Package deal: Evri to merge with DHL ecommerce arm May 14, 2025 Parcel delivery company Evri is set to merge with DHL eCommerce UK, the e-commerce logistics specialist of DHL Group, in yet another example of consolidation in the sector. The merged Evri business is set to deliver over a billion parcels and a further billion business letters annually, with 30,000 couriers and 12,000 office staff, DHL [...]
Virgin Media O2 to create £1.4bn giant in mega deal May 12, 2025 Virgin Media O2 has announced plans to create a new communications and IT giant which is expected to turn over around £1.4bn. The move will see Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group combine their direct B2B (business to business) operations. Virgin Media O2 is to own 70 per cent of the new entity, with Lancashire-headquartered [...]
Breadmakers Hovis and Kingsmill in merger talks May 3, 2025 The owners of two of Britain’s biggest bread producers – Hovis and Kingsmill – are reportedly in discussions regarding a merger between the two firms as challenges deepen for the market. Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Kingsmill’s parent company Allied Bakeries, and investment firm Endless, which owns Hovis, are in talks about a [...]
Zoopla: Rightmove rival handed £500m price tag April 30, 2025 Online property portal Zoopla has been put up for sale with an asking price of around £500m, it is understood. The company, which was launched in 2008, has put on the market by Silver Lake Partners which has owned the group it forms a part of following a £1.6bn deal in 2018. That group also includes [...]
Revealed: The private equity billionaire’s empire behind your favourite podcasts April 10, 2025 Conni Jonsson might not be a household name in the UK but this Swedish private equity billionaire is behind some of the most popular podcasts in the country. Jonsson is the founder of EQT AB, a Swedish global investment organisation set up in 1994. He also owns investment firm Qarlbo, which in turns holds 80 [...]
Arla Foods: Lurpak maker plans €19bn merger April 8, 2025 Arla Foods, the group behind brands such as Lurpak and Cravendale, has announced a merger which could create a €19bn giant. The Swedish-Danish diary co-operative, whose UK headquarters is in Leeds, has revealed plans to merge with Germany-headquartered DMK Group. If it goes ahead, the merger would bring together 12,000 farmers across Europe with the [...]
Number of private equity deals in sport soared in 2024, report says March 9, 2025 The number of major sports acquisitions and mergers by Private Equity has nearly doubled in the last 12 months. Private Equity deals have risen from 96 in 2023 to 190 in 2024, according to a new report. Financial advisory firm Oaklins states that there has been an overall 44 per cent increase in deals – [...]
Foreign takeovers of UK companies plummet amid M&A decline March 4, 2025 The number of foreign investors launching M&A deals for UK companies plummeted in the fourth quarter of last year, with only £4.5bn spent by buyers from abroad. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the number of foreign companies acquiring UK companies (known as ‘inward M&A) fell to its to its lowest level [...]
Kurt Geiger sold to New York’s Steve Madden for £289m February 13, 2025 Private equity firm Cinven has announced the sale of Kurt Geiger to shoe brand Steve Madden for £289m. Cinven bought the footwear and accessories brand in 2015 for £245m, and has since greatly expanded the business in the US. In America alone, sales surged by 58.7 per cent to over £110m from February to September [...]
CMA shake-up set to drive resurgence of UK M&A activity February 5, 2025 Merger and acquisitions (M&A) in the UK are expected to strengthen in 2025, aided by the recent shake-up at the competition regulator