Duolingo files for US IPO as lockdown learners lean into languages June 29, 2021 Duolingo has filed for a US initial public offering after bumper demand for its language-learning app during coronavirus lockdowns translated into higher revenue. The Pittsburgh-based company, which was valued at $2.4bn (£1.7bn) following a funding round in November, last night unveiled plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange. It comes after Duolingo’s revenue soared almost [...]
London-listed UDG Healthcare agrees £2.8bn takeover deal June 29, 2021 London-listed private healthcare business UDG has agreed a takeover deal after its US buyer hiked its offer to £2.8bn. Private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice had tabled a £2.6bn offer in May, but some shareholders branded the bid “opportunistic”. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, which is bidding through affiliate Nenelite, today unveiled an increased and [...]
Private equity firm Bridgepoint unveils plans for London IPO June 29, 2021 Private equity firm Bridgepoint today unveiled plans to list on the London Stock Exchange, marking the latest boost for the capital’s IPO market. The buyout group, which has around €27.4bn of assets under management across equity and debt funds, said it will seek to sell around a quarter of its shares while a further 15 [...]
Facebook’s value tops $1 trillion after judge throws out US lawsuits June 29, 2021 Facebook last night joined an exclusive club of companies worth more than $1 trillion after a US judge dismissed two antitrust lawsuits brought against the social media company. A federal judge ruled that the legal challenges, which were brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of states, were “legally insufficient” and did [...]
British surgical robot firm CMR valued at $3bn after Softbank-led funding June 28, 2021 British surgical robotics group CMR Surgical has raised $600m (£431m) in a Softbank-led funding round as it looks to expand its technology to hospitals worldwide. The Cambridge-based company said the cash injection was the largest ever medtech private financing round and gave it a valuation of $3bn. The funding was led by Softbank’s Vision Fund [...]
Emily Maitlis censured by BBC over ‘controversial’ Piers Morgan retweet June 28, 2021 Emily Maitlis has been reprimanded by the BBC after the broadcaster ruled she had breached impartiality rules by sharing a “controversial” Piers Morgan tweet. In February Maitlis used her personal Twitter account to retweet a post by the former Good Morning Britain host that read: “If failing to quarantine properly is punishable by 10yrs in [...]
Accounting watchdog opens probe into Greensill auditor June 28, 2021 The UK’s accounting regulator has opened an investigation into the auditor of collapsed supply chain finance firm Greensill. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today said it had launched a probe into Saffery Champness for its audit of Greensill’s financial statements in 2019. It will also scrutinise PwC over its 2019 audit of Wyelands Bank, which [...]
Oneweb and BT ink deal for rural broadband rollout June 28, 2021 Oneweb and BT have inked an agreement to use satellites to help roll out broadband in the most remote rural areas across the UK. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore how satellite technology could be used to beam internet services to rural areas that are too difficult or expensive to [...]
Burberry shares fall as boss Marco Gobbetti quits June 28, 2021 Shares in Burberry tumbled this morning after chief executive Marco Gobbetti announced he was quitting the British fashion brand to return to his native Italy. The company earlier said Gobbetti would be leaving at the end of the year to take up a position that would allow him to return to Italy, adding that it [...]
Retail software firm Itim goes public in £48m London float June 28, 2021 Itim, a specialist software firm that provides services to retailers, has gone public through a £48m stock market float in London. The tech firm, which was founded in 1993 by veteran retail executive Ali Athar, will list today on London’s junior Aim market. Itim has raised £8m through the placing of 5,194,806 new ordinary shares [...]
