O2 or EE? BT to announce preferred mobile operator in £10bn takeover “early next week” December 15, 2014 Mobile operators EE and O2 will this week learn whether they have won the billions of British Telecom (BT) in a takeover deal. Update: BT has confirmed it has entered into exclusive talks with EE According to a report in The Sunday Times, BT has this weekend been finalising a deal one of [...]
BT opts for EE over O2 as it enters exclusive talks over takeover worth £12.5bn December 15, 2014 BT has confirmed that it has entered into exclusive talks with mobile operator EE, which has seemingly beaten its rival O2 to the £12.5bn takeover deal. The telecoms giant said that the period of exclusivity "will last several weeks" to allow the necessary negotiations to be completed. The deal would be paid through a combination [...]
Walgreen’s chief Greg Wasson to retire after Alliance Boots mega-merger December 10, 2014 US drugstore chain operator Walgreen has said its chief executive Greg Wasson will retire after the completion of its pending takeover of Alliance Boots, owner of the UK high street pharmacy Boots. Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of Alliance Boots, will serve as acting chief executive after Wasson steps down. “With the creation of Walgreens Boots [...]
Blackstone mulls £1.5bn takeover of drinks bottler December 7, 2014 US PRIVATE equity giant Blackstone Group is considering a £1.5bn takeover bid for Refresco Gerber, Europe’s largest soft drinks bottler, it emerged yesterday. The US investment specialist is among several interested parties weighing up bids for the Anglo-Dutch company. Blackstone’s private equity rival KKR and CVC Partners are also rumoured to be circling, with bids [...]
Tui Travel posts soaraway profits in final results before merger December 4, 2014 UK TRAVEL operator Tui Travel yesterday reported a higher profit for its last financial year driven by strong demand in the UK, Germany and Netherlands for its higher margin “unique holidays”. The Thomson and First Choice owner said it had also halved losses from its French tour operating business. In its last set of results [...]
Tui share price rises ahead of merger with German parent December 4, 2014 Tui Travel has reported a three per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £472m ahead of its merger with parent company Tui AG. The travel company behind Thomson and First Choice posted operating profits of £612m, up four per cent on last year and an increase of 11 per cent to £654m on a constant [...]
As Aviva agrees a £5.6bn takeover of Friends Life, does the acquisition make strategic sense? December 2, 2014 Ben Cohen, an insurance analyst at Canaccord Genuity, says Yes. Aviva’s core strategy is “cash plus growth”, and this deal adds materially to cash flow, which will be used to pay a higher dividend and invest across the group for growth. This is not just jam tomorrow – the 30 per cent increase in Aviva’s [...]
Carillion fallout pushes UK M&A deals to all-time lows – but values have risen December 2, 2014 A dry summer for UK mergers and acquisitions, in which Carillion gave up its £2.1bn attempt to to buy Balfour Beatty, has helped to ensure volumes remained at historic lows. The number of deals involving UK companies fell to 67 in the third quarter of 2014, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics released [...]
Sky recruits Lazard bank advisers to explore mobile push as BT confirms takeover talks with O2 and EE December 1, 2014 Sky has appointed advisers, including investment bank Lazard, to examine its UK mobile options, City A.M. understands. The move, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as the telecoms sector has lit up with deal talk over the past week since BT confirmed its takeover talks with O2 and EE to enter the mobile [...]
Canary Wharf owner Songbird keeps Rothschild as Qatari takeover bid adviser despite conflicts spat December 1, 2014 Canary Wharf owner Songbird yesterday categorically refused to drop Rothschild as its adviser on a takeover bid, despite claims that there is a conflict of interest at play. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) wants to increase its stake in Songbird and the Canary Wharf Group in a full takeover bid. Its representatives have [...]