US insurance giant Gallagher snaps up Willis reinsurance arm in $3.25bn deal August 13, 2021 US insurance giant Arthur J. Gallagher has announced it will buy the treaty reinsurance brokerage arm of Willis Towers Watson for a proposed cash consideration of $3.25bn (£2.35bn). It comes just over a fortnight after Willis agreed to terminate a $30bn (£22.9bn) merger agreement with Aon, in what would have created the world’s largest insurance [...]
Datasite executive Merlin Piscitelli on the UK’s fintech funding boom and the future of M&A August 13, 2021 British fintech investment across M&A deals, private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) has boomed as the country emerges from the pandemic, soaring in the first six months of 2021 to four times the $5.9bn invested during the whole of 2020. Investment in UK fintech has reached an all-time high as firms in the industry [...]
US casino operator Bally’s £2bn takeover of Gamesys inches closer August 11, 2021 The co-founder of British betting firm Gamesys has agreed to sell his shares in exchange for those of Bally’s, according to an announcement today, as the £2bn merger moves toward completion. In March Bally’s agreed in principle to buy UK firm Gamesys for $2.7bn (£2bn). Bally’s said it would pay 1,850 pence per share in [...]
Marlowe ditches its ‘unsolicited’ takeover bid of Restore August 10, 2021 Business services company Marlowe has today announced that it has withdrawn its takeover bid for fellow data services firm Restore after the companies could not come to an agreement. The board of Marlowe said it still believed that the deal would have been “strategically compelling,” but that the “offer price that would be required to secure [...]
Supermarket sweep: The fight for Morrisons heats up with Fortress increasing offer to £6.7bn August 6, 2021 The battle for control of one of the UK’s biggest supermarkets, Morrisons, has stepped up a notch today, with Fortress increasing its bid to £6.7bn. Fortress increased its offer to £6.7bn, or 272p per share when a 2p per share dividend is included, from £6.3bn earlier. The private equity consortium said said it “notes the [...]
FCA approves James Hay’s Nucleus acquisition, creating £47bn mega-platform August 6, 2021 Pensions provider James Hay gained the nod of approval from the UK’s financial regulator for its £145m acquisition of investment platform Nucleus, in one of the biggest UK deals in years. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approved Hay’s purchase of Nucleus on Friday, paving the way for their creation of a mammoth financial adviser platform [...]
British beauty: THG bags makeup retailer Cult Beauty for £275m August 4, 2021 Digital brands group THG has bought British makeup retailer Cult Beauty for £275m, which has bolstered the group’s brand offering by a further 200. THG, which already owns Eyeko and Illamasqua, will also bag the online beauty retailer’s 1.7m customers and 1.6m Instagram followers – which prove to be quite the acquisition when dealing with [...]
UK weighs up blocking £29bn Arm takeover by Nvidia due to potential risks to national security August 3, 2021 The UK is considering blocking US chip company Nvidia buying tech darling Arm for £29bn due to potential risks to national security, according to reports. According to Bloomberg, a Government-ordered report into the sale, delivered in late July from the CMA, contains worrying implications for national security and now Number 10 is currently inclined to reject [...]
Hush Puppies owner Wolverine Worldwide snaps up Sweaty Betty for $410m August 3, 2021 Footwear giant Wolverine Worldwide has added the UK activewear brand Swear Betty into its portfolio after sealing a deal of $410m overnight. Wolverine Worldwide, behind footwear brands like Merrell, Saucony, Sperry and Hush Puppies, bought Swear Betty from consumer-focused private equity firm L Catterton. The deal was funded by cash and the company’s revolving line of credit. “Sweaty [...]
Marlboro maker takeover of Vectura raises public interest eyebrows in government July 29, 2021 The takeover of respiratory drug firm Vectura by tobacco company Philip Morris International has raised government eyebrows over public interest concerns, according to the business secretary. The deal, worth more than £1bn, will be ‘closely monitored’ by the government after a letter from Labour shadow ministers urged the government to consider blocking it. Under the [...]