Investment banker who advised on collapsed Pfizer-Allergan merger defends “misunderstood” inversion deals May 3, 2016 An investment banker who advised Pfizer on its collapsed $160bn (£110bn) merger with Allergan has spoken out in defence of tax inversion deals, describing them as “misunderstood”. Guggenheim Partners chairman Alan Schwartz has also told how intensifying regulatory scrutiny is contributing to a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. Read more: The bitter pill of [...]
Aegon to buy BlackRock’s UK Defined Contribution (DC) platform and administration arm May 3, 2016 Aegon has today announced it is buying BlackRock's UK Defined Contribution (DC) platform and administration arm. The Dutch insurer will be acquiring assets worth roughly £12bn along with 350,000 customers, to create a workplace savings business worth £30bn. Meanwhile, asset manager BlackRock, which will be retaining £65bn of its DC business, will turn its focus [...]
Forget Brexit: The real drivers of corporate decision-making lie way beyond Britain’s borders May 3, 2016 There has, understandably, been a great deal of attention paid to the EU referendum debate, both in the UK and in many other economies with an interest in sterling. But while the referendum is certainly a highly significant constitutional event, and one which warrants the attention it has been receiving, it is just one of [...]
London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse undecided on whether shareholders will be asked to vote on merger before EU referendum as Intercontinental Exchange bides time May 2, 2016 The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Boerse have yet to decide whether shareholders will be asked to vote on their proposed merger before the EU referendum. City A.M. understands shareholders will be presented with a prospectus containing details of when the merger will be voted on before 23 June. But the stock exchanges are [...]
USA Today publisher slams rival for “lack of engagement” with “unsolicited” takeover offer and asks shareholders to show support May 2, 2016 US newspaper publisher Gannett has turned the heat up on Tribune, a rival company it wants to acquire. Gannett, which publishes USA Today and a number of local newspapers in the UK through Newsquest, last week made an $815m (£556m) offer for the Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun owner. Read more: From porn to property: [...]
Oil field service companies announce breakdown of $28bn merger following intervention from US authorities May 2, 2016 Halliburton and Baker Hughes have called off their $28bn (£19.2bn) merger, which would have represented the largest oil field services acquisition ever. The deal abandonment comes after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) last month filed a lawsuit to stop the merger. The DOJ said Halliburton's acquisition of its smaller rival would hamper competition, raise [...]
Deutsche Boerse forced to retract and clarify executive statements on London Stock Exchange merger, Intercontinental Exchange and Brexit April 30, 2016 Deutsche Boerse has been forced to clarify and retract comments made by executives in relation to its proposed merger with the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The German exchange has taken action after the Takeover Panel took issue with statements on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Brexit and the benefits of the LSE merger. The LSE also [...]
Spin-off deals appetite remains strong across Europe despite general M&A slowdown and looming EU referendum April 29, 2016 The looming EU referendum is not expected to slow spin-off mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Europe. Following a record 2015 for M&A as a whole, with more than $5 trillion of deals announced, there has been a slowdown in global activity so far this year. But Aurelius Group, which surveyed 200 respondents from its network [...]
Pharma consolidation continues with two new massive deals April 28, 2016 The latest round of consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry has seen a combined £24bn worth of potential deals. French phara giant Sanofi yesterday made a play for cancer therapy drug specialist Medivation with an unsolicited bid worth $9.3bn (£6.4bn). Sanofi has sent a letter to the head of Medivation offering to buy the company after Medivation [...]
Comcast’s NBCUniversal agrees $3.8bn deal for Shrek maker Dreamworks April 28, 2016 NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, has announced a $3.8bn (£2.6bn) deal to acquire Dreamworks Animation. Shareholders of Dreamworks Animation, the maker of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, will receive $41 in cash for each share under the deal. On Thursday morning in the US, after the announcement, the share price of Dreamworks was up 24 per cent to [...]