Silverstone boss Paul Allen confirms his departure but denies allegations over Lawrence Tomlinson bid September 6, 2016 The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) has confirmed a City A.M. report last month that a senior executive at the iconic Silverstone motor racing circuit has stepped down. The BDRC said today it had agreed with Patrick Allen, the managing director of Silverstone, it was "time to put a permanent management team in place". Read more: The Abarth 124 Spider is [...]
This graph shows how UK deal numbers fell to a record low in the run-up to the EU referendum September 6, 2016 It’s official: the lead-up to the EU referendum was a dreadful period for UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there were 87 deals involving UK firms during this period worth £14bn. This was down from 190, worth £69bn, in the first quarter of this year. Read [...]
It’s a date: Time Out owner sells majority stake in online dating service September 5, 2016 Oakley Capital Investments’ share price jumped by more than five per cent today after it announced the sale of its controlling stake in a German online dating service. Oakley, which is headed up by entrepreneur Peter Dubens, has sold part of its share in Parship Elite to German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. The deal values Parship Elite at [...]
UK private equity firm makes Star investment in German IT company September 5, 2016 UK private equity firm Star Capital has acquired a majority stake in Stuttgart-based IT and infrastructure business Globalways. Under the investment, around €60m (£50m) of growth capital will be committed to building a regional data centre business in Germany. Read more: Private equity group scoops up Millionaires' Holiday Club company for £30m It is the [...]
Patrick Drahi’s Altice agrees £2bn deal to buy remaining stake in French company SFR September 5, 2016 Dutch telecoms company Altice has agreed a deal to buy the 22 per cent of French company SFR Group that it doesn’t already own for around €2.4bn (£2bn). Patrick Drahi’s Altice said the deal, to buy out smaller investors, had been unanimously agreed to by the company boards. Read more: Altice hits out at rival [...]
Santander UK to bid for credit card giant MBNA as competition heats up September 5, 2016 Santander UK is reportedly circling MBNA, as interest in the credit card giant heats up ahead of next week’s deadline for offers. Sky News reported that the bank is considering a takeover bid for MBNA and could make a formal offer next week. MBNA has been stamped with a "for sale" sign by its current owner, Bank of [...]
American Formula One takeover edges closer but subject to European Commission sign-off September 4, 2016 The eagerly-anticipated sale of Formula One to Liberty Media will need to navigate a series of tight chicanes including potential scrutiny by the European Commission (EC). Private equity fund CVC is putting the final touches to a $9.1bn (£6.8bn) deal that will see the American media giant take full control of Formula One . Fox media mogul Chase [...]
Bayer board to debate making a hostile approach for Monsanto September 4, 2016 The board of German multinational chemical and pharmaceutical firm Bayer is expected to debate taking another swing at US seed company Monsanto when it meets next week. Bayer’s supervisory board will meet on 14 September and will weigh up whether to sweeten its offer for Monsanto again or even pursue a hostile takeover, German newspaper Rheinische [...]
Mergers won’t necessarily make the system stronger says German banking chief September 1, 2016 The head of the Federal agency that supervises the German financial sector has warned that consolidation among banks would not necessarily strengthen the banking system. President of BaFin, Felix Hufeld said that "consolidation cannot be a goal in itself” when addressing a banking conference today. The news comes the day after local media reported that Germany’s two largest lenders, Deutsche [...]
Inmarsat places $650m bond but isn’t planning to splash the cash September 1, 2016 Satellite company Inmarsat reached for the sky and succeeded as it successfully placed $650m of convertible debt. The placing was $50m more than the original deal size and Inmarsat said it reflected the “considerable demand” for the bonds which have a maturity that stretches out to 2023. “It was a popular placing that was oversubscribed [...]