Law firm mergers drop to decade lows as legal sector boom slows M&A activity August 8, 2022 The past two years’ boom in demand for legal services has seen M&A activity in the UK’s legal sector drop to decade lows, research from accountancy firm Hazelwoods shows. The number of mergers between UK law firms has fallen to its lowest levels in a decade, in plummeting from highs of 278 in 2011 to [...]
Ericsson acquires Vonage for £5.2bn July 22, 2022 Telecommunications company Ericsson has completed its $6.2bn (£5.2bn) acquisition of American cloud communications company Vonage. Vonage is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ericsson and will become a separate business area within Ericsson. Vonage common stock has stopped trading and will not be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market now. Vonage will still operate under its [...]
Is Restructuring on the Rise Again in EMEA? July 8, 2022 | City Talk European dealmakers find themselves in a uniquely challenging position. Though other regions are also contending with rising inflation, supply chain problems, and the risk of economic recession, the direct and indirect consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are felt most intensely in Europe. The maelstrom of negative shocks risks souring the successes enjoyed by dealmakers [...]
Diversity goals: Improving trust encouraged 80 per cent of employees to share data voluntarily, PwC partner says June 17, 2022 There is an increasing amount of trust when it comes to handing over personal data voluntarily, with a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) saying it has shot up from 15 per cent in 2018 to 80 per cent this year. The comments came during an event hosted by Datasite featuring an expert panel discussion about improving [...]
M&A quarterly transactions down as investors nervy amid war in Ukraine June 7, 2022 The number of merger and acquisition transactions in the UK has plunged in the first quarter of the year, versus the end of last year. According to fresh figures published by the Office for National Statistics, there were some 370 completed M&A deals in the first quarter of the year. This was a significant drop [...]
Garden products manufacturer Marshalls to buy roof tile maker Marley in deal worth £535m April 6, 2022 FTSE 250 paving stone manufacturer Marshalls is set to acquire roof tile manufacturer Marley Group in a deal worth £535m. The garden materials maker struck a conditional deal to acquire Marley, in line with its plans to “become the UK’s leading manufacturer of products for the built environment.” The West Yorkshire headquartered firm said Marley [...]
Private Equity in EMEA: Big and bigger? March 3, 2022 | City Talk M&A saw record-breaking levels across the globe in 2021. And PE activity in the EMEA region has been similarly spectacular. Will it last?
2021: An exceptional year for EMEA M&A March 1, 2022 | City Talk EMEA M&A markets went into overdrive in 2021, spurred by a number of factors, resulting in an exceptional year for dealmakers.
Exclusive: Nearly three quarters of UK tech leaders are concerned regulation will halt M&A in 2022 February 28, 2022 New data has revealed that 73 per cent of senior tech, media and telecoms professionals in the UK are concerned about regulatory activity increasing and impacting their ability to carry out deals in 2022.
MP calls for national security review of Viasat’s £5.4bn Inmarsat acquisition December 20, 2021 A top Tory MP has written to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng calling for a national security review of Inmarsat’s £5.4bn takeover by US rival Viasat, on the basis that it will “diminish the UK’s sovereign capabilities” in the space sector. Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, has written to Kwarteng expressing [...]