Investors worth $10tn shun ‘overvalued’ venture capital funds August 22, 2023 Top investors with more than $10tn in assets under management have said they will shun venture capital funds in the year ahead in a worrying signal as the UK tries to get more cash flowing from big investors into start-ups. In a new survey of 178 top institutional investors by Preqin, some 68 per cent [...]
Interest rate hikes and unsettled markets rain on private equity’s dealmaking parade August 15, 2023 Private equity dealmaking has cooled in the first six months of the year as rapid interest rate hikes and unsettled markets rained on the parade of a predicted deal frenzy, new figures have revealed. The number of private equity deals in the UK fell to 689 from 909 last year, with just 327 deals worth [...]
Scrapping Premier League relegation on table after flood of new private equity August 3, 2023 Private equity buyers flooding into Premier League and European football are likely to want more of a say over the rules of the game, top lawyers have told City A.M., including the potential introduction of ‘closed leagues’ without promotion or relegation. The value of deals in Europe’s top five leagues – England, France, Germany, Italy [...]
Mark Carney: Ex BoE chief’s Brookfield set to win Network bidding war as £2.2bn offer backed by board June 9, 2023 FTSE 250 Network International has agreed a £2.2bn takeover offer from Canadian private equity giant Brookfield, becoming the latest in a string of listed firms to be taken private. Brookfield, which is headed by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, will pay 400 pence per share representing a 64 per cent premium to Network’s [...]
Barbarians at the gate? Private equity bonanza fails to materialise June 7, 2023 A flurry of predicted private equity deals failed to rear its head last month as sticky inflation and more interest rate pain forced dealmakers to reconsider an offensive, according to a London investment bank.
Meet the man who quit the City to reinvent the film industry, one documentary at a time May 9, 2023 City banker Julian Bird set up Lorton Entertainment to show that investing in films could be profitable, and documentaries on Diego Maradona, Oasis and Wayne Rooney have proven him spectacularly right. “I’m not really a massive film fan,” says City banker-turned-unlikely movie mogul Julian Bird. It’s perhaps a surprising statement from someone who has been [...]
CVC Capital Partners moves into women’s tennis with £125m WTA deal March 7, 2023 The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is close to confirming a £125m ($150m) investment from CVC Capital Partners, according to reports. A deal would see prolific sports investors CVC take a 20 per cent stake in the WTA, which runs the main women’s tennis tour, reports Mark Kleinman for Sky News. CVC and the WTA would [...]
Everton investment blow as MSP Sports Capital switches focus to £3.1bn Tottenham Hotspur takeover February 15, 2023 Everton’s hopes of securing investment have suffered a blow after US private equity fund MSP Sports Capital reportedly turned its attention to a takeover of Tottenham Hotspur. MSP held talks about buying a minority stake from Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, who is seeking investment to help the cash-strapped club fund its new stadium build. [...]
Saga looks to sell off insurance business to help pay down £721m debt January 22, 2023 Saga is reportedly seeking to sell its in-house insurance business in a bid to raise £90m to help pay down its huge £721m debt. The London-listed company, which offers cruises, package holidays, insurance, and financial services to the over-50s, is looking for buyers for its underwriting arm, according to The Sunday Times. Any sale of [...]
EXCL – Why Private Equity’s appetite for aggressive takeovers will only increase in 2023 December 29, 2022 It’s no surprise that economic turmoil often drives consolidation. Companies may be struggling to survive and looking to M&A as a way to drive value. Not to mention the current weak pound that makes UK-based businesses, especially those with a global footprint, more attractive to overseas buyers. City experts don’t expect that to change in [...]