Fujifilm scores big win against US activist investors blocking Xerox merger October 17, 2018 Fujifilm has won a court battle in its doomed bid for Xerox after an investor blocked a merger between the two companies. A New York court overturned preliminary injunctions requested by Darwin Deason, an investor who sold his Affiliated Computer Services to Xerox for $6.4bn in 2010. Deason and activist investor Carl Icahn, who between [...]
UK M&A regime changes ‘too radical’, says former Office of Fair Trading boss John Fingleton October 16, 2018 The former head of the Office of Fair Trading (Oft) John Fingleton has slammed the government's "radical" merger and acquisitions (M&A) proposals. Fingleton, who was chief executive of the now closed government body between 2005 and 2012, said the revamp would create regulatory bureaucracy, put off foreign investment and be too influenced by politics. Read [...]
Scottish Power to use 100 per cent wind power after £702m Drax deal October 16, 2018 Scottish Power is set to become the first major UK energy supplier to be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy after it today announced a £702m sale of its gas and hydro stations to Drax. Scottish Power had previously closed its coal powered facilities and today agreed to sell a 2,566 megawatt portfolio to [...]
London’s status as a tech hub helping drive transatlantic deals October 11, 2018 London's status as a hub for technology and financial services is helping drive a strong flow of deals between the US and the UK according to audit firm Deloitte. Deloitte said deal volumes between the UK and US “remained buoyant” in the first half of 2018, with 238 completed deals in the period. There were 152 [...]
Whitbread shareholders vote Coca-Cola’s £4bn Costa merger through October 11, 2018 Whitbread shareholders have agreed to the sale of Costa to Coca-Cola for a whopping £4bn, with the company’s share price inching higher following the announcement. At a crunch meeting yesterday, investors voted almost unanimously in favour of the deal that will see Britain’s largest coffee chain change hands. Read more: Costa sold to Coca-Cola: Here's [...]
Investment giant Pimco strengthens municipal bond arm with Gurtin acquisition October 3, 2018 US asset management giant Pimco has bought muni bond investment firm Gurtin, its first acquisition since appointing new chief executive Emmanuel Roman. Gurtin Municipal Bond Management has more than $14bn (£10.78bn) of assets under management and the combined business will manage $38bn in dedicated municipal bond assets. Read more: Pimco hires ex-Blackstone vice chair John Studzinski It is the first [...]
Blackstone challenges Bloomberg with deal for $20bn Thomson Reuters arm October 2, 2018 Private equity giant Blackstone has completed its biggest investment since the 2008 financial crisis by taking over Thomson Reuters' financial and risk unit. The deal, which values the business at around $20bn (£15.5bn), sees the Blackstone-led consortium of private equity funds take a 55 per cent stake. Thomson Reuters keeps 45 per cent of the business, [...]
City banker nabbed for M&A role at $320bn Qatari state fund October 2, 2018 Qatar’s largest sovereign wealth fund has grabbed a top City of London banker to run its deal-related activities worldwide, as it moves to expand a $320bn (£246.6bn) portfolio that includes the single-largest stake in supermarket Sainsbury’s, Sky News reported. Sky said Ken McLaren, currently a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), will [...]
Corporate services firm Hawksford opens new London office October 1, 2018 Corporate services firm Hawksford has launched a new London office following the acquisition of audit and accountancy practice SH Landes. The New Oxford Street office, which will be led by Steven Landes, demonstrates confidence in London as a global centre for international finance, the company said. Read more: We found dogs and ice cream rotas in [...]
Planet Organic prepares for expansion drive after fund takeover October 1, 2018 Scottish private equity firm Inverleith has taken a majority stake in London-based retailer Planet Organic, unveiling plans to double the organic supermarket’s store count over the next five years. Inverleith has made an equity investment into the company, which currently has seven stores in London, to grow its footprint. Planet Organic, the UK’s largest fully-certified [...]