Altice clinches €17bn takeover of French telecoms giant SFR from owner Vivendi April 7, 2014 As global M&A continues its fastest start to the year since 2007, City A.M. looks behind the most recent deals FRENCH conglomerate Vivendi has accepted a €17bn (£14bn) takeover offer from Altice, via its Paris-based subsidiary Numericable, for French telecoms company SFR. The deal, which will be presented to unions and regulators for approval, effectively [...]
Global dealmaking starts 2014 with confidence April 7, 2014 ■ During the first quarter of this year, global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) jumped 23 per cent year-on-year to $804.5bn (£485.3bn), led by 10 deals valued above $10bn. ■ The year’s biggest deal so far has been US media giant Comcast’s takeover of Time Warner Cable, worth $69.8bn, with Facebook’s $19.4bn purchase WhatsApp coming in [...]
Ashley fails to derail House of Fraser takeover April 7, 2014 HOUSE of Fraser’s sale to a Chinese conglomerate is set to go ahead, despite Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley’s efforts to scupper the deal, City A.M. understands. Chinese powerhouse Sanpower Group agreed to buy 89 per cent of the department store chain on Friday, in a deal valued at around £450m. Sportswear magnate Ashley has [...]
Battersea to raise new debt April 7, 2014 BATTERSEA Power Station Development Company is set to launch a new round of fundraising to help support the next phases of the Europe’s largest regeneration project. Chief executive Rob Tincknell told City A.M. that the group will seek to raise more debt in the coming months, without disclosing an amount, adding that it had already [...]
Google exec’s home targeted April 7, 2014 GOOGLE Ventures partner Kevin Rose has come under fire from protesters for stoking a “tech start up bubble” that is driving up the cost of living in San Fransisco. Protestors had delivered a flyer to the serial entrepreneur’s door and circulated it to neighbours describing him as a “parasite”. Rose responded on Twitter: “I did [...]
Nissan nets footie deal April 7, 2014 CAR MAKER Nissan has emerged victorious in a multi-million pound battle to sponsor Europe’s biggest football competition, dislodging current sponsor Ford after more than 20 years. The Japanese giant has swept in to take the coveted sponsorship rights to the UEFA Champions League in an agreement market sources suggest is worth up to £60m a [...]
BT poaches Sky exec to lead TV and sport push April 7, 2014 TELECOMS giant BT has hired a veteran Sky executive to head up its TV and Sport operations, just two weeks after the division underwent a restructuring that pushed its former television chief out. BT will announce today that Sky Italia’s commercial chief Delia Bushell will join the company in July as manager of BT TV [...]
Bottom Line: Broadcaster is back on track but new boss faces fresh challenges April 7, 2014 THERE were fears last month that with BT’s TV head Marc Watson making a snap departure, the company wouldn’t be prepared for the upcoming Premier League bidding process that Watson played a key role in leading in 2012. The appointment of Delia Bushell should calm those worries. Bushell is highly regarded by her peers at [...]
French bidding kicks off for football rights April 7, 2014 BIDDING for the Champions League football television rights in France is expected to start today, a process likely to be watched closely by UK broadcasters BT and BSkyB as they prepare for the upcoming Premier League auction early next year. Qatar-owned Al Jazeera, via its sport channel beIN Sports, and Canal Plus, owned by Vivendi, [...]
Small flotations get £2bn boost after lean years April 7, 2014 THE LAST 12 months have been the most active for initial public offerings (IPOs) on London’s junior stock market since 2007, with the amount of funds raised nearly tripling, according to UHY Hacker Young. Research released today shows that in the 12 months to the end of March, firms floating on the Alternative Investment Market [...]
