that's another reason why this mars bid for vca makes sense.that makes your company le less didn't -- plus if your dog accidentally eats a bag of m&ms, the company's marquee product, you got to take it to the vet. mars maybe gets you coming and going. of course i don't want any dog to do that. i know it's a terrible thing. i don't think the other companies in the space are takeover targets although i do think idexx can work its way higher over time. we'll miss vca as part of the cohort, but it reminds us how much more idexx is worth. why don't we go to patrick in arizona, patrick. >> caller: hi, jim. i really like hanes products, but they haven't seen to have recovered much from last year's problems. should i be dumping their stock or holding it? >> boy, i'll tell you, patrick, i wrote a book called "real money" a long time ago, and i said accounting irregularities equals sell even if situations i like. even though the audit committee says not to worry, i must worry because i've had too many situations even though i like irwin simon, the produc

vca a very fine company. amount of money that we spend on hospitals -- remember, it's not like medicare. this is cash in the barrel. >> yeah, i'm learning that of course as a new owner of a puppy. oh, my gosh. >> david, you might want to be -- >> it is unbelievable. just two vet visits already, man, it's brutal. >> david, let me tell you something. one of the things i like about vca is pet university. they have pet university. it's very good business. >> they have teaching hospitals. >> online. >> oh, okay, pets at home. >> but this is an explosive area. and i have to tell you that idex is the king. but the fact is that this woof verifies that people -- this is people sleeping with their pets. that's been the big story. >> right, the pet has moved -- or the animal moved from being on the farm to being in the yard to being on the couch to now sleeping in the bed. >> yeah, mine sleep with me and it's actually quite crowded in there. bug, everest and lisa and me. >> you've got two, right? >> yeah, one of them sn

mars is buying vca, inc. for $93 a share. vca, inc. >> animal health care company, animal hospital segments. >> probably including dogs. >> digital radiography and ultrasound imaging for animals. >> dogs since the symbol is woof. >> i get it. >> $9.1 billion, $1.4 billion in debt. >> that's why. >> it's a big deal. >> what's the share for 90? >> 31% premium. >> january 6th. >> market cap $5.7 billion. >> $5.7 billion. add the debt and premium and it is pretty big -- don't want any dog food in mars bars. >> i don't think they are going to put dog food in mars bars. >> see the synergy even though we have all kinds of treats for dogs. >> they aren't going to put sugar in the treats for dogs. >> anbang in deal talks with donald trump's son-in-law jared kushner. investing to reinvest flagship building owned by kushner companies. kushner married to ivanka trump in consideration for senior white house role according to "new york times." kushner studying with lawyers how he would have to divest and distance himself from the family business if

vca adds to the company. vca and banfield were just the subject of bloomberg businessweek feature about how they're benefitting from the fact that we now have like 180 million pets in the country, up from 90 million ten years ago or something, and people are spending more and more on them. these companies are happy to push some treatment options for you as well. >> hopefully we don't need pet hospitals for these guys. that was the clue right there. here's a -- is this a -- an evolutionary view of buddy? >> they're relatively up to date and he did get to see snow. >> saw snow? how did he like it? >> he was okay. i thought, you know, if you're an indoor cat, you've never had that experience. was he going to be upset, excited? it was unclear. >> i sent new ones of nick and nora. nora's the shy one and nicky, you know, just hangs out. >> we've been pretty lucky, i don't know about you guys, not a ton of dough spent on their health. dogs are so young still. >> we've had an expensive year. >> have you? >> yes. 2017

. >> the food giant mars said they will strengthen the pet care division vca for nearly $8 billion. the owner of iams and whiskas will acquire more in this deal. they searched 28% to $90.79. goldman sacks is turning bearish on procter & gamble on soaka cola. they went from mutual to sell citing valuation concerns and the expectation that they will pose quarterly sales. soak was given a sell rating due to currency head winds and shares were off a fraction to $84.40. shares of coke fell to $41.32. lightings systems maker a cuity reported disappointing earnings due to lower demand and warned that it could linger. they cited manufacturing costs for the poor results. they sold more thfell more than. >> what is prompting farmers to do something they have never done before. >>> the american labor market is as tight as well. they added millions of jobs, but one industry is experiencing a labor shortage. ag kulthure. now farmers are worried that donald trump's immigration policies could make the problem even worse. we have a report from gilroy, california. >> this here is 70 acres. >> pete a

what we have is vca, take a look at the ticker price, which is -- and the ticket name, which is wo ofes are up 30% on the announcement of the deal. when you look at the candy giant mars, which has invested in milky way's and m&ms, they could have bought another snack company to augment the line. they found that going into the pet care business expands on their veterinary units and was a better way to go instead of candy bars. they are augmenting pet care and pet foods, like the cat food paykas. their deal is to $93 per share, and it expands the unit. it is aligned with the pet food brand, it is aligned with a growing company industry. this, in the u.s., is a national trend, where people are starting to treat their pets as if they are family members. on wall street, they call it doggie dollars. how big is 2017 going to be for these kind of mega-billion deals? a listen. cracks we have seen companies do lots of acquisitions outside the u.s., but there are more targets inside the u.s.. the ability to deploy the capital in the u.s. and the cash they generate in the u.s., you will see a pic

