Private equity interest: Why is Morrisons such an attractive takeover target? June 21, 2021 Morrisons has rejected a £5.5bn takeover approach from a US private equity firm amid speculation that more UK supermarkets could be snapped up. Shares in Morrisons jumped earlier this morning following confirmation of the rejection at the weekend, as the chain said potential bidder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice “significantly undervalued” the grocer with its 230p-per-share [...]
CMA clears Issa brothers’ Asda takeover after accepting petrol station sale June 16, 2021 The UK’s competition authority has today cleared the way for the Issa brothers’ £6.8bn takeover of supermarket Asda after accepting their offer to sell off 27 petrol stations. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had launched a probe into the deal in April due to fears that acquisition could increase petrol prices for motorists. The [...]
Speed shopping: Food delivery space in frenzy as well-funded newcomers eye Deliveroo’s market share June 9, 2021 Getir has become the latest in a raft of fast-growing grocery delivery operators to raise bumper cash injections to fuel ambitious growth plans. The Turkey-based company, which said it can deliver to customers in as little as 10 minutes and launched in the UK in January, secured almost £400m in investment last week, taking its [...]
Domestic M&A retreats in first quarter after dealmaking wave at the end of 2020 June 8, 2021 Domestic UK M&A fell in the first quarter of 2021 after a flurry of dealmaking towards the end of 2020. During the first quarter, domestic M&A – where UK companies acquire other UK companies – was worth £3.8bn, a decrease of £5.3bn from the previous quarter last year, according to figures published by the Office [...]
Amazon to dethrone both Tesco and Sainsbury as UK’s largest retailers within four years June 3, 2021 Amazon is to overtake Tesco as the UK’s largest retailer within the next four years, with sales expected to hit more than £77bn by 2025, according to new research, shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning. Last year, Amazon UK’s total sales were £36.3bn while Tesco’s sales were almost double at £64bn. However, by 2025, [...]
Ranked: S&P Global’s $44bn mega-deal tops list of biggest 2020 acquisitions May 27, 2021 In what was a tough year for businesses across the world, it was a fruitful one for 6,000 mergers and acquisitions. While the pandemic threatened companies of all sizes, some managed not just to survive but to continue growing in the last 12 months. After a year unlike any other, which acquisitions were the biggest [...]
Morgan Stanley mulls £261m bid for UK waste management firm Augean May 27, 2021 Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners this morning confirms it’s weighing up a move for UK waste management services company Augean. The potential acquisition, first reported by Bloomberg, would be the latest in a flurry of take-private deals in the UK. Morgan Stanley has been considering a potential takeover of Augean, which has a market value of [...]
Baked goods maker Finsbury Foods whisks up dividends for June May 26, 2021 Baked goods maker Finsbury Food had a stronger second half to its financial year, the group said this morning, expecting a profit before tax of at least £15m. Its profit before tax is ahead of market expectations, the cake maker said, as it prepares to reintroduce its dividend for the year ending 26 June 2021. [...]
Wave of dealmaking sees 123 UK firms taken over by private equity during pandemic May 25, 2021 The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for a wave of private equity takeovers of UK firms, with their value reaching their highest level since the financial crisis. While coronavirus initially triggered a slowdown in dealmaking, private equity houses gained momentum by the autumn with a string of high-profile and high-value deals. Some 123 UK [...]
Premier League deal: Fast-growing sportswear brand owned by Andy Murray signs up Wolverhampton Wanderers May 21, 2021 Fast-growing UK sportswear brand Castore, which is part owned by Sir Andy Murray, has agreed its first kit deal with a Premier League club. The company will now supply Wolverhampton Wanderers in a multi-year partnership thought to be worth several million pounds. It comes less than a week after it was disclosed that the Liverpool-based [...]