£25.7bn in deals: Strongest M&A start of the year in two decades February 15, 2021 Deals involving a UK investment or acquisition target hit £25.7bn during the first six weeks of this year, more than three times the value recorded during the same period in 2020. It also marks the highest opening six-week period for deal announcements of any year since 2000, according to new data from London Stock Exchange-owned [...]
U.S law firm Armstrong Teasdale buys Kerman & Co in London expansion February 10, 2021 U.S law firm Armstrong Teasdale has bought City law firm Kerman & Co, adding 50 lawyers to the American firm. Kerman & Co, which is based in The Strand, specialises in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, commercial and intellectual property, litigation, employment and immigration, sports and entertainment and real estate. “We have [...]
United Utilities pockets £88m for stake in Estonian water company February 3, 2021 United Utilities has agreed to a £88m cash deal to sell its 35.3 per cent stake in the largest water utility company in Estonia, Tallin Water. The utilities company will sell the stake to a consortium led by the Estonian city of Tallinn, which is an existing partner of United Utilities, alongside company Utilitas. Company [...]
Hunter becomes the hunted: property firm sold to TPFG for £24m January 28, 2021 Real estate firm Hunters agreed this morning to a takeover by The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) to create an enlarged franchised estate agent with just over 400 branches. TPFG is set to acquire Hunters for £24m after the approval of the firm’s founder, chairman and MP Kevin Hollinrake. The acquisition should allow for cost synergies [...]
The Priory goes Private (Equity): UK rehab clinics sold in £1bn deal December 30, 2020 The Priory Group, operators of the UK’s best-known rehab clinics, has been bought by private equity outfit Waterland. Acadia, the American owners of the Group, confirmed the offload before US markets opened. Read more: 2021 set to see an M&A boom It will merge the two businesses and create what Waterland say will be “Europe’s [...]
Spanish banks say adios to merger talks November 27, 2020 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Banco de Sabadell have ended potential merger talks without having reached a deal. “Banco Sabadell informs that the board of directors has decided to terminate the above mentioned discussions, because the parties have not achieved an agreement on the exchange ratio of both entities,” Sabadell said in a statement. [...]
AA poised to accept £218m private equity takeover offer November 23, 2020 The AA has told two private equity groups it would be willing to accept a proposed 35p-a-share offer for the struggling motor group, the company said in a statement. The two private equity firms would also invest £380m to help reduce its debt pile of £2.6bn as part of the deal. Shares fell almost three [...]
Watchdog calls for Viagogo-Stubhub breakup over competition concerns October 22, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog has called for ticket reseller Viagogo to sell “all or part of” Stubhub, after a large-scale review into the merger found the two were close competitors in “a very concentrated market”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation into the $4bn (£3bn) deal, completed in February, found it was [...]
G4S rebuffs Gardaworld’s takeover offer as it “significantly undervalues” company October 19, 2020 G4S (GFS) has dismissed Gardaworld’s hostile takeover bid, after the outsourcing giant claimed its 190p per share offer “significantly undervalues the company and its prospects”. In a filing to the London Stock Exchange, G4S said its board had unanimously rejected Canadian rival Gardaworld’s offer because it was “not in the best interests of shareholders or [...]
Alstom confirms Bombardier merger talks February 17, 2020 French train manufacturer Alstom has confirmed talks to purchase the rail division of Canadian firm Bombardier are ongoing. The proposed deal could be worth $7bn on an enterprise value basis, Reuters has reported. Reports of the merger came last week, quoting a French TV station, that Alstom’s board was set to make an offer. “Alstom [...]