Deal or no deal? Companies that are more M&A active perform better August 30, 2016 Companies that are more active through mergers and acquisitions outperform their less active rivals, new research has suggested. A report from the influential Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found firms that regularly acquire and divest businesses as part of their corporate strategy consistently outperform less active dealmakers in terms of total shareholder return. The most regular dealmakers outperform one-time [...]
Audioboom’s share price jumps double-digits after celebrity investment August 26, 2016 Podcast provider Audioboom today raised £2.6m from the markets after successfully placing shares with former Neighbours star Holly Valance and her property tycoon husband. Nick Candy, himself a non-executive director of Audioboom and already a large shareholder, subscribed to the share issue through Luxembourg-based entity Candy Ventures Sarl. Shares in the Aim-quoted company leapt over 11 per cent in early trading. Although [...]
London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse battle to win EU Commission approval for merger commences August 25, 2016 The London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse have officially submitted their merger to European Union competition regulators. The exchanges hope to complete their merger in the first half of next year, and gaining approval from the EU Commission is seen as one of the major hurdles for the deal. The governments of France, Netherlands, Belgium [...]
Peppa Pig owner’s shares plummet as ITV withdraws takeover bid August 25, 2016 ITV has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One (EOne). The broadcaster, which had a £1bn bid rejected earlier this month, said its valuation of the company appears "different to the level at which the board of EOne would currently engage in a more formal process". EOne's shares plummeted 13 per cent [...]
Pfizer makes its second chunky purchase of the week – And it’s only Wednesday August 24, 2016 Astrazeneca has agreed to sell one of its antibiotics businesses to American rival Pfizer in deal that could net the Cambridge-based company up to $1.6bn (£1.2bn). Pfizer will pay $550m upon completion of the deal to purchase the small molecule antibiotics division with add-ons and royalties to follow. Astrazeneca said that the sale will to support its [...]
US seed firm’s shares shoot up after boosts for biggest deal of 2016 August 23, 2016 US seed company Monsanto’s share price shot up today as the chances of a takeover by German chemical giant Bayer appeared to improve. It was today reported that the chief executives of both firms have had a series of constructive meetings in recent weeks. And a top 20 Bayer shareholder told City A.M. they thought the [...]
Merger Monday: Big deal developments spark hopes of M&A pick-up this autumn August 22, 2016 Global deals valued at nearly $65bn (£49.5bn) cleared a series of major hurdles yesterday, amid hopes of a renewed drive in worldwide mergers and acquisitions next month. US pharmaceutical company Pfizer agreed a $14bn deal for San Francisco-based Medivation, which specialises in cancer treatments. It came as a welcome boost to the pharma giant whose [...]
TalkSport owner reports falling profits ahead of takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp August 22, 2016 Wireless Group, which has agreed a deal to be sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has reported falling profits in the first half of 2016. The figures The owner of TalkSport, which sold its TV business to ITV for £100m in February, reported group revenue from continuing operations of £38.2m in the six months to [...]
Baltic Exchange to keep London HQ as it agrees terms of Singapore takeover August 22, 2016 The Singapore Exchange has agreed the terms of its takeover of the City of London-based Baltic Exchange. Under the terms of the deal, Singapore would pay £160.41 per share in cash and £19.30 per share as a special dividend. It gives the Baltic Exchange a total value of around £87m. The terms of the deal [...]
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agrees $14bn deal for Medivation August 22, 2016 US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has agreed a deal to acquire San Francisco-based Medivation for $14bn (£10.7bn). Pfizer has announced it will pay $81.50 per share in cash for the biopharamaceutical company, which focuses on developing and commercialising small molecules for oncology. Medivation's share price was up 20 per cent in pre-market trading to $67.16 at the time of writing. The [...]