One in four UK deals broke down last year, and more M&A collapses are expected in 2017 March 20, 2017 One in four deals involving UK listed firms broke down in failure last year, new analysis today shows. And, with further economic and political uncertainty on the way, more disrupted deals are thought to be on the cards this year. Read more: Jupiter boss plays down M&A rumours: "We’re not looking to be acquired" Accountancy firm [...]
The straw that broke the camel’s back: How an Italian trading business put the London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse merger in jeopardy March 19, 2017 If the European Commission blocks the London Stock Exchange’s merger with Deutsche Boerse in the coming weeks, as is widely anticipated, the army of bankers, lawyers and other finance workers on the deal will immediately turn their attention to the body’s in-depth explanation. As an example of what to expect, when the commission blocked the O2-Three [...]
Bovis Homes urged to pursue deal with Redrow over Galliford Try by top 10 investor Royal London Asset Management March 19, 2017 Bovis Homes has been urged to ditch Galliford Try merger talks for fellow rival Redrow by one of its top 10 investors. The suggestion by Royal London Asset Management, which owns a 3.5 per cent stake in Bovis, came as it emerged that Redrow is considering a revised offer. Read more: This is what analysts [...]
Behind the Panmure Gordon takeover deal: Bob Diamond buyside shuns big banks for unknown entity Hopton Advisers March 19, 2017 Although the £15.5m Panmure Gordon takeover is small, the deal is also a high-profile one for the City of London. It’s not every day the former chief executive of Barclays, Bob Diamond, launches a takeover bid for a City institution like Panmure. Therefore, some will have been surprised by the names of the advisers working [...]
Mergermarket appoints EY advisers to sell its life sciences arm for £20m March 19, 2017 Data giant Mergermarket Group is mulling a £20m sale of its life sciences arm Infinata. The group, which publishes financial news website Dealreporter and runs data services like Debtwire, has appointed EY to advise on the deal, the Sunday Times reported. The sale is expected to conclude within weeks. Private equity giant BC Partners, which owns [...]
Unilever is exploring a £6bn sale of spreads brands such as Flora and Stork after Kraft Heinz deal collapse March 19, 2017 Unilever is exploring the sale of some of its most iconic brands after coming under shareholder pressure over a $143bn takeover bid from Kraft Heinz. Paul Polman, the FTSE 100 firm’s chief executive, is drawing up cost-cutting and restructuring plans, which could lead to the sale of its margarine and spreads business. The division, comprising [...]
Slew of insurance deals are on the cards for 2017 as Solvency II bites March 17, 2017 Dealmaking in the insurance sector will shift into top gear in 2017 as the need to set aside regulatory capital "forces companies to grow or go", according to a report by experts. Nearly all firms (94 per cent) surveyed by accountancy firm KPMG expect to make at least one divestiture during 2017, with the lion's share (84 [...]
Walkie Talkie sale: Why a foreign buyer for 20 Fenchurch Street would be no bad thing March 17, 2017 Few eyebrows were raised when it emerged a 50 per cent stake in 20 Fenchurch Street, better known as the Walkie Talkie, may be about to go up for sale. The news came a few weeks after its neighbour, the Cheesegrater, was sold for £1.15bn, so you can forgive the Walkie Talkie’s owners for asking [...]
Will fortune favour brave Bob Diamond’s Panmure Gordon takeover, Unilever’s flawed logic and the IoD’s Simon Walker heads back to his PR roots March 17, 2017 He's back – and brave. Conventional wisdom has it that smaller City brokers are destined either to merge or die, so a Bob Diamond-backed move for Panmure Gordon represents a bold bet that he and his partners can forge a fresh path for one of the broking world’s most venerable names. Boldness isn’t a fitting adjective [...]
Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond is readying a return to the City as part of a Qatar-backed takeover bid for Square Mile stockbroker Panmure Gordon March 16, 2017 Bob Diamond, the former chief executive of Barclays, is reportedly set to launch a takeover bid for Panmure Gordon, one of Britain's oldest stockbrokers. Diamond's private equity firm, Atlas Merchant Capital (AMC), and QInvest, a Qatari investment bank that currently owns 43 per cent of Panmure, will create a bid vehicle to make an offer, according [...]