Sky credit rating downgraded following £7bn takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland November 13, 2014 Sky’s long-term corporate credit rating has been cut following the completion of its £7bn takeover of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland yesterday. Standard & Poor’s downgraded Sky’s credit rating from ‘BBB+’ to ‘BBB’ as it estimated the group would raise a “significant amount of debt to part-find the acquisitions”. The credit ratings agency [...]
Bwin.party looks to gamble on talks over possible £1bn takeover November 12, 2014 ONLINE gaming company Bwin.party announced yesterday it was in early talks with a number of unnamed parties concerning a potential offer for the company, which could value it at just over £1bn. The Gibraltar-headquartered firm issued the statement in response to speculation over a possible takeover. Its shares closed up 10.48 per cent at 119.1p [...]
Connect Group buys Tuffnells in £130m takeover November 12, 2014 Newspaper and magazine whole-saler Connect Group yesterday ann oun ced a nearly-£130m deal to takeover Tuffnells Parcels Express, saying that it has a “strong strategic fit” with its business. The deal consists of an initial £113.4m, funded through Connect’s ex ist ing debt facilities, and a £55m rights issue, and an additional £15.3m over [...]
Bwin.Party share price soars as it confirms takeover talks November 12, 2014 Shares in FTSE-listed Bwin.Party soared by more than 10 percent this afternoon, after the online gambling company was forced to confirm rumours it was in early acquisition talks. The statement issued to the London Stock Exchange entitled "media speculation" said: The Board of bwin.party confirms that it has entered into preliminary discussions with [...]
InterContinental share price rises after hotel group rejects Marcato report suggesting merger would see share price double November 11, 2014 Activist US hedge fund Marcato Capital Management yesterday lit a fuse under the independence of British hotels giant InterContinental Hotels Group by calling for the firm to actively seek a merger, claiming it could double its share price. The San Francisco-based Marcato also publicly released a report it had commissioned from LA-headquartered financial advisers Houlihan [...]
Songbird Estates share price falls after £1.6bn Qatari takeover bid for Canary Wharf is rejected November 7, 2014 A £1.6bn takeover offer for Songbird Estates has been rejected by the Canary Wharf owner. The offer, at 295p per share, was made by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and US investor Brookfield Property Partners. The Qatari sovereign wealth fund already holds a 29 per cent stake in Songbird, whose investment portfolio is [...]
Greene King and Spirit Pubs in £773m takeover November 4, 2014 BRITISH pub retailer and brewing giant Greene King finally reached agreement yesterday over the long-mooted takeover bid of compatriot brewer Spirit Pubs. Greene King’s offer – worth £773.6m, at 115p a share – has been accepted by Spirit Pubs’ senior management. The arrangement will see Greene King shareholders take 71.1 per cent in the newly [...]
Xiaomi is spending $1bn on Internet TV content to takeover China’s smart TV market and rival Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent November 4, 2014 Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, is planning to spend up to $1bn (£625m) on online TV content in an effort to dominate the smart TV market. The three-year-old company has already overtaken established players in the smartphone market to become the third largest in the world and is now setting its sites on the billion [...]
Greene King share price falls after £774m Spirit takeover agreed November 4, 2014 Greene King and Spirit Pubs have finally reached a takeover agreement after negotiations between the two groups went down to the wire. A £773.6m offer from Greene King, valuing Spirit at around 115p per share, has been accepted. Shareholders in Suffolk-based Green King will take a 71.1 per cent stake in the combined company, with [...]
Heidelberg Cement will not bid on assets for sale after Holcim-Lafarge merger November 3, 2014 German firm Heidelberg Cement announced yesterday that it would not be bidding for any of the assets currently up for sale as a result of the Holcim-Lafarge merger. Earlier this year it was reported that Heidelberg would use the proceeds from a sale of its US and UK building products business to buy cement assets [...]