AccorHotels scoops up Movenpick Hotels September 4, 2018 Ibis and Mercure owner AccorHotels announced today that it has completed its £430m takeover of Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, adding to its collection of recent luxury acquisitions. The French hotel giant paid €482m (£434m) for the 84 hotels which began life as an offshoot of the famous ice cream brand during the 1970s. It will enhance Accor's presence [...]
Value of inward UK M&A deals falls by £15.8bn September 4, 2018 The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of UK companies by foreign businesses fell by £15.8bn between April and June this year. The drop, from £22.3bn to £6.5bn, reflected the absence of high-value transactions that were seen in previous periods, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Read more: Petrol station merger could drive up fuel prices, [...]
Costa sold to Coca-Cola: Here’s how the City reacted August 31, 2018 Coca-Cola is buying Britain's biggest coffee chain Costa in a deal valued at a whopping £4bn. Following this morning's surprise announcement, City analysts were quick to react. The high price paid, the opportunities for expansion, and the future of Whitbread all came under the microscope. Here's a few of the talking points. A coffee battle [...]
Whatever happened to Fitbug? Cash shell Kin Group to put ad tech firm Bidstack on Aim August 31, 2018 The remains of the ill-fated company Fitbug are to becomes a video game advertising company through a reverse takeover. Aim-listed Kin Group, which was formerly known as Fitbug, today announced the proposed acquisition of Bidstack, a technology company which inserts native advertising into video games, for £6.8m. It has also conditionally raised around £3.5m through a [...]
Campbell’s Soup to sell off divisions as activist investor calls for sale August 30, 2018 Campbell's Soup said today that it will sell two of its divisions as it faces pressure from investors to put the whole business up for sale. The food company, which was made iconic by Andy Warhol's paintings of its tomato soup, plans to flog its international business as well as its fresh refrigerated foods unit. [...]
Private equity firm Apollo takes Aspen Insurance private in $2.6bn deal August 28, 2018 Aspen Insurance said today that funds associated with private equity firm Apollo Global Management had agreed to take it private in a $2.6bn deal. The Bermuda-headquartered insurer, which is listed in the US, has significant UK operations with offices in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Chelmsford, Croydon, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester. Apollo will pay $42.75 per share, [...]
IG Design Group wraps up acquisition of US gift and decor business for £57m August 28, 2018 A British gift and wrapping companies has acquired a US firm in a move which will bolster its presence stateside. IG Design Group has agreed to buy Impact Innovations for £56.5m, creating what it says will be the world's largest consumer gift packaging business. To fund the acquisition, the London-listed Design Group has announced a [...]
ECI makes £45m investment in technology consultancy MThree August 28, 2018 Private equity firm ECI Partners announced today it has made an investment into MThree, a global technology consultancy that trains graduates for roles in financial services organisations and tech companies. The investment is aimed to allow MThree, which was founded in 2010, to increase overseas expansion and accelerate growth. The value of the investment was [...]
Toyota invests $500m in Uber to propel self-driving cars into reality August 28, 2018 Japanese motoring giant Toyota has renewed its dedication to creating a self-driving car network on our streets, to the tune of a $500m (£387.6m) investment in ride-hailing firm Uber. The company said late last night it will expand its partnership with Uber in an effort to bring to market "autonomous ride-sharing as a mobility service at scale", at a time [...]
TGI Friday’s private equity owner Electra ends buyout talks August 24, 2018 UK private equity firm Electra which owns TGI Friday’s today confirmed it had ended talks about a possible buyout of the company. Electra did not say who the interested parties were, but it had been talks about a possible sale since May. Read more: CEE private equity investment hits record high It said talks for [...]