Virgin Media and O2 owners in talks over tie-up May 3, 2020 Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica is in talks with Liberty Global about a merger of its mobile business O2 with Liberty’s Virgin Media cable company. A combination of O2 and Virgin Media would reshape the UK’s telecoms industry, leaving Three and Vodafone stranded without their own fixed-line consumer networks. Telefonica has been examining options for the [...]
UK M&A falls to lowest monthly total in almost 35 years April 29, 2020 UK M&A has plunged to its lowest monthly level in almost 35 years after the coronavirus pandemic smashed business confidence and sent the economy into a deep freeze. Deal value involving a UK target totalled £409.1m from 35 deals in April – its lowest since September 1985 when nine deals worth £269.5m were struck, according [...]
Brazil’s Embraer blasts Boeing after $4.2bn deal scrapped April 26, 2020 Brazilian aircraft company Embraer today attacked Boeing after the US company yesterday pulled the plug on a $4.2bn (£3.4bn) deal to buy its commercial jets division. In a statement, Embraer said: “Embraer believes strongly that Boeing has wrongfully terminated the MTA [master transaction agreement], that it has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek [...]
Coronavirus: EU vows to protect weakened firms from foreign takeovers April 17, 2020 The EU is set to protect its companies against foreign takeovers from firms taking advantage of the economic fallout from coronavirus. The bloc plans to allow governments to take large stakes in weak European companies, even owning them in some cases. The European Commission has decided to step in due to the unprecedented impact of [...]
Tilney and Smith & Williamson merger delayed by coronavirus crisis April 15, 2020 The merger between Tilney and Smith & Williamson has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic with significant doubts remaining as to whether it will go ahead. Smith & Williamson shareholder AGF Management told the Toronto Stock Exchange today that the deal would continue with a revised structure with the targeted closing date pushed back until [...]
M&A crashes across the globe as coronavirus freezes economic activity March 31, 2020 Dealmaking has plunged across the world as the calamitous health and economic impact of coronavirus sends M&A into the deep freeze. Data from Refinitiv showed global M&A activity in the first quarter is down 28 per cent on the same quarter last year at $697bn (£560bn). By number of deals, worldwide M&A has fallen 14 [...]
CMA clears Paddy Power owner Flutter’s £10bn gambling merger March 31, 2020 A gambling mega-merger between Paddy Power owner Flutter and Sky Bet owner Stars got the green light today from the UK’s competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) cleared Flutter’s £10bn purchase of Stars after opening an investigation into the tie-up at the start of February. The CMA found punters would not receive less [...]
Tilney and Smith & Williamson merger on brink after coronavirus crash March 25, 2020 The merger between Smith & Williamson and Tilney is teetering on a precipice following the economic shock triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Wealth manager Tilney – which is backed by private equity firm Permira – announced in September it had agreed to acquire wealth manager and accountancy firm Smith & Williamson in a £625m deal. [...]
Coronavirus: Could previously announced M&A deals fall over? March 24, 2020 Coronavirus: Could previously announced M&A deals fall over?
Deal or no deal? How coronavirus is impacting M&A March 22, 2020 Deal advisers say they fear the coronavirus crisis could stop M&A in its tracks in the UK, but predict a wave of distressed deals in the coming weeks as struggling businesses are picked up and companies band together to try and ride out the economic shutdown. KPMG’s head of deal advisory in the UK Liz [...]