Ministers to change UK merger rules in bid to speed up deals Business Whitehall is preparing a fundamental reset of the UK’s merger control regime, as ministers seek to accelerate deal-making and strip back some red tape for businesses. The Department for Business and Trade is expected to outline plans this week that would significantly change how the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) reviews takeovers and sector-wide competition [...]
Glencore shares surge after FTSE 100 miner merger talks revealed Commodities The global mining landscape is bracing for a seismic shift after Rio Tinto and Glencore confirmed they are in talks regarding a potential merger. A tie-up between the two FTSE 100 titans would create the world’s largest mining entity, boasting a combined enterprise value of approximately £190bn. Glencore shares rallied nine per cent in early [...]
Mark Kleinman: What’s in store for the Square Mile in 2026? Business Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Not great, not awful: a fair summary of my corporate predictions for 2025. On the plus side, I was right to forecast a bid for ITV, or at least part of it, and correct that Thames [...]
UK fintech Zilch eyes deals spree on march towards public debut January 7, 2026 Consumer payments giant Zilch is eyeing more deals after snapping up a Lithuanian challenger bank ahead of its long-awaited public debut. The UK fintech has acquired Fjord Bank, helping it to secure a European banking licence and accelerate overseas plans. “We needed a regulatory umbrella that would allow us to go and move really fast [...]
Banking and insurance to drive financial M&As after 2025 frenzy January 7, 2026 Deals in the financial services sector are expected to be “robust” in the year to come, following a burst of activity from the banking and insurance sector in 2025. UK banks, insurers and asset managers publicly disclosed 337 deals last year. Whilst this dipped down from the record high of 378 in 2024, the value [...]
Warner Bros slides ahead of takeover deadline December 30, 2025 Warner Bros Discovery has been trading lower in the days leading up to the 21 January offer deadline, as investors weigh the chances of a successful deal amid competing bids from Netflix and Paramount Skydance. Shares slipped 0.04 per cent to $28.79 (£21.30) on Monday, trading around four per cent below Paramount’s $30 cash offer. [...]
Monzo snaps up UK mortgage broker in first major acquisition December 16, 2025 UK fintech Monzo has made its first major acquisition with a deal to snap up a digital mortgage broker in a bid bulk up its “all-in-one” superapp. The digital bank announced on Friday it had snapped up Habito, a fintech firm which uses tech to accelerate the home-buying process with free online advice. The deal [...]
Starling revs up Engine with City hiring spree December 16, 2025 Starling is motoring into 2026 with its foot firmly on the pedal, injecting a fresh pump of gas into the group’s technology arm. The UK fintech veteran is planning to shift its software-as-a-service (Saas) banking platform into top gear with a major hiring spree across London. The platform, known as Engine, is a subsidiary of [...]
Netflix holds Hollywood’s crown, but at what cost? December 9, 2025 If you have so much as glanced at any headlines in the past few days, you will have seen that Hollywood is entering a new era of streaming consolidation, with Netflix leading the way. The US giant has agreed a mega $72bn (£54bn) deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery’s film and TV studios, HBO Max, [...]
Paramount crashes Netflix-Warner Bros party with £108bn rival bid December 8, 2025 Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), throwing the film titan’s recent deal with streaming giant Netflix into uncertainty. On Monday, Paramount said its all-cash tender offer of $30 (£22.50) per share provides shareholders $18bn more than Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer. Paramount chief executive David Ellison argued the [...]