. >> we seen a huge deal for vca. gone into financing and comple e completed the series.s these but you're taking your time. it's 2011. you're not in a hurry. >> we're not in a hurry. we're really excited about the future opportunity. capping less than 1% of the market so there is a lot of growth and targeting 2018 for public offering. >> we had an outfit on last week that does basically the platform for a lot of gyms and salons. you have your own proprietary platform you use for rover.com. >> yes, we're a tech business. so for sitters we do everything from the photo sharing, the scheduling, the calendaring, we have 24/7 vet consultation and 24/7 support. it's a robust platform. >> you got this rover card system. i want you to tell people about that. i want their card. what does it mean? how do they get and it how do you profit? >> for daytime services which is dog walking, drop in visits, daycare, it turns out that host dog owners are really upset at the options because they aren't sure the service is being dell levered, the opposite of a hotel or restaurant. >> good poi

you have share of health pet care company, vca, ticker, woof, after mars said it would buy the companyor $7.7 billion. chocolate, pet care, still trying to feel that love there. if you show shares of pharmaceuticals you're definitely celebrating the stock surging 73% at this hour after japan's takata pharmaceutical would buy the u.s. cancer drugmaker valued at $5.2 billion. unitedhealth group sending surgical care affiliates rallying. surgical care rising by 15%. unitedhealth announcing plans to buy the company for $2.3 billion. acquisition action here but breaking news at the moment, is the united states about to become china's grocery store? it is ice cold here in new york city but the heat of the business deal-making world from trump tower is keeping us toasty with the president-elect holding a round of meetings involving political and global business leaders which could be good news for anyone in the agricultural business. first the politicos led by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, who charged into the golden elevators to discuss the senate's plan to repeal and replace palm

mars, the maker of m&ms is buying a company called vca.pparently a lot of money in taking care of your wpet. it gives mars a number of small animal hospitals. mars already has a solid bpet care presence. it owns pedigree and whiskas and runs banfield animal hospital. >> i read the headline. overnight that mars is buying. first of all, i did not read off the headlines because i figure you have my back. i figured it was a different company than the mars candy company. why in pet supplies? >> there is synergy. >> you want dog hair in your candy? >> it makes you happy. you don't have a pet. >> i have college tuition to pay. >> check out the new cnn money stream app. it is business news personalized all in one feed. download it now from the app store. >>> "early start" continues now. >> breaking overnight. this is something we have not seen before by a sitting u.s. senator. cory booker says he will testify against his senate colleague during confirmation hearings. jeff sessions up for attorney general. cory booker will testify against him. >>>

move over m & m and snickers and yeah bar mars is diving deeper into the pet business they just bought vca company based in los angeles purchase price $7.7 billion. mars already owns over 1,000 vet clinics and hospitals. most inside pet smart stores. now pet business will be bigger than candy business. th's who knew? >> okay. >> michael thomas we know it is cold as all get out and hopefully the warm-up you're talking about will happen sooner or later. >> i think it will surprise most people because we're very cold today and then suddenly within the next 48 to 7 hours talking 60s. why not. look off to the west here. we have snow shower activity trying to push its way out of west virginia and get closer to home here. yes, maybe you see snowflakes on way to work this morning however it's not a big concern and not going to drop anything here in d.c.. do not panic, no papic please. temperatures outside right now 24 washington and gaithersburg 19 frederick 19 as well and westminster 16 you factor in wind it feels anywhere from 5 to 10 colder than that and bundle it up earlier than that. 10 a.m.

mars, the maker of m&ms and twix is buying a company called vca. it is worth $9 billion.s a huge market. this gives mars a network of 800 animal hospitals. mars already has a solid pet care presence. it owns these brands. pedigree and whiskas and owns banfield animal hospital. when is team berman getting a dog? >> i would say never. if i want to continue having a wife, we will not have a dog. >> i see. i see. >> that is the issue. what is the synergy? what is a candy company doing in pet food? >> like pets, candy is only happiness. >> i did not realize mars was a conglomerate. >> check out the cnn money stream app. all in one feed. download it now on the app store or on google play. i am pro berman dog. i guess it is me and your kids. >> there will not be a dog. there will be candy. thankfully we will be purchasing some part of the mars empire. >> i'm christine romans. >> i'm john berman. "new day" starts in about five seconds. >>> donald trump's tapping his son-in-law to be senior advisor. >> conflict of interest doesn't apply to the president-elect, it applies to jared

it is buying a chain of nearly 400 pet hospitals from a company called vca if a deal worth more than $9 billion. >>> the next time you drive near nats park, you may notice a few new apartment buildings, especially one with a large mural being painted on its side. it is the work of an artist finland. roman sjoman and his assistants have been braving the the cold weather to make sure this is complete for the building's opening next month. >> i try to -- and, yeah, it's like paint ago huge canvas. so yeah, it's a great opportunity. i try to, you know, do my very best. >> sjoman will share more about what it's like to create a masterpiece in below freezing weather on news 4 this afternoon starting at 4:00. now, this mural is actually the largest one he's ever painted and will be one of the largest in d.c. once it's finished. >> i can't wait to see it. >> should be pretty awesome. i was trying to figure out where exactly that building is. i live over there, but i'm not sure. it looks like maybe on south capital. >> just don't lose focus on the road in front of you. >>> we are off to anoth

so mars now, finest health care provider vca and they want to expand in this area and i want to tellou what people spend on their pets, do you want to know. stuart: yes, a lot. nicole: pet food $23 billion. supplies and medicine 14 billion. vet care, grooming, boarding, regardless of the economy, everybody loves their pets. stuart: exactly. recession proof. nicole: right. stuart: people will spend a great deal of money on their cats and dogs and pets and they just do that kind of thing and mars sees it and is putting 9 billion-- they're really a pet medication company more than anything else. nicole: vca has hospitals and 60 diagnostic centers so this expand not only into food, but also pet care, 100%. stuart: who knew? i did not to that. nicole, good story. check the big board. it dropped a little and we're now below the 19,900 level. more on the retail problem here. the clothing retailer, the limited is going to close, wait for it. all 250 locations. liz: yeah, it's a rare move by a retailer to go strictly on-line, fully on-line. that's the strategy right now. what are the results