London Stock Exchange expects the EU to block its £21bn mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse February 27, 2017 The London Stock Exchange’s controversial £21bn merger with Deutsche Boerse was thrown into chaos late on Sunday night, after it emerged that regulators in Brussels are likely to block the deal. Shares in the LSE tumbled by more than three per cent this morning after it revealed in a bombshell statement to the market that it [...]
The inside story of how the London Stock Exchange’s mega merger with Deutsche Boerse was suddenly derailed by Brussels February 27, 2017 Everything seemed to be going so smoothly. Nearly a year after the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse unveiled their latest attempt to merge, many City folk gave the £21bn deal a respectable chance of success. "Better than 50 per cent," one high-profile Square Mile executive said at a lunch earlier this month. The European Commission [...]
Terra Firma boss Guy Hands on buying Agent Provocateur, dyslexia and moving on from multi-million EMI loss February 27, 2017 In June last year, Terra Firma dropped a £1.5bn lawsuit against Citi over the acquisition of EMI. It is reported that Guy took a €200m (£168m) hit to his personal fortune as a result of the deal. The Terra Firma boss alleged that Citi misled him into overpaying for the music publisher in 2007. How’s [...]
Rival Green Investment Bank bidder condemns government’s “unfortunate” choice of Macquarie as preferred bidder February 24, 2017 The chief executive of a rival bidder in the Green Investment Bank privatisation has condemned the government for making an “unfortunate” choice of preferred bidder and stubbornly sticking with it. The government is in exclusive talks with Australian investment bank Macquarie as it seeks to sell-off the £2bn-valued Green Investment Bank. The deal has come [...]
“We are not in a bazaar”: German minister rules out HQ compromise in London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse talks February 24, 2017 Politicians in Frankfurt appear determined to accept nothing but the headquarters of the combined London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse, with an influential minister making clear he is not interested in compromise. “We are not in a bazaar,” Thomas Schaefer told City A.M. when asked whether there was anything the exchanges could offer to the [...]
Ministers set to face spending watchdog scrutiny over Green Investment Bank sale February 23, 2017 Government ministers are in the glare of Whitehall spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) as the Green Investment Bank privatisation drags on, City A.M. has learned. With Australian investment bank Macquarie hopeful of clinching a deal soon, the government sale has come under intense scrutiny from politicians in recent weeks. MPs, led by the Green Party’s [...]
Investors are preparing to inject more cash into the private equity industry this year February 23, 2017 Investors are planning to increase investments into the private equity this year, meaning further growth in the industry, new research out today found. Some 44 per cent of limited partners (LPs) surveyed by Rede Partners said they intend to deploy more capital this year than in 2016, a record year for fundraising volumes, while 11 per [...]
Theresa May criticised for “non-answer” to Green Investment Bank query at PMQs February 22, 2017 Theresa May was criticised today for providing a “complete non-answer” to questioning about the Green Investment Bank sale. Michelle Thomson, an independent Scottish MP and member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee, asked May whether she would reconsider the sale at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). The PM said she would provide a [...]
Bayer confident of finalising Monsanto deal this year after winning Trump backing February 22, 2017 German chemicals firm Bayer is confident of completing its takeover of US seeds company Monsanto this year after apparently winning blessing from US President Donald Trump. Reporting the company’s 2016 results today, Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann said the company was making “good progress” with the deal. Read more: You're the Bayer for us: Monsanto [...]
This isn’t an M&A bubble: It’s the start of an unprecedented boom February 22, 2017 After a blistering final quarter of 2016, the first few weeks of 2017 have seen dealmakers continue to mine a rich seam of M&A, with big ticket transactions including Tesco’s acquisition of Booker and Reckitt Benckiser’s bid for Mead Johnson hitting headlines in the UK, and Luxottica and Essilor’s €50bn (£42.4bn) merger among many others [...]