Ed Warner: Don’t criticise British Cycling for accepting sponsorship from Shell October 20, 2022 Disclaimer No1: I don’t think I’ve written anything in support of British Cycling down the years. Quite the opposite in fact. But I can’t bring myself to add my name to the lengthening petition that splutters in indignation about the governing body’s sponsorship deal with Shell. So, here’s a first for me. British Cycling’s eight-year [...]
Let’s be honest, the competition watchdog shouldn’t care about Meta buying Giphy October 20, 2022 On Tuesday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked Meta’s acquisition of Giphy, a gif search engine. This ruling risks undermining London’s status as the digital capital of Europe — threatening innovation, job creation and economic growth. And yet, they did it anyway. The CMA had two justifications for blocking the acquisition. The first was [...]
OneWeb and Panasonic to rival Viasat-Inmarsat tie-up with in-flight wifi deal October 18, 2022 British satellite darling OneWeb has teamed up with in-flight entertainment giant Panasonic, in a partnership which could rival the looming Viasat-Inmarsat tie-up. The deal will see Panasonic Avionics, which serves over 70 airlines, sell OneWeb’s in-flight broadband services to commercial airlines worldwide by the second half of next year, cementing aviation as the latest cash [...]
Next 15 clears regulatory hurdles in M&C Saatchi takeover October 18, 2022 NEXT 15 cleared its final regulatory hurdle this morning as the London media firm hopes to finalise a deal to takeover M&C Saatchi after months of turbulence. The media firm said it had received confirmation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), paving the way for a successful takeover. It follows [...]
Competition watchdog orders Facebook owner Meta to sell Giphy October 18, 2022 The competition watchdog told Facebook’s parent firm Meta this afternoon that it would need to dump Giphy, marking the first time the regulator has blocked a deal struck by a Big Tech firm. In its “final decision”, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled that the combination of the two companies would allow Meta to [...]
New breed of private capital firms will face performance headwinds October 18, 2022 Under the private equity fundraising model, every few years fund managers secure capital commitments with a 10-year duration and charge management and advisory fees during the lock-up period. While longer-dated products have emerged over time, the basic pattern has remained essentially unchanged. Unfortunately, fundraising is cyclical. Downturns require patience: fund managers must wait until the [...]
CMA plans for price controls on emergency services radio network October 14, 2022 The UK’s competition watchdog has tabled plans to tackle excess profits at Motorola Solutions, after calling it a monopoly provider in the emergency service radio network. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that a lack of competition has allowed Motorola to make around £160m in excess profits a year, weighing on public funds [...]
City lawyer in the running to head competition watchdog October 12, 2022 The UK's competition watchdog could be closing in on a new boss, with a leading city lawyer tipped as a major contender for the hot seat.
CMA and food safety regulators ‘struggling to recruit’ post-Brexit, says MPs October 12, 2022 British food safety and competition regulators are “struggling to recruit and retain the skills they need to regulate effectively” post-Brexit, according to a Westminster committee of MPs. A new report from the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today said some regulators need more staff post-Brexit to handle new responsibilities, leading to labour shortages. This has [...]
City minister defends ‘safety valve’ call-in power over financial regulators October 11, 2022 A proposed new power that allows Whitehall to overrule financial regulators will only be a “safety valve”, City minister Andrew Griffith has said. Griffith told a Westminster committee today that the new call-in power would only be used “sparingly” in the face of concerns that it will reduce the independence of the UK’s regulators. The [...]