Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corre: My brand was “dropped like a pair of dirty knickers” March 6, 2017 Agent Provocateur co-founder Joe Corre has branded the £30m sale of the lingerie retailer “a scandal on many levels”. Corre, the son of iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, said his brand was “dropped like a pair of dirty knickers”. Agent Provocateur was put up for sale by 3i in January. Last week, administrators Alix Partners sold the [...]
Brexit, Isis and attracting entrepreneurs: Just some of the challenges faced by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge March 6, 2017 Private equity firm Livingbridge will likely be tied to its former name, Isis Equity Partners, for some time to come. In 2014, shortly before turning 20 years old, Isis chose to change its name in light of the rising prominence of its namesake terrorist organisation. “It was kind of fine [prior to 2014],” says Wol [...]
Merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management set to create UK’s largest asset manager March 5, 2017 Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management are expected to announce detailed plans for their £11bn merger on Monday morning, in a move that will create the second-largest fund manager in Europe. The new £11bn company will have £660bn in combined assets under administration, making it the biggest fund manager in the UK on completion, as [...]
Volvo reverses away from Lotus car brand deal March 5, 2017 The Chinese parent company of Volvo, Geely, has reportedly done a swift three-point turn out of a deal to buy Malaysian auto maker, Proton, which owns British iconic car brand, Lotus. According to the Sunday Times, talks between Geely and Proton have stalled, leaving a question mark over the future of Lotus. Lotus has been [...]
Jaeger is officially up for sale, confirms private equity guru Jon Moulton March 5, 2017 Struggling retail chain Jaeger is up for sale, private equity veteran and Better Capital boss Jon Moulton has confirmed. Moulton told City A.M. that a sale "process is under way" with "a considerable number" of buyers having approached him already. Better Capital has hired AlixPartners to advise over the sale of the 133-year-old fashion brand. The [...]
Guy Hands plotting £1.3bn sale of Italian solar power firm March 5, 2017 Terra Firma boss Guy Hands is plotting a £1.3bn sale of Italian solar power giant RTR. Hands is in talks with banks to explore a sale of the Rome-based renewable energy company, the Sunday Times reported. RTR, which was snapped up by Terra Firma in 2011, produces energy for 160,000 families every year through its sites in [...]
Football Pools sale: Sportech agrees £83m deal with Opcapita March 2, 2017 The iconic Football Pools has been sold to the turnaround firm that counts former retailers such Comet and MFI as previous investments in a deal worth £83m. Sportech said today it would sell the firm to Opcapita, after a £100m deal to offload the business to Burlywood Capital fell through last November. The Football Pools, where players select outcomes [...]
Bunzl agrees $160m deal to buy not-for-resale US competitor March 1, 2017 Support services giant Bunzl has snapped up a US competitor labelled a "mini-Bunzl" in a deal understood to be worth around $160m (£129m). Diversified Distribution Systems (DDS), a distributor of not-for-resale items to retailers and other general distribution customers, primarily in North America, is a large purchase for the acquisitive Bunzl, which splashed out £184m during 2016. Analysts [...]
Sky takeover: 21st Century to lodge deal papers with European authorities, firing the starting pistol on regulatory approval process March 1, 2017 Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox will take one step closer to sealing its takeover of Sky by lodging documents with European authorities this week. Fox is expected to ask Brussels to approve the deal, a move that starts the clock on 10-day window for culture secretary Karen Bradley to open an investigation into the £11.7bn bid to take control [...]
LSE-Deutsche Boerse merger thrown into chaos: Reactions from City analysts and Westminster February 27, 2017 Last night's announcement that the mega-merger between the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Boerse may have been derailed entirely by competition concerns in Europe has left the City reeling. The £21bn merger, which had overcome the potentially devastating hurdle of Brexit without so much as a shrug, was thrown into chaos last night after it [...]