British American Tobacco could puff up cash offer for Reynolds American December 18, 2016 British American Tobacco (BAT) is preparing to puff up its takeover bid for US rival Reynolds, according to reports. The FTSE 100 cigarette company announced a $56.50-per-share bid for the 58 per cent of Reynolds American it does not already own in October. This bid valued Reynolds at around $47bn. Taking full control of Reynolds [...]
Another miss for London’s IPO market? Parkdean Resorts sold to Canadian private equity house December 18, 2016 A Canadian private equity house this weekend announced the acquisition of a UK caravan holiday parks operator, in a deal that could be seen as another loss for London’s flotation market. Toronto-based Onex Corporation has agreed a £1.35bn deal for Parkdean Resorts, which is currently owned by Epiris, formerly known as Electra, and Alchemy. The [...]
UK private equity activity dropped to financial crisis levels this year December 16, 2016 UK private equity activity fell to its lowest level since 2009 this year, a new study out today shows. Across Europe, deal activity is down 38 per cent from €89.7bn (£75bn) in 2015 to €55.7bn. Read more: Vroom vroom: Private equity house announces second acquisition in two days And the decline is even more extreme [...]
Yahoo hack puts Verizon deal and Marissa Mayer under pressure December 15, 2016 Yahoo shares have dived more than four per cent in early trading in New York after disclosing a second major hack attack, twice the size of the previous one it revealed earlier this year, and which experts are calling the biggest hack in history. The revelations that user accounts were compromised come at a crucial time for [...]
Murdoch swoops: 21st Century Fox agrees Sky takeover deal December 15, 2016 Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox today agreed a takeover deal for UK broadcaster Sky. Fox, which already owns 39 per cent of Sky, has made a £10.75-per-share offer, worth £11.7bn. The approach values the whole of the UK media giant at £18.5bn. Fox said it would be using a scheme of arrangement, meaning it would need 75 [...]
Liontrust assets to swell by £2.3bn after buying Alliance Trust Investments December 15, 2016 Fund manager Liontrust has agreed to swallow-up Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) in a deal that will swell its assets under management by over a third. The takeover, expected to be completed in 2017, means Liontrust's portfolios will increase from £5.6bn to over £8.0bn. ATI is one arm of three parts of the wider Alliance financial group – the other two [...]
Yahoo hit by largest cyber attack of all time in second mega-hack December 15, 2016 More than one billion Yahoo user accounts have been hacked after the search engine revealed it had been the victim of the largest cyber attack in history. The breach is the second mammoth attack on Yahoo uncovered this year and has affected more than double the number of accounts compared with a breach revealed in September [...]
Punch Taverns takeover: Heineken and pub entrepreneur Alan McIntosh in bidding war December 15, 2016 Punch Taverns is in the midst of a takeover tussle between Heineken and Alan McIntosh, an entrepreneur who was one of the pub company’s founders. Shares in Punch soared as news of the two approaches emerged, ending the day nearly 38 per cent up at 177p. Yesterday morning, City A.M. revealed that McIntosh has tabled [...]
Brussels regulator sets out hurdles for London Stock Exchange merger December 14, 2016 The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse last night confirmed receipt of a statement of objections to their merger from the Brussels regulator. The European Commission is understood to have narrowed its focus on to concerns around derivatives clearing. In anticipation of these concerns, the London Stock Exchange said in September that it was exploring [...]
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox set to make firm offer for Sky as early as tomorrow December 14, 2016 Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is set to lodge a firm offer for Sky as early as tomorrow morning, City A.M. understands. Fox is not expected to stray from the £10.75-per-share value that it had previously agreed to informally with Sky. Read more: More pressure on Murdoch's Fox-Sky deal as pensions lobby group wades in [...]