Hasbro swoops on Peppa Pig-maker Entertainment One in $4bn deal August 22, 2019 US toy giant Hasbro is set to snap up London-listed Peppa Pig-maker Entertainment One in a $4bn (£3.3bn) deal. The two companies said tonight they had agreed an all-cash deal with Entertainment One shareholders to receive £5.60 in cash for each share. The deal marks a 31 per cent premium to Entertainment One’s 30-day average [...]
Thyssenkrupp pushes back against EU’s steel merger block August 22, 2019 Thyssenkrupp has filed a complaint against regulators after they blocked a joint venture with Tata Steel earlier in the summer. The German steel making giant is disputing the antitrust decision by the European Commission to veto its plans to forge Europe’s second-biggest steelmaker over fears it would reduce competition. Read more: Thyssenkrupp issues another profit [...]
Companies that buy divested assets more likely to outperform index August 21, 2019 Companies that bought carved-out portions of other businesses were more likely to outperform their industry average, a study has found. Over half (53 per cent) of companies that bought divested assets during the first half of the year outperformed their MSCI Global index by an average of one percentage point, according to research published today [...]
Wealth managers Tilney and Smith & Williamson in tie-up talks August 18, 2019 Wealth manager Tilney is in merger talks with fellow-wealth manager Smith & Williamson. A deal would create a firm with revenue of nearly £500m and assets under management of in excess of £45bn. The pair have been in talks for a couple of months, according to people familiar with the situation. Read more: Why times [...]
Henderson Park buys Irish real estate fund Green Reit in €1.3bn deal August 14, 2019 Real estate investment group Henderson Park today said it had agreed to acquire Irish real estate fund Green REIT in a €1.3bn (£1.2bn) deal. Green Reit floated in 2013 as Ireland’s property market began to recover after the country’s real estate crash. It put itself up for sale in April because its shares were trading [...]
Struggling mattress start-ups Eve Sleep and Simba confirm merger talks August 12, 2019 Mattress start-ups Eve Sleep and Simba confirmed today they are in talks to merge. The two businesses have struggled recently with Woodford-backed Eve suffering a share crash after investors were offered shares at a steep discount during a £15m funding round in December. Read more: Eve Sleep shares plummet after investors buy in for a [...]
Thomas Cook shares plunge on fresh funding talks as it nears Fosun tie-up August 12, 2019 Thomas Cook shares plummeted this morning as investors digested the news the tour operator is in advanced discussions with bond holders for a £150m cash injection, on top of the £750m rescue deal it is already working on with lead investor Fosun, which would nearly wipe out shareholders. The company’s market value dropped 17 per [...]
Scrapped: Guy Hands ‘pulls out of takeover plans’ for German Cartonplast August 8, 2019 Private equity magnate Guy Hands is said to have abandoned takeover plans for a European packaging business. His firm, Terra Firma Capital Partners, has withdrawn from negotiations to buy German packaging company Cartonplast, according to Sky News. The withdrawal raises questions about the ability of one of the most prominent British financiers to land fresh [...]
Cobham founding family says takeover ‘against national interest’ August 4, 2019 The founding family of British defence firm Cobham has asked the government to intervene in the £4bn takeover of the company by US private equity giant Advent International. Lady Nadine Cobham has reportedly written to defence secretary Ben Wallace and business secretary Andrea Leadsom urging them to block the deal, saying the takeover could threaten [...]
Satellite firm Inmarsat ditches dividend ahead of $3.4bn private equity takeover August 1, 2019 Satellite company Inmarsat ditched its dividend today despite narrowing losses. The UK firm said it was not declaring an interim dividend, having declared a dividend of eight cents per share in the same period last year. The company said it was cutting its dividend in the light of the announcement of its proposed $3.4bn (£2.8bn) [...]