UK’s Brexit vote expected to have global impact with fall in M&A deals August 3, 2016 The UK’s Brexit vote is expected to hit global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, a new study has found. Seven in 10 global dealmakers believe that while it remains uncertain when and how the UK will leave the EU, the number of global transactions will fall overall. And 67 per cent believe that Britain leaving the [...]
Bookmaker William Hill snaps up gaming software firm Grand Parade to keep up with digital shift August 2, 2016 William Hill has made moves to catch up with the gambling industry's shift to digital with the £13.6m acquisition of digital gaming software firm Grand Parades. Recently a huge amount of merger and acquisition activity has swept through the gambling sector. Paddy Power and Betfair came together in a £5bn tie-up, while Gala Coral and Ladbrokes merged in a £2.2bn [...]
The billion-dollar Tesla SolarCity merger is (El)on August 1, 2016 Green energy firm SolarCity has accepted a $2.6bn all-stock takeover deal from Elon Musk's Tesla. Both companies' stocks dipped on the news, with SolarCity's closing down 7.4 per cent to $24.72, while Tesla's share closed down two per cent at $230.01. SolarCity's stock also took a five per cent dive this morning after it snuck out a downgrade in its full-year [...]
Verizon is buying this Irish GPS company for $2.4bn August 1, 2016 Verizon's buying spree hasn't ended with Yahoo. Verizon has now made a cash offer for Irish GPS vehicle tracking company Fleetmatics for $2.4bn (£1.8bn). The US telecoms giant is looking to expand into internet connected devices as it grows its business away from its core mobile market. Fleetmatics' shares leaped by 39 per cent to $59.69 following the announcement, though investors sent Verizon shares down by 0.1 [...]
Crunching the numbers: Mazars completes on deal with Corality Financial Group August 1, 2016 Get ready for a whole bunch of number crunching: Accountants Mazars has completed its acquisition of financial modelling and training firm Corality Financial Group. As part of the deal, Corality's training academy and financial modelling services will be rebranded as Corality by Mazars. The new brand will be led by Rickard Warnelid, previously Corality Group's chief executive who will now [...]
Small business M&A unaffected by Brexit fears August 1, 2016 Deal activity among SMEs flourished in the first half of 2016 and was higher than than the year before, despite Brexit fears. Private equity investors completed a total of 40 deals in British companies between the £10m and £100m mark in the first half of 2016, according to data released today by the Lyceum Capital [...]
After winning shareholder support, London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse prepare for the real challenge July 29, 2016 The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse are preparing for a regulatory battle to force through their £21bn merger after winning shareholder support. Analysts covering the deal remain doubtful that the tie-up will pass the necessary hurdles, with particular scrutiny expected from the European Commission and the State of Hesse, where Deutsche Boerse is based. [...]
Rival exchange eyes “opportunities” from LSE merger as European opposition grows July 28, 2016 The head of pan-European exchange group Euronext has told of the growing opposition to the tie-up between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse. Speaking to City A.M. as Euronext reported its best quarterly profits since it went public in 2014, chief executive Stephane Boujnah also indicated that his company is monitoring the situation to see “whether [...]
The iconic Empire Theatre in Leicester Square has just been sold to Cineworld July 28, 2016 The historic Empire Theatre in Leicester Square is set to be rebranded after the cinema was today sold to Cineworld. The deal sees Cineworld – the second largest cinema operator in Europe – also take on four other venues outside of London from Empire Cinemas. The Chiswick-based operator paid £94m to Empire through a combination of cash and shares as [...]
Private equity boss predicts autumn M&A activity boost for City of London July 27, 2016 The chief executive of private equity firm 3i expects the City to experience a pick-up in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity after the summer. The company’s share price was up more than two per cent to 624p on Wednesday after it reported a “solid start” to the 2016/17 year in the three months to 30 [...]