London investment firm Centricus makes surprise entry into Tiktok takeover race October 9, 2020 A little-known British investment firm has reportedly emerged as a shock bidder for Tiktok as it looks to derail Oracle’s tie-up with the Chinese viral video app. London-based Centricus Asset Management has been in negotiations with the chief executive of Tiktok’s parent company Bytedance for weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm is said [...]
Betfred owner denies rival bid for William Hill October 4, 2020 Betfred co-founder Fred Done has pushed back against reports that he will make a rival bid for William Hill, which has already given the green light to a £2.9bn deal with Las Vegas casino owner Caesars Entertainment. Done, who is William Hill’s second-biggest investor, was weighing up “all options” this weekend, the Sunday Telegraph reported. [...]
Activist investor Trian takes stakes in Invesco and Janus Henderson October 2, 2020 Activist investor Trian Fund Management has reportedly taken stakes in Invesco and Janus Henderson with plans to pursue further deals. Trian has built stakes in both Invesco and Janus enderson of 9.9 per cent, with the positions accounting for a combined $900m (£700m), according to the Wall Street Journal. The money reportedly comes from a [...]
Tiffany wins expedited trial over LVMH’s bid to ditch $16bn takeover September 22, 2020 Tiffany & Co has won a motion to fast-track its lawsuit over LVMH’s bid to abandon a $16.6bn (£12.9bn) takeover of the US jeweller. Tiffany earlier this month sought legal action against luxury goods firm LVMH after the Paris-based company said the takeover deal was “no longer possible”. LVMH, which is owned by French billionaire [...]
M&A sprees are addictive… and they cause me to sell, sell, sell September 15, 2020 | City Talk Aswath Damodaran has a blunt message for companies considering an acquisition: “Don’t do it.” “I firmly believe that acquisitions are an addiction, that once companies start to grow through acquisitions, they cannot stop,” Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business, told the audience at the CFA Institute Equity Research [...]
Signs of a positive Q4 despite lingering crisis September 9, 2020 | Sponsored Going into Q4 2020, we’re seeing EMEA starting to peek its head over the crest of the global pandemic. The just-released SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor for Q4 2020 forecasts that M&A announcements may see a YOY uptick of +6 percent, within a range of +15 percent to -2 percent. Distressed M&A deals have risen slightly here, but [...]
Exclusive: Bust burrito chain Chilango sold out of administration August 27, 2020 Burrito chain Chilango has today been sold out of administration after the Covid-19 pandemic finished off the already struggling business, City A.M. can reveal. The Mexican-themed fast-food chain told investors today that administrators RSM had secured a buyer for the business. RSM confirmed this afternoon the the chain had been sold to Investment group RD [...]
Gender Diversity and M&A Outcomes: An Interview with Marianne W. Lewis, Ph.D. August 26, 2020 | Sponsored For the SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor for Q2 2020, we spoke to Marianne W. Lewis, Ph.D., about a new Intralinks research report, Gender Diversity and M&A Outcomes: How Female Board-Level Representation Affects Corporate Dealmaking. This report, based on a 20-year global study of more than 16,700 M&A transactions, discusses the findings of recently completed research into [...]
Virtual live music business Melody VR buys Napster in $70m deal August 25, 2020 Virtual live music business Melody VR said today it has bought music streaming business Napster in a $70m (£53.8m) deal. Melody VR, which launched in 2018, uses virtual reality technology to allow music fans to experience gigs from artists such as Post Malone, Chainsmokers (pictured), Lewis Capaldi, Blake Shelton, Wiz Khalifa, Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan, [...]
Goldman and Barclays eye General Motors’ credit card business August 12, 2020 Goldman Sachs and Barclays are reportedly among bidders for General Motors credit card unit. The two banks are among a small number of suitors for the car company’s credit card business which has about $3bn (£2.3bn) in outstanding balances, according to The Wall Street Journal. Goldman currently has a relatively small presence in consumer banking, [...]