M&A slowdown crosses the Atlantic ahead of US Presidential Election September 27, 2016 Corporate dealmaking across the pond is slowing ahead of the US Presidential Election, fresh research has shown. The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) taking place in North America has dropped 15 per cent so far this year, according to advisers Willis Towers Watson, while Europe is on course to set a post-crisis high in [...]
Four things you need to know ahead of tomorrow’s Megabrew vote September 27, 2016 Tomorrow morning, SABMiller shareholders will cast their final votes at a High Court meeting on whether to give the green light to a £79bn takeover from the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev. If the tie-up has escaped your attention so far, rest assured: you need to know about it. To help you catch up, here [...]
Twitter’s share price has jumped on reports of Disney interest, though Disney’s have dipped September 26, 2016 Entertainment behemoth Walt Disney is plotting a bid for Twitter, it has been reported. Disney is working with a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter. Shares in the social media firm leapt on the news, though Disney investors were not as thrill by the news. Twitter's stock price [...]
Baltic Exchange shareholders vote in favour of Singapore Exchange acquisition and announce appointment of new chief executive September 26, 2016 Shareholders in the Baltic Exchange have voted to approved the proposed acquisition of the company by Singapore Exchange (SGX). SGX said today that Baltic Exchange investors had approved all the resolutions required in connection with the proposed scheme of arrangement for the acquisition. “We are very pleased at the outcome of the vote and thank Baltic’s [...]
CBOE Holdings to buy BATS Global Markets for $3.2bn September 26, 2016 CBOE Holdings is to buy BATS Global Markets for $3.2bn (£2.5bn).. CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) will pay around $32.50 per share for the stock exchange operator. The deal will consist of 31 per cent cash and 69 per cent CBOE stock, based on CBOE Holdings' closing stock price of $70.30 per share on 23 September, 2016. Shares in [...]
A stake in Rolling Stone magazine has been sold to a startup September 25, 2016 The owner of iconic music magazine Rolling Stone has sold a stake in the publication to a Singapore startup to push it beyond media and into live events and more. BandLab technologies, a social music making startup, will take a 49 per cent stake in the music magazine owned by Wenner Media, which also publishes US Weekly and Men's [...]
Megabrew bubbly on ice: City faces nervous wait on SABMiller shareholder vote result September 23, 2016 The drinks could be flowing at SABMiller next week. The FTSE 100-listed beer giant agreed to be acquired by AB InBev last November for £44 per share, or £71bn, in one of the biggest deals of a bumper year for global mergers and acquisitions activity. After years of speculation in the City, the so-called Megabrew [...]
Rival European exchange warns London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse merger would create a “virtual monopoly” September 21, 2016 The merger of the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse would create a “virtual monopoly”, the boss of a rival European exchange company has claimed. Euronext chief executive Stephane Boujnah said the fusion would create a company 10 times larger than his in second place. Read more: Rival exchange eyes from LSE merger "opportunities" as [...]
The UK is second in the world for tech startup exits September 21, 2016 More tech startups in the UK went public or were acquired than in any other country in the world behind only the US at the start of the year, new research reveals. The high-profile acquisitions of Swiftkey by Microsoft and Magic Pony by Twitter helped send tech merger and acquisition (M&A) surging across Europe. Read more: Why companies like [...]
Schroders backs private equity firm’s management as it fends off hostile approach September 20, 2016 Schroders has given its backing to private equity company SVG Capital’s management team as it attempts to fend off a £1bn-plus hostile takeover approach from the US firm HarbourVest. The fund manager last week reduced its shareholding in SVG to 11.35 per cent but said this was to meet cashflow obligations and confirmed its “ongoing support [...]