Downing Street was up for a fight over the now scuppered $140bn Kraft Heinz-Unilever mega deal February 20, 2017 Sometimes, it’s just not meant to be. Many of us spent the weekend chewing over the early manoeuvres of what would have been one of the largest corporate deals ever, but by Sunday evening Kraft Heinz declared it was “amicably” walking away from its audacious bid to scoop up Unilever. In just 48 hours, a [...]
Marmite and Ketchup: the perfect combination? Kraft Heinz has made a £115bn merger offer for Unilever February 17, 2017 Processed cheese giant Kraft Heinz has made a $143bn (£115bn) merger offer for FTSE 100-listed UK food producer Unilever, it announced today. In a statement Kraft said Unilever had declined an initial offer to combine the two groups, but added they were still in talks. Under the offer, Unilever shareholders would receive $50 per share, in a [...]
99 problems? Not for this M&A bank, which recently advised on Jay Z deal February 16, 2017 An investment bank which recently advised on a Jay Z deal has reported record revenues for 2016. GCA has reported a turnover of £148m and earnings before interest and taxation of £27m for the year to 31 December. Read more: Boutique investment bank Zeus triumphs in biggest IPO of 2017 so far The results are the first [...]
Private equity giant Blackstone buys majority stake in London technology company Cloudreach February 16, 2017 Private equity giant Blackstone has announced a deal to acquire a majority stake in a London cloud technology company. Cloudreach provides cloud computing products and services for companies including BP, Pearson and Hearst Corporation. Founded in 2009, the company now has offices in seven countries and has a presence in both Europe and North America. [...]
Deutsche Boerse boss plays down UK HQ of London Stock Exchange merger and promises new Frankfurt jobs February 16, 2017 Deutsche Boerse chief executive Carsten Kengeter this morning attempted to win more German support for the company’s merger with the London Stock Exchange, playing down the UK headquarters and promising new jobs for Frankfurt. Speaking at a full-year results conference, Kengeter downplayed the significance the London legal base of the combined exchange, saying: “There are to be [...]
Deutsche Boerse boss denies insider trading allegations: They have “affected me personally very much” February 16, 2017 Deutsche Boerse chief executive Carsten Kengeter has asked the media and shareholders to “bear with me” as he is investigated over alleged insider trading. Speaking at a media conference after the German company’s full-year results, Kengeter also said the investigation by Frankfurt’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has “affected me personally very much”. Read more: Under-fire Deutsche [...]
Under-fire Deutsche Boerse boss set for grilling on insider trading probe and London location of stock exchange headquarters February 15, 2017 Deutsche Boerse chief executive Carsten Kengeter is set to endure some tough questioning tomorrow as he appears before investors, analysts and the media. The German company, which is seeking to tie-up its merger with the London Stock Exchange in the coming months, reported its preliminary full-year results for 2016 this evening. Net revenue at the [...]
Euronext shareholders approve clearing deal as company awaits news on London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse merger February 15, 2017 Euronext shareholders today waved through the pan-European exchange’s proposed takeover of the London Stock Exchange’s French clearing arm, LCH SA. The deal, which is dependent on the London Stock Exchange’s merger with Deutsche Boerse completing, was unanimously approved at an extraordinary general meeting. Euronext, reporting its full-year results for 2016 today, indicated that if the [...]
Vodafone’s Indian merger with Idea could net investment banks a tenth of total annual fees in the country February 15, 2017 A raft of major investment banks are circling Vodafone in an attempt to secure bumper returns from advising on the telecoms giant's £10bn Indian merger with Idea Cellular, according to reports. BoAML, UBS and Standard Chartered are understood to be fighting among themselves to secure the mandate, sources told Reuters. And lucrative advisory roles could net them [...]
Softbank buys US fund manager Fortress for $3.3bn in next step of strategic redirection February 15, 2017 Japanese group Softbank has agreed to buy US fund manager Fortress in a deal worth $3.3bn (£2.6bn), as part of the telecom and technology firm's strategic redirection. Announced overnight, the deal is the first by Softbank into an investment fund and follows the an announcement last October by chief executive and founder Masayoshi Son that the group has [...]