Bargain Britain: UK firms under siege by foreign takeovers June 12, 2025 The London Stock Exchange has suffered a bruising week as private equity firms and foreign giants continue to snap up British bargains. Markets were hit with a double blow on Wednesday after Canadian consultancy giant acquired engineering firm Ricardo and KKR returned with a final bid for GP Landlord Assura. Assura has recommended a cash [...]
Private equity giant KKR returns with final bid for Assura June 11, 2025 UK healthcare property firm Assura has received its “best and final offer” from KKR, which is set to trigger another delisting blow for the London Stock Exchange. Assura has recommended a cash offer from Sana Bidco, a vehicle owned by KKR and Stonepeak, which values the firm at 52.1p per share. Shares in Assura closed [...]
WH Smith nears sale of high street chain as revenue rises June 4, 2025 WH Smith has confirmed it remains on track to sell its high street division to the owner of Hobbycraft by the end of the month. In March, the FTSE 250 company announced it had agreed to offload the arm to private equity firm Modella in a deal which valued it at £76m. When complete, the [...]
Private equity: Are the doors to the most exclusive club in town finally opening? June 4, 2025 Private equity has carved out a record as one of the best-performing assetclasses of the last 25 years – for the exclusive benefit of a privileged few. Now, at last,private investors can get in. Trillions of dollars have flowed into private equity in the past twenty-odd years. Global private capital assets under management reportedly more [...]
Blow to Thames Water as KKR pulls out of equity raise June 3, 2025 Thames Water’s battle to escape nationalisation has suffered a hammer blow after KKR withdrew its bid to acquire an equity stake in the business. The US private equity giant had been selected as a preferred partner for the debt-laden utility business as part of its efforts to raise funds, with KKR having “prepared detailed plans, [...]
Sport teams safe bets as valuations buck Trump tariff slump May 30, 2025 Valuations of sports clubs have survived “recent market volatility stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariffs”, top analysts have said amid market turmoil as a result of decisions made in the White House. Sports clubs have seen their valuations remain stable, and in some cases rise, despite huge hits elsewhere, including the manufacturing industry – due [...]
Shark Tank star Mark Cuban joins $750m private equity sports fund May 27, 2025 Star of Shark Tank and former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban is part of a new $750m private equity sports fund. Harbinger Sports Partners Fund will look to acquire minority stakes across a number of sports including Major League Baseball (MLB), National Football League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Other figures included are [...]
Is Labour’s Planning Bill putting private equity at risk? May 16, 2025 It’s not just conservationists who are up in arms about the watering down of environmental protections in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the private markets are concerned too, says Robert Oates There’s an irony at the heart of the UK government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill: in its rush to accelerate the development of 1.5m new [...]
Revolut, Allica, Zopa: Analysts back ‘enduring value’ of UK fintech May 13, 2025 UK fintech received a wealth of praise from Peel Hunt analysts in a fresh sector note following a year of rapid growth for the industry. Fintech firms booked record profits in 2024 and have transitioned from disrupting the banking climate to direct competition with traditional lenders. Revolut topped 52.5 million customers in 2024, surpassing Europe’s [...]
FD Technologies shares surge on US takeover offer May 7, 2025 Shares in Newry-based tech firm FD Technologies rocketed on Wednesday as its odds of a US takeover increased. The AIM-listed company’s board of directors issued a statement on Wednesday addressing offers of a takeover from US private equity firm TA Associates. The most recent proposal from TA related to “a possible cash offer” of 2,450p [...]