London ad agency VCCP expands into the US with acquisition May 23, 2016 London advertising agency VCCP has expanded into the US, with the purchase of a San Francisco based firm. VCCP is owned by Chime Communications, which was bought for £347m last year by Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP and Providence Equity Partners. It has purchased MUH-TAY-ZIK | HOF-FER, an ad agency which counts Audi and Netflix among its [...]
French government has competition concerns over London Stock Exchange merger – and tells European Commission: “Get involved” May 20, 2016 The London Stock Exchange’s proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse has today come under further political pressure, with France’s government expressing competition concerns. Since the details of the £21bn merger were set out in March, the deal has come under scrutiny from politicians in both the UK and Germany. Read more: Here are the next "hurdles" facing [...]
Yah-boo: Bids for internet giant are way lower than anticipated May 20, 2016 Bids for Yahoo’s core business are expected to be lower than anticipated. Several organisations have been linked with the auction process for the internet giant, including Verizon Communications, private equity firms and the owner of the Daily Mail. It also emerged this week that investor Warren Buffett is backing a consortium that is bidding for Yahoo’s [...]
Oil services groups FMC Technologies and Technip to team up in $13bn deal May 19, 2016 France's Technip and US rival FMC Technologies said today they would merge to create an oil services company worth $13bn (£8.9bn). It comes as the industry has been enacting cost cuts to weather the oil price rout which has hit exploration and production. Technip and FMC expect the all-share deal to save at least $400m in annual costs by 2019. Read [...]
UK M&A is on “hiatus” but will recover whichever way EU vote goes, says private equity chief executive May 19, 2016 The chief executive of private equity company 3i has told how there is a “hiatus” in UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the lead up to the EU referendum. But Simon Borrows told City A.M. activity will pick up after the summer no matter which way the vote goes. Shares in the buyout firm [...]
Shares in controversial seed giant Monsanto are growing after a German rival confirmed takeover interest May 19, 2016 Shares in US seed company Monsanto grew more than seven per cent in after-hours trading after German rival Bayer confirmed it is seeking to take over the firm. The share price of Bayer, meanwhile, fell 7.5 per cent to €89.15 after it confirmed its interest. Bayer, the German drugs and chemicals maker, said in a statement [...]
Qatar Airways ramps up stake in British Airways owner IAG May 18, 2016 Qatar Airways yesterday said it has increased its stake in British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), at a time when the Gulf state is overhauling its business strategy due to the challenging oil market. The Gulf airline, which is fully government owned, has raised its holding in the FTSE 100-quoted airline group to [...]
China’s Midea is gunning for German industrial robot maker Kuka with one of the largest ever unsolicited approaches of a foreign company by a Chinese buyer May 18, 2016 Chinese home-appliance maker Midea is plotting a takeover attempt of German industrial robot maker Kuka, in a deal that values the German company at $5bn (£3.4bn). If it goes ahead it would be one of the largest unsolicited approaches of a foreign company by a Chinese buyer. The deal is the latest in a round of recent tie-ups and investments in [...]
London Stock Exchange expects shareholder vote on Deutsche Boerse merger after the EU referendum May 18, 2016 The London Stock Exchange expects its shareholders to vote on the proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse after the EU referendum. The company said in a statement this morning that shareholder documents are expected to be published in June. And its shareholders are then expected to be asked to vote at a meeting in July. Read [...]
How M&A buyers are taking a “watch and wait” approach to UK acquisitions ahead of EU referendum May 17, 2016 Another day, another M&A report, another conclusion relating to the EU referendum. Buyers are taking a “watch and wait” approach to UK acquisitions before the EU referendum next month, according to Deloitte. Global M&A activity has slumped so far in 2016 following a record-breaking 2015, in which more than $5 trillion worth of deals were announced. [...]