More than 12 offers on the table for Agent Provocateur January 29, 2017 At least a dozen offers have been made for troubled lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, according to sources familiar with the chain's owner. Private equity company 3i put the retailer up for sale this month following disappointing December trading. The firm is seeking an offer which exceeds the brand's £30m debt pile. Sources close to the [...]
Telefonica is working through a strategic plan that will pave the way for O2 float January 29, 2017 O2's owner has set the ball rolling on a strategic plan to clear legacy issues before either floating or selling the British mobile phone operator, according to reports. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, is working with private equity fund CVC to buy a controlling share in Telefonica's infrastructure division in a deal worth €1.5bn (£1.3bn), the [...]
Tesco unveils £3.7bn merger with Budgens and Londis owner Booker January 27, 2017 Supermarket Tesco has reached a deal to merge with wholesaler Booker, owner of Budgens and Londis, with both firms stating an ambition to create the UK's leading food company. The groups will combine in a share and cash deal worth £3.7bn, after discussing a combination for almost a year. They said today that there are [...]
Behind the deal: These are the bankers and advisers working on the £3.7bn Tesco-Booker tie-up January 27, 2017 Tesco’s £3.7bn deal for wholesaler Booker is an early boost for the UK’s 2017 M&A market, following a rather subdued 2016. Below are details of the bankers and advisers behind the deal. Tesco advisers It’s increasingly difficult to find a big UK deal without a boutique investment bank at its centre. And this £3.7bn merger proved [...]
Who bought who? The biggest deals made so far this year revealed… January 26, 2017 So this morning Johnson & Johnson bought Europe's biggest healthcare firm in a $31bn (£23.7bn) transaction in what was the biggest M&A deal announced so far in 2017. Which are the other big deals made this year? Dealogic has a handy list: 1. Actelion Acquiror: Johnson & Johnson Deal Value: $31.3bn 2. Luxottica Group SpA Acquiror: [...]
Minister reassures MPs: Green Investment Bank will not be sold to an asset stripper January 25, 2017 Energy minister Nick Hurd today reassured MPs the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will not be sold “to an asset stripper”. The government has come under pressure in recent weeks over the choice of Macquarie as the preferred bidder for the £4bn sell-off. The criticism came after it was reported that the Australian investment bank is [...]
Czech it out: Central Eastern European M&A activity is booming January 25, 2017 Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity slowed in the UK and across the world last year, but Central Eastern European deals came thick and fast. There Warsaw (were so) many M&A deals in the region that values totalled €86.7bn (£74bn) last year, up 62 per cent on 2015, and its highest result since 2013. The total number of [...]
Sky buys majority stake in production company behind the Lie Detective January 23, 2017 Sky has bought a majority stake in a northern indie production company backed by Channel 4 in 2014. The sale marks Channel 4’s first exit from a company backed by its £20m Indie Growth Fund. Founded in 2001, True North now employs more than 150 people across Leeds and Manchester. Read more: Bad news: People [...]
Breaking news: Revenue woes are driving a wave of deals in the print media sector January 23, 2017 After the closure of the Independent, the failed launch of Trinity Mirror’s New Day newspaper and plummeting revenues across the industry, 2016 will likely be remembered as a messy year for the print media. Less than a month in, and with rows brewing over press regulation, part two of the Leveson Inquiry and fake news [...]
Nestle, General Mills, PepsiCo and Turkish group Pladis want to munch on Weetabix January 22, 2017 Nestle, PepsiCo, Lucky Charms owner General Mills, and Turkish food group Pladis are interested in gobbling up breakfast cereal brand Weetabix. General Mills and Nestle are plotting a bid through their Cereal Partners Worldwide joint venture, the Daily Telegraph has reported. The world's biggest cereal maker, Kellogg's, is not in the running to bid for Weetabix over competition [...]