End of an era: SunGard Data Systems finally sold by backers August 13, 2015 One of the biggest buyouts of the pre-crash US private equity boom has finally been sold, a decade after its audacious takeover. SunGard Data Systems, which makes trading software, has been offloaded for $9.2bn (£5.9bn) to US financial software company Fidelity National Information Services. New York-listed Fidelity will pay 45 per cent in cash and [...]
Annuity giants to cut jobs amid £670m merger August 12, 2015 ANNUITY giants Just Retirement and Partnership will cut jobs as part of their £670m merger, in a bid to reduce annual costs by £40m, bosses said yesterday, Just Retirement is set to buy its smaller rival in a deal which leaves its shareholders with a 60 per cent stake in the combined group, to be [...]
Annuities heavyweights Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance unveil £670m merger as pension changes bite August 11, 2015 Annuities giant Just Retirement has announced it is buying Partnership Assurance in a £670m all-share merger, after massive changes to the UK's pension regime caused sales of annuities to plummet. Shares in Just Retirement rose 1.66 per cent to 202p in early trading, while Partnership's shares jumped 8.9 per cent to 168p on the announcement [...]
Nostrum in talks over $36m deal to buy Tethys August 11, 2015 Nostrum Oil and Gas was yesterday back in talks to purchase the beleaguered Tethys Petroleum after a $47.7m (£31m) refinancing deal between Tethys and AGR Energy fell through. Nostrum is offering Tethys, which operates in central Asia, CA$0.2185 per share, around 10.7p, valuing the company at just over £36m. Tethys had chosen to enter talks [...]
E-commerce giant Alibaba invests £2.97bn in Suning as global mergers and acquisitions hit new high August 10, 2015 Alibaba’s announcement it would be investing £2.97bn in a 20 per cent stake in retail giant Suning marks the Chinese e-commerce giant’s biggest acquisition ever. The global deal bonanza continues upwards. With global M&A recently hitting a post-downturn high, Alibaba’s record deal came just hours after Warren Buffett confirmed a record $37bn deal as his [...]
Shire share price rises as investors become optimistic about Baxalta hostile takeover bid August 10, 2015 Shares in pharma giant Shire recovered this morning after its $30bn (£19bn) hostile bid to take over US biotech company Baxalta. Read more: Shire share price drops following £19bn hostile takeover bid to Baxalta The offer by the UK company, which amounts to $45.23 per Baxalta share, followed an unsuccessful attempt to get Baxalta [...]
Shire share price drops following £19bn hostile takeover bid to Baxalta August 10, 2015 London-listed pharma giant Shire has made a hostile approach for US rival Baxalta. In a statement, the UK company offered $45.23 per Baxalta share, amounting to a deal worth an estimated $30bn (£19bn). Baxalta, a biotech business focused on developing treatments for rare diseases, was spun-out of Baxter International last month. Shire [...]
Shire ramps up bid to win over Baxalta board August 10, 2015 The board of Baxalta will come under renewed pressure to open takeover negotiations this week, following early campaigning by Shire to promote its $30bn (£19.4bn) offer for the US firm. However, Baxalta insists that it will not accept this offer, with a company source describing the bid price as being “nowhere near” the value [...]
Deal bonanza as global mergers and acquisitions hit post-downturn high August 7, 2015 For deal junkies, it's hardly surprising – but now new figures have proved that the summer lull failed to materialise in July, with global M&A volume hitting $549.7bn, the highest figure since the global financial crisis. The figures, by Dealogic, showed deals peaked at $559.2bn – but that was in April 2007, shortly before the [...]
RSA share price soars 12 per cent after Zurich confirms takeover talks August 3, 2015 Shares in London-listed RSA Insurance Group soared per cent this morning as Swiss rival Zurich confirmed it was considering a takeover bid. Zurich is reportedly mulling a bid in excess of £5.5bn for the business as new rules come in governing how much money insurers must set aside to protect against potential market shocks. [...]