Hilton steps up UK presence with four new hotels in £200m partnership January 28, 2019 Hilton is ramping up the size of its UK hotel empire after announcing a £200m investment partnership with private equity business Dominvs Group today, as it plans to build three more hotels in London and one in Bath. Among the new acquisitions are two hotels on either side of the Square Mile, with Creed Court [...]
Changing industry, changing skill-set January 25, 2019 | City Talk In the 1990s, the skill-set required by asset management professionals was vastly different. The investment universe consisted primarily of equities and bonds. Alternative asset classes like hedge funds and private equity were accessible only to high net worth individuals and some particularly sophisticated pension funds. Balanced managers were hired to outperform benchmarks, not produce outcomes. [...]
Mark Kleinman: Flybe might struggle for take-off without investors on board January 25, 2019 Talk about a crash landing. The outrage of Flybe’s largest shareholder about the terms of its £2.2m takeover, articulated in a legal letter to the airline’s board last week, is at face value perfectly understandable. On the full pre-flight checklist-worth of complaints from Hosking Partners, the most incendiary may be Flybe’s decision last year to [...]
Struggling retailer Paperchase exploring sale or store closures January 24, 2019 The owner of stationery and greeting card chain Paperchase is exploring a possible sale as its feels out landlords about a potential company voluntary arrangement (CVA). According to Sky News, Paperchase’s adviser KPMG has been contacting potential buyers this week about a deal which could include a pre-pack administration. The company is also sounding out [...]
RPC Group’s £3.3bn private equity takeover sparks disquiet among top shareholders January 23, 2019 Private equity firm Apollo Global Management’s £3.3bn buyout of packaging manufacturer RPC Group has sparked a row among investors, who feel they are getting a raw deal. Each RPC shareholder will get 782p cash for every share they own, 15.6 per cent up on the 683.6p closing price on 7 September, the last day before [...]
Private equity group Apollo seals £3.3bn deal for packaging giant RPC January 23, 2019 Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to buy packaging manufacturing giant RPC Group for £3.3bn. Each RPC shareholder will receive 782p cash for every share they own, 7.6 per cent up on the company’s closing price of 734p on Tuesday. The deal comes hours after Apollo pulled out of buying Arconic, the firm [...]
WPP mergers fall amid restructuring plan despite increase in deals across sector January 16, 2019 Advertising giant WPP saw its M&A activity halve last year, despite a rise in the total number of deals among marketing communication firms. WPP completed 15 deals in 2018, down from 30 the year before, according to research by Results International. Read more: Brexit, ad fraud and #MeToo – what does the future year hold for [...]
Billionaire Reuben Brothers check out of hotel group Belmond in $300m deal January 16, 2019 The billionaire Reuben Brothers have sold their shares in New York-listed hotel company Belmond in a deal that could net them more than $300m (£236m). Belmond was acquired last month by Paris-based LVMH, which owns luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, in a $3.2bn deal, seeing off competition from private equity buyers. [...]
Investcorp teams up with Coller Capital for $1bn private equity buyout fund January 14, 2019 Investcorp has teamed up with Coller Capital to create a $1bn (£778m) European private equity buyout fund. London-based Coller Capital will use its current fund, Coller International Partners VII, to underwrite the new investment vehicle which will invest in European mid-market companies. Read more: 3i sells debt business as part of strategic focus away from [...]
Mark Kleinman’s big predictions for the Square Mile in 2019 January 11, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP exit, Unilever’s HQ U-turn, Melrose’s swoop for GKN: 2018 was a year full of surprises in the City. And while forecasting might be a fool’s errand, here are 10 predictions for the year ahead. •Theresa May will decisively lose next week’s “meaningful vote” on Brexit: that’s not a punt that will [...]