Puregym expands in Europe with £350m acquisition of Fitness World December 12, 2019 The UK’s largest gym operator Puregym today announced the acquisition of European business Fitness World in a £350m deal. Puregym was acquired by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners in 2017 in a deal that valued the business at £600m. Its acquisition of Fitness World gives the business a market-leading position in Denmark as [...]
Margrethe Vestager says EU will review competition rules in light of increasing digitalisation December 9, 2019 The EU will review its rules on how it defines markets to react to increasing digitalisation, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said today. Vestager said it was time to review the EU’s market definition notice which has been in place since 1997. “Changes like globalisation and digitisation mean that many markets work rather differently from [...]
KPMG sells pensions arm in private equity-backed management buyout December 5, 2019 KPMG has sold its pensions arm in a management buyout backed by private equity firm Exponent. KPMG said today it had signed a conditional agreement to sell its pensions practice to Newco, which is backed by Exponent and KPMG’s 20 pensions partners. All 20 partners and 500 staff will transfer to the new business, which [...]
Brexit disruption ‘to spark activist investor interest’ in UK December 3, 2019 Disruption from Brexit could spark an increase in activist investors targeting public companies in the UK, a new report has warned. The UK, which is already Europe’s largest market for activists, is at risk of drawing more attention from investors looking to pile the pressure on management over the coming year. Read more: EU finance [...]
Spanish retail billionaire zeroes in on £600m London building deal December 2, 2019 A Spanish retail billionaire who owns fashion chain Zara is close to acquiring a West End office block for £600m. Amancia Ortega, via his real estate investment vehicle Pontegadea, is set to acquire The Post Building a 320,000 sq ft development in an ex-Royal Mail sorting office on Museum Street in Holborn. A deal is [...]
Cat Rock says Prosus will have to raise Just Eat bid to 925p per share December 2, 2019 Activist investor Cat Rock has said it will throw its weight behind Just Eat’s Takeaway.com merger unless Prosus raises its offer to 925p per share. The Dutch food delivery firm has had a £5bn bid accepted for Just Eat but tech group Prosus has come in with a rival 710p per share offer. Read more: [...]
Andrew Tinkler moves to block rivals from voting on Eddie Stobart rescue deal December 1, 2019 Advisers to former Eddie Stobart Logistics boss Andrew Tinkler are planning to submit an appeal to the City mergers watchdog tomorrow ahead of a vote on a controversial takeover bid for the distribution company The appeal to the Takeover Panel is an attempt to prevent Dbay Advisors from voting on 6 December, Sky News reported. [...]
Andrew Tinkler aims to offer rival resolution at crunch Eddie Stobart shareholder vote December 1, 2019 Former Stobart Group boss Andrew Tinkler is aiming to offer Eddie Stobart shareholders a rival funding package to vote on at the struggling trucking firm’s general meeting on Friday. Eddie Stobart’s board has recommended an offer from fund Dbay which would provide an emergency £55m high-interest loan to the haulier in exchange for a 51 [...]
Hedgies in High Court bid to force up Inmarsat takeover price December 1, 2019 The buyout group looking to take British satellite company Inmarsat private is facing a legal challenge from hedge funds that could scupper the deal at the 11th hour. At a hearing on Tuesday hedge funds led by Oaktree Capital will press the High Court to block the approval of the so-called scheme of arrangement, one [...]
Silver Lake pours $500m into Man City owner to break sports group valuation record November 27, 2019 Private equity giant Silver Lake has made a $500m (£389m) investment into Manchester City Football Club’s owners. The cash influx means Abu Dhabi’s City Football Group is now worth $4.8bn, the firms said today, breaking the valuation record for a sports organisation. Read more: Mourinho’s changes spark Spurs comeback to seal last 16 The deal [...]