Suntory, known for producing Japan’s first whiskey, has agreed to acquire the maker of Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark bourbons, among other spirits, for $13.6 billion, DealBook reports. Including the assumption of debt, the deal is valued at $16 billion. Suntory is offering Jim Beam shareholders $83.50 a share in cash, 25 percent above the company’s closing price on Friday.
According to the deal, announced on Monday, Matthew J. Shattock, Jim Beam’s president and chief executive, and the current management team will continue to lead the business out of its headquarters outside Chicago.
BANK OF AMERICA SAYS TAKE A DAY OFF Â |Â Bank of America Merrill Lynch is trying to make life a little easier for its junior bankers, saying its youngest employees should take four days off a month, on the weekend. Though this may seem like a punishment to those not accustomed to the soul-crushing Wall Street schedule, which often entails working into the early morning, pulling all-nighters, and working on weekends, the announcement comes as a small relief to the analysts and associates at the investment bank, William Alden and Sydney Ember report in DealBook.
Mr. Alden and Ms. Ember write: “The effort, coming after a review of several months, is the latest sign that Wall Street banks are taking a critical look at the hard-charging culture of these jobs, which are often seen as steppingstones to higher-ranking positions with better salaries (and, eventually, weekends off).â€
Bank of America follows other investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, who have taken steps toward making life more enjoyable for young bankers.
At the same time, investment banks are also reconsidering their summer internship programs, The Wall Street Journal reports. One former intern at Barclays described what he called “toilet naps,†where summer interns would hide in bathroom stalls and fall asleep for however long they could.
‘WOLF’ WINS  | Leonardo DiCaprio won best actor in a comedy for his part in “The Wolf of Wall Street†at the 2014 Golden Globes on Sunday night.
SPARRING AT SAC INSIDER TRADING TRIAL Â |Â The trial of Mathew Martoma, a former SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund manager accused of insider trading, kicked off on Friday with harsh words from both sides, Alexandra Stevenson writes in DealBook.
A federal prosecutor claimed in his opening statement that Mr. Martoma “corrupted†doctors to gain an “illegal edge†that helped SAC avoid losses and generate profits of $276 million at the height of the financial crisis.
Mr. Martoma’s lawyer then countered that the government’s case was “riddled with inconsistencies.â€
The opening of the trial was also a reunion of sorts, Matthew Goldstein and Ben Protess write in DealBook. Mr. Martoma was expelled from Harvard Law School for faking his transcript in May 1999, the same month that his prosecutor, Arlo Devlin-Brown, was preparing to graduate from the law school.
REGULATORS BACK DOWN ON LEVERAGE RATIO  | Global banking regulators bowed to pressure from banks on Sunday, lowering the level of capital that banks would be required to hold against their loans when new rules go into effect in 2018, Reuters reports. The level, called the leverage ratio, is part of the Basel III accord aimed at reducing banks’ balance sheet risk.
“The final calibration, and any further adjustments to the definition, will be completed by 2017,†the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision said in a statement.
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â The North American International Auto Show begins Monday in Detroit. Dennis P. Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, gives a speech on the economic outlook in Atlanta. Glenn Hutchins, the co-founder of the private equity firm Silverlake Partners, is on CNBC at 7 a.m.
AFTER SCANDAL, MCKINSEY’S CULTURE FACES SHIFT  | Dominic Barton, the global managing director of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, is on a mission, Anita Raghavan writes in The New York Times. After insider trading charges felled some of the firm’s top brass, and as the Securities and Exchange Commission continues to crack down on such activity, Mr. Barton is trying to prevent another disgrace by implementing policies intended to curb dishonest personal investment.
But not everyone has accepted Mr. Barton’s rules, especially his employees in Europe, who are not subject to the same regulations as those in the United States. Some have called his policies “childish†and accused him of operating a “nanny state.†Still, many within the firm are praising the rules, which some say vault McKinsey to the forefront of the industry, which does not face the same personal investment regulations as banks.
“We needed more safety moats around the castle,†Mr. Barton said. “We have this values/trust culture. I get that. Now we have a little more edge.â€
OVERSTOCK C.E.O. TO NEW YORK: STEP UP BITCOIN GAME  | On Thursday, Overstock.com, the online discount retailer, began accepting Bitcoin for purchases, and on Friday, Patrick M. Bryne, the company’s chief executive, started tweeting about the virtual currency’s success (h/t Wired Magazine). “After 21 hours on @overstock.com, we’ve had 780 #Bitcoin orders that accounted for $124,000 in sales. Wow!†he posted on Twitter at 11:38 a.m. on Friday. Later that day, he called the venture a “huge success: 840 orders, $130,000 in sales.â€
According to one of Mr. Byrne’s posts, the most-purchased items were sheets, mobile phone cases, flash drives and bath towels. The states with the most purchases were California, Texas, Florida and Washington. “I think NY needs to up its game,†Mr. Byrne tweeted on Friday night.
