EU competition watchdog approves Coca-Cola’s merger with Costa Coffee January 3, 2019 The EU’s competition watchdog has given the green light to Coca-cola’s £4bn acquisition of Costa Coffee. The merger, which was announced in August, is expected to complete in the first half of this year. In a statement today the commission said: “The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because the [...]
The Restaurant Group confirms £559m Wagamama takeover and thanks shareholders after narrow vote December 24, 2018 The Restaurant Group has confirmed its £559m takeover of Wagamama and thanked shareholders who narrowly voted through the deal. The Frankie and Benny's owner had been set for a shareholder showdown after a number of investors voiced their intentions to vote down the proposed acquisition to buy Wagamama from private equity firm Duke Street last [...]
Take-private deals worth more than $1bn set to increase in 2019 December 18, 2018 Private equity buyouts of public companies over $1bn could increase next year as firms fight to find value. Take-private deals are likely to be much larger than other buyouts generally, with figures from Pitchbook showing that the median size this year was $977m, compared to the average non-take-private deal size of $175m. A third of public-to-private [...]
TP Icap takes legal action over Nex Group deal December 16, 2018 Broker TP Icap is taking legal action against trading business Nex Group over claims that it broke the terms of a deal. TP Icap was formed in 2016 when Tullett Prebon took over Icap’s voice broking business. The rest of the company was renamed Nex Group. TP Icap has accused Nex of breaking a warranty [...]
Legal & General hires bankers to sell its general insurance business December 12, 2018 Legal & General has appointed an investment bank to sell its general insurance arm. According to Sky News, L&G has hired Fenchurch Advisory Partners to sell the business in a deal that could be valued at more than £300m. L&G previously tried to dispose of its general insurance arm three years ago, but that attempt [...]
Swiss engineering group ABB confirms talks with Hitachi over power grid business, shares go up December 12, 2018 ABB is in talks with Hitachi over a deal centred around its power grid business, which the Swiss engineering company is reportedly looking to sell. Shares were up today on the announcement, which follows weeks of speculation over whether the 147,000-worker manufacturing organisation would sell its power grid arm. Discussions with Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric Corp and [...]
Watchdog to launch in-depth probe into Paypal’s iZettle takeover December 5, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog plans to launch an in-depth investigation into PayPal’s takeover of iZettle amid fears it could drive up prices for customers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is concerned the deal could negatively impact future competition for mobile payment services, which it said could result in higher prices or lower quality service [...]
Marlboro-maker Altria is in talks to invest in Canadian cannabis producer Cronos December 4, 2018 The company behind Marlboro cigarettes is in talks to invest in a Canadian cannabis producer as it looks to cash in on the recent legalisation of the drug in Canada. Altria is one of the world’s largest tobacco companies and the owner of the Marlboro brand. Cannabis producer Cronos confirmed the talks after reports that [...]
Private equity giant Bain Capital drops out of race to buy FTSE 250 plastic-maker RPC December 3, 2018 US private equity giant Bain Capital has dropped out of the race to buy FTSE 250-listed plastic maker RPC. RPC said this morning that the pair had “mutually agreed to terminate discussions”. Discussions with Apollo Global Management “remain ongoing”, RPC said this morning. RPC's share price fell 4.1 per cent to 687p this morning. According to takeover [...]
Profit slips at private equity takeover target RPC November 28, 2018 Plastics maker RPC today announced a slight dip in profit ahead of a deadline for its US private equity suitors to make firm bids for the business. RPC said its adjusted profit before tax fell two per cent to £188.9m in the six months to September 2018. Revenue for the six months was £1.892bn, a [...]