These are the FTSE companies with the highest and lowest chief executive pay ratios March 15, 2017 With AGM season around the corner, and remuneration set to be a top issue for investors, chief executive pay ratios could again be about to come under the microscope. And while the certain retailers could feel the heat, a number of City firms should be able to rest easy. Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) has drawn [...]
Article 50, schmarticle 50: UK deal activity is booming, with a flurry of deals so far in 2017 March 14, 2017 The imminent triggering of Article 50 appears to be having no negative effect on UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with several major deals announced in recent weeks. New figures show British deal activity has been booming since the Brexit vote, and this year especially. This week’s Bovis bidding war, currently being fought by Galliford Try and [...]
Foreign takeovers in the UK hit record levels last year as Megabrew and BG-Shell deals completed March 7, 2017 Foreign takeovers of British companies reached record levels last year as mega-deals announced during 2015 were tied up. In 2016, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tracked 227 foreign takeovers, the highest annual number since 2011, worth £187.4bn, the highest total value since records began in 1969. These figures were boosted by AB InBev’s £79bn [...]
This isn’t an M&A bubble: It’s the start of an unprecedented boom February 22, 2017 After a blistering final quarter of 2016, the first few weeks of 2017 have seen dealmakers continue to mine a rich seam of M&A, with big ticket transactions including Tesco’s acquisition of Booker and Reckitt Benckiser’s bid for Mead Johnson hitting headlines in the UK, and Luxottica and Essilor’s €50bn (£42.4bn) merger among many others [...]
Firms are wising up on the need to reform executive pay February 16, 2017 To mere mortals, executive pay can sometimes seem out of this world. Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs No2 who is now director of the National Economic Council in the US, was awarded $284m (£227m) by the Wall St bank upon departure. In the UK, the best paid chief executive is WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell, whose [...]
British Gas is not overcharging customers – this is why February 13, 2017 As we wrote in our article Forget the acronyms, we value investors care about the treatment of stakeholders. Not just investors but staff, customers, suppliers and regulators. Given the political, regulatory and media pressure on the so called “Big Six” energy companies, the situation at Centrica is worthy of closer examination. Are customers paying too [...]
Barclays mulls plans to freeze chief executive Jes Staley’s £8m a year pay as investors reach breaking point over bumper deals February 12, 2017 Barclays is considering freezing its chief executive's maximum pay at £8m for the next three years, in a bid to dodge fallout from a potential shareholder spring. According to Sky News, which first reported the story, the chair of the bank's remuneration committee has briefed leading investors on plans to keep salary and incentives for Jes Staley, who [...]
Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser will buy a US baby formula maker for $16.6bn February 10, 2017 Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is set to buy US baby formula maker Mead Johnson for $16.6bn (£13.3) in cash. The British company behind such names as Lysol cleaners and Durex condoms said it will pay $90 a share for the American firm. The acquisition will open up a new market area for RB, who called the move a "significant step [...]
“You just have to get on with things”: UK dealmaking is off to its best start to a year since 2008 February 2, 2017 UK dealmakers have had a flying beginning to the year, with 2017 marking the best annual start for British mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity since 2008. After Reckitt Benckiser’s offer for Mead Johnson Nutrition, the total value of deals involving UK parties so far this year has reached $34.9bn (£27.8bn), according to Thomson Reuters. Read [...]
Here’s how analysts are reacting to Reckitt Benckiser’s move to acquire Mead Johnson February 2, 2017 Just as analysts were digesting the news that Tesco and Booker Group are merging, Reckitt Beckiser (RB) has revealed that it is in talks to snap up US group Mead Johnson. The deal values Mead Johnson – which manufactures baby milk – at $16.7bn. Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets said RB was making the move to access the [...]