Amec Agrees to Buy Swiss Rival for $3.2 Billion  | By acquiring Foster Wheeler, the British engineering and project management firm Amec would expand its footprint, including increasing its presence in Latin America. DealBook »
Alcatel-Lucent Said to Be Considering Sale of Enterprise Unit  | Alcatel-Lucent, a French-American telecommunications company, is discussing selling its enterprise business, Bloomberg News reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. Potential buyers could include Unify, a venture of Siemens and the Gores Group. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Sanofi Unit to Buy $700 Million Stake in Rare Disease Company  | Genzyme, the American biotechnology unit of the French drug maker Sanofi, is buying a 12 percent stake in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals for $700 million as part of an expanded alliance to develop treatments for rare genetic diseases. DealBook »
Eminence Capital to Support Men’s Wearhouse Bid  | Eminence Capital, Men’s Wearhouse’s largest shareholder, plans to back the company’s hostile bid for Jos. A. Bank, The Wall Street Journal reports. Eminence has a stake of nearly 10 percent in Men’s Wearhouse. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Australian Phone Company Sells Stake in Sensis  | Australia’s largest phone company, the Telstra Corporation, is selling a majority stake in its directories unit, Sensis, to Platinum Equity for $408 million, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Equity Businesses Could Bolster Banks  | Faced with weakness in the fixed-income markets, banks are looking to equity trading and underwriting to bring in revenue when they report fourth-quarter earnings this week, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
Banks Give Marijuana Businesses Cold Shoulder  | Banks are reluctant to provide loans to marijuana businesses, despite their legality, The New York Times writes. The result is that these businesses are conducted almost entirely in cash. NEW YORK TIMES
Spotlight on Potential Candidates for Next Goldman Sachs Leader  | Among the executives being considered as the next chief executive of Goldman Sachs are Harvey M. Schwartz, the bank’s chief financial officer, and Stephen Scherr, the head of the financing group, Quartz writes. QUARTZ
JPMorgan to Begin C.D.O. Trial  | JPMorgan Chase has brought a $200 million case against BVG, the Berlin transport authority, over collateralized-debt obligations created before the financial crisis, The Financial Times writes. FINANCIAL TIMES
Freewheeling Traders Leaving Banks  | The recent departures from investment banks of traders who took big risks during the financial crisis could signal a trend, Quartz reports. QUARTZ
Money Flows to the Biggest Buyout Funds  | Half of all capital raised for private equity buyouts in 2013 went to the biggest funds, according to data released on Friday by Preqin, a research firm based in London. It was the first time since 2008 that megafunds have commanded half the market. DealBook »
K.K.R.-Backed Brewing Company’s Sales Could Impress  | The Oriental Brewing Company, which is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, tallied $63.3 million in exports in the first half of 2013, The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Hedge Fund Manager Fights U.S. Charges  | Florian Homm, a former hedge fund manager who is facing federal charges in the United States for defrauding investors of at least $200 million, is fighting extradition to Los Angeles from Italy, The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES
A Win for Stock-Picking Hedge Funds  | Hedge funds that invested in stocks at the beginning of 2013 whose value then rose were more successful than funds that relied on complicated strategies for gains, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Chinese I.P.O.’s Shelved After Regulator Stiffens Rules  | The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced over the weekend that it would tighten restrictions on public offerings, shortly after the first new share sales since 2012 had been approved. Five companies halted their offerings in response. DealBook »
Moelis Is Said to Ready a Potential Public Offering  | Moelis & Company, the boutique investment bank founded by Kenneth D. Moelis, has begun working with advisers on a potential initial public offering, people briefed on the matter said on Friday. DealBook »
Hong Kong’s Power Assets Downsizes I.P.O.  | Power Assets Holdings, a Hong Kong company owned by Asia’s wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing, said it would reduce its initial public offering of HK Electric Investments, Bloomberg News reports. Power Assets is seeking to raise as much as $3.6 billion in the I.P.O. BLOOMBERG NEWS
The Father-Son Team Behind New York’s Start-Ups  | Ben Lerer and his father Ken Lerer currently back 185 start-ups, including the 3-D printer MakerBot and Rap Genius, New York Magazine writes. NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Innovation at CES 2014 Underwhelms  | The new products that were showcased at this year’s International CES, which has been a platform for selling new technology, were disappointing, Nick Bilton writes in the Bits blog. NEW YORK TIMES BITS
Venture Capital Increased Early Stage Investments in 2013 Â |Â Venture capital firms committed more capital to early stage funds in 2013 than the previous year, The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Litigation Finance Firm Raises $260 Million for New Fund  | The firm, Gerchen Keller Capital, bankrolls plaintiffs and defendants in lawsuits, and has raised its new financing only a year after opening its doors. DealBook »
As With Banks, Asset Managers Could Be ‘Systemically Important’  | In the too-big-to-fail parade, regulators weigh how to identify which asset managers should be added to the list, Gretchen Morgenson writes in the Fair Game column in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
Bank’s Troubles Stem From Bad Financial Engineering  | It was not bad loans that created big losses for the Zions Bankcorporation, it was ill-fated and ill-timed financial innovation, Floyd Norris writes in the High & Low Finance column in The New York Times.
NEW YORK TIMES
BlackRock Stands Behind Trader  | BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said it was supporting Nigel Bolton, the firm’s head of European equities, who Italian regulators claim engaged in insider trading, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
Jobs Numbers Disappoint  | Data released Friday indicated that job growth had slowed in December to a three-year low, The New York Times reports. “Wintry weather, however, may have exaggerated the weakness.†NEW YORK TIMES
