Historic Belfast shipyard Harland and Wolff rescued by Infrastrata in £6m deal October 1, 2019 The Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic has been rescued in a £6m deal by UK listed infrastructure company Infrastrata. Infrastrata has agreed to buy Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries and Harland and Wolff Group for a total consideration of £6m. The company said that the 79 employees who did not opt for voluntary redundancy [...]
UK outbound M&A plunges to lowest level in a decade October 1, 2019 The value of UK outbound merger and acquisition (M&A) activity plunged in the third quarter, sinking to its lowest level in the last decade. M&A deals have totalled $42.9bn (£35bn) so far this year, down 69 per cent on the same time last year, according to data from Refinitiv. Read more: M&A activity targeting UK [...]
Hong Kong bourse ‘may increase’ £32bn offer for London Stock Exchange, says Swiss peer September 25, 2019 Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing (HKEX) will likely raise its blockbuster offer for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), according to the chief executive of a fellow bourse heavyweight. Swiss stock exchange boss Jos Dijsselhof has told City A.M. that he expects HKEX to up its current £32bn takeover proposal for its London counterpart, but he remains convinced [...]
World High Life buys British cannabis firm Love Hemp September 23, 2019 Medical cannabis investment firm World High Life is set to buy British cannabis oil company Love Hemp in a £9m deal. World High Life is hoping the deal will help them weed out the competition and expand its UK and European business. The company also announced a share placing intended to raise up to £5m. [...]
Government intervenes in £4bn Cobham takeover over national security concerns September 18, 2019 The government has hauled in the £4bn foreign takeover of aerospace giant Cobham on national security grounds, it said today. Business secretary Andrea Leadsom issued a European intervention notice yesterday to scrutinise US private equity giant Advent International’s huge offer for the British company. Read more: Cobham investors give green light to £4bn private equity [...]
US law firms struggling to displace UK elite in FTSE boardrooms September 18, 2019 Despite the march of US law firms on the City legal market, new data published today shows their UK rivals still dominate the boardrooms of British bluechips. US law firms have invested heavily in London in the last decade, taking prized partners from the domestic elite. Firms such as Kirkland & Ellis and Weil Gotshal [...]
Shares in law firm Rosenblatt rise at it buys M&A boutique September 16, 2019 Shares in listed London law firm Rosenblatt rose today after it announced the acquisition of Manchester corporate finance boutique Convex Capital. Convex is a sell-side M&A corporate finance boutique which focuses on helping smaller companies in sales to large corporates. Read more: Rosenblatt launches litigation fund post-stock market float Rosenblatt said the deal was in [...]
Number of private equity takeovers of UK businesses falls 12 per cent September 16, 2019 The number of private equity acquisitions of UK businesses has fallen 12 per cent this year, from 311 in 2017/18 to 274 in 2018/19, according to data from law firm Mayer Brown. The firm’s corporate co-head Perry Yam said private equity fund managers were delaying investments pending the outcome of Brexit. However, the value of [...]
Sajid Javid could block Hong Kong bid for London Stock Exchange September 13, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid is set to decide on whether or not to block a £32bn bid from Hong Kong for the London Stock Exchange as a government intervention appears imminent. Javid is reportedly mulling whether to step in on public interest grounds, citing national security and financial stability risks after the Hong Kong Stock Exchange [...]
Analysis: Could HKEX’s shock £32bn grab for London Stock Exchange actually succeed? September 11, 2019 Talk about a blockbuster day in the City. Investors expecting a quiet morning were caught off guard when the London Stock Exchange received a shock £32bn offer from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). Read more: Hong Kong bourse makes audacious £32bn offer for London Stock Exchange The bid, which puts the LSE’s own £20bn acquisition [...]