German chipmaker Infineon buys rival Cypress for €9bn June 3, 2019 German chipmaker Infineon has signed a deal to snap up US rival Cypress Semiconductor for €9bn (£8bn) as it looks to fight back against a slowdown in the chip industry. Infineon said it will pay $23.85 per share for the company, marking a 46 per cent premium on Cypress’s 30-day average share price. Read more: [...]
Aberdeen Standard opposes Non-Standard Finance’s hostile Provident Financial takeover June 2, 2019 A major shareholder in Provident Financial has come out to publicly oppose rival doorstep lender Non-Standard Finance’s (NSF) hostile takeover bid. Aberdeen Standard Investments, which owns 3.1 per cent of the sub-prime lender, said it would not accept NSF’s offer. Read more: Watchdog probes Non-Standard Finance's hostile takeover of Provident Head of UK equities Andrew [...]
Nasdaq pulls out of Oslo Bors race leaving the way clear for Euronext May 27, 2019 Nasdaq has bowed out of the race for Norwegian exchange Oslo Bors, leaving the way clear for pan-European exchange Euronext to pursue its bid. Euronext received approval from Norway’s finance ministry earlier this month to buy more than 50 per cent of Oslo Bors for 158 Norwegian crowns per share, effectively blocking Nasdaq’s bid. Read [...]
Renault board examining £28bn merger proposal from Fiat Chrysler May 27, 2019 The board of French carmaker Renault are studying a proposed £28bn merger plan put to them by American-Italian rival Fiat Chrysler (FCA) today. The deal would create the third-largest car company worldwide behind Japan’s Toyota and Germany’s Volkswagen with sales of 8.7m per year. Investors in both companies welcomed the proposed deal which aims to [...]
German index provider Solactive invests in UK proxy firm Minerva Analytics May 27, 2019 German index provider Solactive has taken a stake in UK proxy firm Minerva Analytics. The deal will allow Minerva, which is based in Essex, to expand its research and client service capability through Solactive’s offices in Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Toronto. Read more: Interserve wins support of another proxy adviser as crunch vote beckons Minerva, [...]
Triton in talks with Thomas Cook over offer for Nordic arm May 23, 2019 Thomas Cook Group has been approached by buyout firm Triton about a potential takeover of its Nordic airline and tour operator. Triton is in early-stage talks with the travel agent about a deal, Thomas Cook confirmed today. Read more: Thomas Cook share price drops after agencies downgrade credit rating The sale, which would see Thomas [...]
The Body Shop owner Natura buys beauty brand Avon for £1.6bn May 23, 2019 Natura & Co, the Brazilian owner of the Body Shop, has bought direct-selling beauty brand Avon for $2bn (£1.6bn). A new Brazilian holding company, Natura Holding, has been established as part of the deal and the combined group is expected to have annual gross revenues of more than $10bn with more than 200m customers globally. Read [...]
Pret A Manger eats Eat but vows to go veggie in new stores May 22, 2019 Sandwich chain Pret A Manger said today it has agreed to buy rival British chain Eat. Pret plans to convert as many of Eat’s shops as possible to Pret stores serving vegetarian food in response to what it said was a growing consumer demand for more vegan and vegetarian options on the high street. Pret’s chief [...]
Share’s stock tumbles after Interactive Investor abandons takeover May 9, 2019 Interactive Investor has abandoned a possible bid for Share causing the brokerage firm’s stock to plummet this morning. The investment platform said it had been in early stage discussions after approaching Share, which owns The Share Centre, but had decided not to make an offer. Read more: Interactive Investor approaches Share for takeover talks Share’s [...]
Provident Financial says hostile bidder Non-Standard Finance is overvalued May 8, 2019 Provident Financial today said it had concerns about the valuation of Non-Standard Finance (NSF) which is trying to take it over. Provident said it had concerns NSF was undercapitalised, it said NSF’s business was facing “significant headwinds”, it said there was an overly positive perspective on NSF’s headline financial performance and said NSF was overvalued [...]