hers Health, RocketLab, Vertiv, SoFi Technologies and DraftKings all turning into market favorites. While the path to a deSPAC transaction can be long, companies can take advantage of the current risk-on environment to pitch their story and secure commitments from investors for capital more quickly than the traditional IPO process allows, Bohm said. Some companies recently chose to go public via the deSPAC route, even though they had the chance to pursue a regular IPO. 'In the current market environment, there is more than one viable avenue for issuers with attractive stories to get public,' Bohm said. (Adds link in paragraph 6.) SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House China's Homegrown Jewelry Superstar Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
M&A comeback on pause amid Trump policy haze: PwC
This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. U.S. merger-and-acquisition activity saw little growth in the first half of the year despite high hopes at the start of President Donald Trump's second term in office, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report. An upswing is still possible going forward, but it's unlikely without more policy clarity and stability, the report said. 'Policy and economic uncertainty have put a damper on overall deal volume,' PwC U.S. Deals Platform Leader Kevin Desai said in an interview. The total number of U.S. M&A transactions in January through the end of May was 4,535, comparable to the year-earlier period, which saw 4,515 deals, according to PwC. Before Trump took office in January, there were expectations for an M&A revival this year, but his administration's aggressive policies — particularly in the area of trade — have dampened enthusiasm for new deals, at least temporarily, the Big Four accounting firm said. In a May 'Pulse Survey,' PWC found that 30% of organizations have paused or are revisiting deals due to tariff issues. 'Dealmaking growth stalled as companies struggled to predict how new tariff policies would impact business models — or if the policies would change before implementation,' the report said. The current environment will create opportunities for strategic buyers who can 'move quickly and decisively,' PwC said, cautioning that scenario planning around sources of uncertainty needs to be conducted more frequently, such as once a month instead of once a quarter or annually. CFOs in particular will need to carefully manage liquidity and the financial fundamentals of their business, according to the report. 'Position balance sheets so your company can move quickly when market conditions become more favorable — or when advantageous buy or sell opportunities arise,' it said. Recommended Reading US M&A volume to rise just 1% this year amid tariffs: EY Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
