John Laing Infrastructure Fund shares leap on potential £1.4bn offer July 16, 2018 Shares in John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) leapt by more than 17 per cent this morning after a consortium of funds announced a possible cash offer for the business. The consortium said this morning that it is in negotiations with JLIF over a cash offer for the London-listed business that could value it at £1.4bn. [...]
China shifts investment focus from North America to Europe July 16, 2018 China is shifting its investment focus away from North America and onto Europe, as trade policies and political change force a shift in East-West relations. In the first six months of 2018, foreign direct investment (FDI) from China into Europe reached $22bn ($16.63bn), compared with just $2.5bn in North America. In the first six months [...]
Rathbones confirms it’s in talks to acquire Speirs & Jeffery as Tilney owner Permira elbows in July 9, 2018 Another asset manager merger is on the cards, as Rathbones today confirmed it is in talks to acquire Glaswegian firm Speirs & Jeffrey. City A.M. understands that private equity firm Permira, which owns fund manager Tilney, is also sniffing around the firm. Permira has previously helped Tilney complete a number of acquisitions, from when it [...]
Shire share price jumps after Takeda rebels defeated at annual general meeting June 28, 2018 Shire’s share price rose by more than two per cent this morning following the defeat today of a group of rebel investors at Japanese pharma giant Takeda’s annual general meeting. Read more: Takeda shareholder group aims to block $62bn Shire deal The group, who are trying to block Takeda’s forthcoming $62bn (£47.3bn) acquisition of Shire, [...]
Asda and Sainsbury’s bosses Roger Burnley and Mike Coupe grilled by MPs over merger June 20, 2018 The chair of a select committee has told Asda's boss to "get real" and stop talking "baloney" in a grilling over the supermarket's merger between Asda and Sainsbury's this morning. Asda's Roger Burnley and Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe appeared in front of the the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee, which has launched an [...]
Competition watchdog flags concerns over media intelligence merger between Nielsen and Ebiquity June 13, 2018 The proposed merger of marketing consultancies Ebiquity and Nielsen has sparked concerns from the competition watchdog. Nielsen and Ebiquity monitor the advertising habits of companies and are the only suppliers of this intelligence across the UK media. Ebiquity announced in February that it wanted to sell its advertising division to Nielsen. The Competition and Markets [...]
Takeda shareholder group aims to block $62bn Shire deal June 11, 2018 A group of Takeda shareholders is working to block the $62bn (£46.4bn) acquisition of Shire, news agency Reuters reported today. Japanese drug company Takeda is holding a shareholder meeting later this year to approve an issue of new stock to help fund the deal for London-listed Shire. A 130 member group of ex-Takeda employees holds [...]
In-demand shared office firm IWG rejects offer from US investor Prime Opportunities May 29, 2018 Shared office space firm IWG has rejected an offer from Los Angeles-based property investor Prime Opportunities, just two weeks after it confirmed it had received offers from a trio of other firms. Prime Opportunities said that it had led a consortium which made a cash offer for the entire business, but that IWG had dismissed [...]
Legal ranking firm Chambers and Partners scooped up by Virgin Experience Days owner Inflexion March 20, 2018 Legal rankings business Chambers and Partners came top of Inflexion's books today, as the private equity firm announced it had bought the business for an undisclosed price. Founded in 1990, Chambers is used by corporates to help them choose legal advisers and by law firms to help select individual lawyers to hire. City A.M. understands [...]
Law firms Berwin Leighton Paisner and Bryan Cave get the green light to merge creating a $900m revenue business February 26, 2018 City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner is to merge with US peer Bryan Cave, creating a firm with combined revenues of more than $900m (£645m). The pair revealed they were in talks in October last year, saying that a deal would allow them to join the "handful" of firms operating with a one-firm structure globally. [...]