Odds lengthen on William Hill’s £4.5bn Amaya merger as activist hits out October 13, 2016 William Hill’s talks over a potential multi-billion pound merger with Canadian gambling giant Amaya were dealt a blow last night as a leading shareholder slammed the deal. Parvus Asset Management, the bookie’s largest single shareholder with a 14.3 per cent stake, said the potential merger – which would create a combined company worth around £4.5bn – had [...]
Brexit uncertainty and looming US election stifling cross-border M&A October 13, 2016 Global cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity continued to be stifled by uncertainty around events such as Brexit and the US presidential election in the last quarter, a new report has found. Law firm Baker & McKenzie tracked 1,275 cross-border deals worth $373bn (£305bn), down 22 per cent in volume of deals and five per cent [...]
Interactive Investor announces takeover deal to create UK’s second largest online broker October 12, 2016 Interactive Investor has agreed a takeover deal for TD Bank’s European direct investing business to form the UK’s second largest online broker. The transaction, which will create a firm with 300,000 customer relationships and assets under administration of £18bn, is being financed by JC Flowers & Co funds. Read more: Star manager Woodford invests £21m in brokers AJ Bell [...]
Private equity-backed accountancy firm challenger expands with new investment October 12, 2016 A newly-formed private equity-backed accountancy group has announced a new investment. CogitalGroup, which was founded this summer by private equity firm HgCapital and former Deloitte UK chief executive John Connolly, this morning announced a deal with Baldwins. The accountancy firm has 27 offices across the UK, employing 650 people. Connolly will join the board of the company, [...]
M&A and private equity deal values dip despite Brexit bargain hunt October 11, 2016 UK-targeted mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity has been boosted by the falling value of sterling since the Brexit vote, a new report has found. But Mergermarket’s review of the third quarter of 2016 found domestic dealmaking remains weak. The report also focused on private equity activity, finding that projects targeting UK companies have been put on [...]
It’s a NewDay: Store card maker in private equity sale after dropping float plans October 11, 2016 Private equity firms Cinven and CVC Capital Partners today announced a deal to acquire store card maker NewDay. The private equity houses have agreed a deal to buy NewDay from Varde Partners and although sales value is unknown, it is believed to ascribe an enterprise value of around £1bn to the company. Read more: Why would anyone choose a [...]
Informa launches rights issue following US takeover deal approval October 11, 2016 Informa’s share price was lowered by eight per cent this morning as part of a rights issue. Informa’s issuance comes shortly after the company received shareholder approval for the acquisition of US business Penton Information Services for £1.2bn. [stockChart code="INF" date="2016-10-11 09:28"] Read more: British information business Informa announces £1.2bn takeover of US rival After [...]
CMS merges with two rivals in deal to create sixth largest UK law firm October 10, 2016 Partners at three City law firms have voted in favour of combining their businesses in a deal that will create the sixth largest UK law firm and the sixth largest global law network. CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang will merge in a deal that is anticipated to complete on 1 May 2017. Partners of Nabarro [...]
The board of SVG is now considering two sale options with a third waiting in the wings October 10, 2016 A bidding war for SVG Capital (SVG) has ignited after HarbourVest upped its offer in an attempt to challenge the board's previously preferred option. SVG is in detailed discussions with a group of investors led by Goldman Sachs and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), who came in with an eleventh hour offer to purchase the [...]
Macquarie in box-seat as government prepares for total exit of Green Investment Bank October 9, 2016 The government has ignored calls for it to retain a stake in the Green Investment Bank (GIB) after it emerged that Macquarie Bank was in the final throes of agreeing a multi-billion pound deal to purchase all of the state-owned entity. The Australian-based infrastructure investor has been given preferred bidder status and while there had been hopes [...]