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 [...]
Jupiter Asset Management chief executive Maarten Slendebroek plays down M&A rumours March 16, 2017 Jupiter Asset Management chief executive Maarten Slendebroek last night played down rumours it could become involved in anticipated industry consolidation. The recent Aberdeen Asset Management-Standard Life deal led to suggestions that there could be a flurry of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the fund management area. Read more: Standard Life-Aberdeen deal expected to spark [...]
21st Century Fox £12bn takeover of Sky has been referred to regulators Ofcom and the CMA by culture secretary Karen Bradley March 16, 2017 The bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox to take over Sky has been referred to regulators by the culture secretary. Karen Bradley confirmed her decision this morning after already announcing she was “minded” to do so. Broadcast regulator Ofcom will examine “public interest considerations” and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) “jurisdiction issues”. Read more: Sky takeover [...]
AT&T wins European Commission approval for $85bn Time Warner deal but faces battle in the US March 15, 2017 US telecoms giant AT&T has won European Commission approval for its $85bn (£70bn) takeover deal for Time Warner. “We appreciate the skilled work of the European Commission’s team for their timely effort to analyse and clear the AT&T-Time Warner merger,” said Bob Quinn, senior executive vice president of AT&T external and legislative sffairs. Read more: [...]