Nikkei swoops for Financial Times as outbound Japanese M&A hits all-time record in 2015 and analysts cite Abenomics July 23, 2015 Japanese firms are casting their nets far and wide as deals activity heats up, with media giant Nikkei’s £844m swoop for the Financial Times yesterday taking the country’s outbound M&A to an all-time high in 2015. Companies from Japan have splashed nearly $53bn (£34bn) on foreign takeovers so far this year, putting them on [...]
UK tech firm Amino crosses the Atlantic to buy-up US internet TV rival Entone July 21, 2015 Internet TV provider Amino yesterday agreed a $73m (£46.7m) deal to purchase its leading US rival, Entone. The Cambridge-based company, which in May bought TV everywhere provider Booxmedia, is set to acquire Entone, a leader in the US internet protocol TV (IPTV) market and has more than 150 customers around the world. “The [...]
Apax takes control of US-based insurance broker AssuredPartners July 20, 2015 Private equity group Apax has snapped up fast growing US insurance broker AssuredPartners. The broker, which was founded four years ago, was previously owned by buyout firm GTCR and is led by former Brown & Brown executive Jim Henderson. It is currently the sixth largest property and casualty broker in the US, and also has [...]
Aveva share price rises as firm gives up control to French firm Schneider Electric July 20, 2015 British engineering design firm Aveva has sold a majority stake to French rival Schneider Electric in a complex £1.3bn reverse takeover deal. The FTSE 250 firm, which offers software to engineers to design projects like oil rigs and nuclear power plants, will be 53.5 per cent owned by the French firm under the plan’s terms. [...]
Ofcom says BT merger with EE could harm other mobile firms July 19, 2015 Telecoms giant BT could be facing double trouble from the industry regulator, after Ofcom revealed concerns surrounding its proposed merger with mobile network EE. The planned £12.5bn takeover is being probed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which issued an update regarding the scope of its investigation at the end of last week. Ofcom [...]
Ladbrokes eyes up a quick move for Gala Coral July 19, 2015 Ladbrokes could strike a deal with online bingo company Gala Coral as early as this week, creating a high-street and internet gambling empire. Ladbrokes, valued at £1.2bn, is expected to issue new shares to buy Gala, which is owned by a collective of private equity investors including Apollo Global Management, Candover Investments and Cerberus [...]
CMA launches Net-A-Porter merger inquiry July 10, 2015 Those on the frow* may consider themselves are the forefront of fashion – but it turns out the UK's competition regulator is the ultimate arbiter of style. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised a question mark over the merger between it and Yoox, an Italian competitor. The €1.3bn (£936m) merger between Net-a-Porter, the [...]
Coty lands sweet smelling $12bn Procter & Gamble beauty deal July 9, 2015 In a transaction valued at $12.5bn (£8.1bn), multinational consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) has agreed to sell 43 of its brands to global beauty products manufacturer Coty. The various brands acquired by Coty include Max Factor, Hugo Boss and Lacoste, and all compete in the hair care, retail cosmetics and fine fragrance sectors. [...]
A Grexit could wipe almost £1 trillion from global M&A activity July 8, 2015 Greece's exit from the euro would strike a severe blow to global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity if not managed carefully, according to a report by legal firm Baker & McKenzie. Read more: Here's what we can learn from the 10 biggest deals in pharmaceutical history Using financial modelling, it predicts that over the [...]
German media merger still has many challenges to overcome July 7, 2015 Shares in Axel Springer, the German media giant, ended today up over 2 per cent, on the back of escalating rumours of a media mega merger. The publisher of Europe’s best selling tabloid newspaper, Bild, had yesterday failed to quash rumours that are swirling that it is in merger talks with Germany’s top broadcaster [...]