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 [...]
Activist investor Chris Hohn launches bid to block €8.5bn aerospace deal, potentially pitting TCI against the French government February 14, 2017 Sir Chris Hohn’s activist hedge fund has launched a bid to block an €8.5bn (£7.2bn) aerospace deal. The Children’s Investment (TCI) Fund, which owns a 4.1 per cent stake in Safran, wants to block the aircraft-engine maker’s takeover deal for plane-seat supplier Zodiac. Read more: Safran's €8.5bn takeover of aircraft seat maker Zodiac takes off [...]
Parkdean and NewDay deals helped European private equity stage late comeback in 2016 February 14, 2017 European private equity activity began to recover in the last quarter of 2016 after a difficult first nine months to the year, according to a report published today. Although the number of European private equity deals tracked by the Private Equity Barometer fell, the total value of the transactions came in at its highest level, €39.1bn, [...]
Xafinity wants to take on the big boys with its London IPO February 14, 2017 The £190m float of a mid-tier actuarial and consulting firm will help it break the stranglehold of the largest three market players, its boss said today. Xafinity announced plans earlier this morning for a London listing and intends to make an official admission to the exchange on Thursday. Paul Cuff, the company's co-chief executive, told City A.M. he hopes the [...]
US extends probe into $43bn ChemChina-Syngenta deal February 14, 2017 The US has asked for more information for its probe into China’s largest ever foreign acquisition. But Syngenta, the Swiss chemical company being taken over by ChemChina in a $43bn (£34bn) deal, said the transaction should still complete in the first half of this year. “We have received a second request but do not expect [...]
Energy M&A powers into the record books: Deal activity jumps by over a third in 2017 February 13, 2017 Energy and power M&A activity is at an all-time high at the start of 2017, with nearly $66bn (£53bn) of deals announced this year. Deal activity is 36 per cent higher in the sector compared with the same period last year and the best start to a calendar year since records began in the 1980s, according to Thomson [...]
The Only Way is Ethics: L’Oreal and the mission-led challenge February 10, 2017 Barely a decade after its purchase of ethical retail flagbearer, The Body Shop, L’Oreal has announced its intention to sell the company. With profits sharply decreasing by 38 per cent in the year ending 31 December 2016, the business has faced increased competition from mainstream and ethical competitors, such as Lush, leaving some customers alienated [...]
Lurpak container maker aims to spread business globally with £500m US takeover February 9, 2017 UK packaging firm RPC Group’s shares dropped six per cent today after it announced a $640m (£511m) US acquisition. RPC, which makes containers for the likes of Lurpak butter, Philadelphia cheese and Dulux paint, has agreed to buy plastic food-packaging products firm Letica Group. Read more: RSA shares rise at the open as it disposes [...]
Locals lose out as Severn Trent’s Dee Valley Water takeover gets the go-ahead from the High Court February 8, 2017 Locals' attempts to thwart the takeover of a Welsh water company have failed after Severn Trent's bid to pick up Dee Valley Water has been given the go-ahead in the High Court. The court decided the £84m deal by the FTSE 100 firm, initially agreed on back in November, could go ahead. However, it adjourned until 10 [...]
London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse confident European regulators will wave through £21bn mega merger February 8, 2017 The London Stock Exchange (LSE) moved one step closer to its £21bn mega-merger with German exchange Deutsche Boerse yesterday, formally submitting concessions to competition regulators in Brussels. The offer goes little beyond the LSE’s sale of its French clearing unit LCH SA to Euronext. However, both exchanges are confident the submission will be enough to [...]