MP calls for national security review of Viasat’s £5.4bn Inmarsat acquisition Takeover regulation A top Tory MP has written to business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng calling for a national security review of Inmarsat’s £5.4bn takeover by US rival Viasat, on the basis that it will “diminish the UK’s sovereign capabilities” in the space sector. Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, has written to Kwarteng expressing [...]
CMA launches probe into Microsoft $16bn Nuance deal on antitrust concerns M&A Britain’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Microsoft Corp’s $16bn acquisition of artificial intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications on antitrust concerns. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) this morning said it was launching the probe to establish whether the deal would “result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or [...]
Fund manager Jupiter gets ready to fend off bids worth £1.3bn M&A Jupiter fund manager is enlisting advisory help in preparation of takeover bids, as dealmaking activity across the industry reaches fever pitch, according to Sky News, which first reported the news. The asset manager has hired advisory firm Robey Warshaw to come up with a plan to fend off prospective bidders eyeing up the FTSE-250 company, [...]
CD&R £7bn Morrisons takeover put on ice amid market volatility December 2, 2021 Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s takeover of British supermarket Morrisons has been postponed to next year, as lenders push back on the massive debt package that the US private equity firm is using to finance the buyout to wait out market volatility. In what represents the UK’s biggest buyout in more than a decade at a [...]
US platform buys Seedrs for $100m after CMA blocks Crowdcube merger on home turf December 1, 2021 UK crowdfunding platform Seedrs is being acquired by US investment platform Republic, just months after the UK’s competition watchdog blocked its plans to merge with homegrown rival Crowdcube. In a transatlantic deal that values Seedrs at approximately $100m (£75m), the two platforms are billing the combined entity as “the first global private investment marketplace with [...]
Billionaire Issa brothers plot $35bn merger of Asda with their EG Group petrol stations November 27, 2021 The billionaire brothers behind last year’s mammoth acquisition of Asda are now mulling a merger of the grocer with their petrol and forecourts business EG Group. A merger between the two businesses is one of a few strategy options that the Blackburn-based entrepreneurs are considering for their global forecourt empire EG group. If they were [...]
Clyde & Co eyes up merger with law firm BLM November 26, 2021 Clyde & Co is reportedly in discussions with its smaller rival BLM about a merger between the two law firms, according to reports. The talks between the firms are still in the initial stages, according to Rollonfriday, a British legal news website, which first reported the development. With a turnover at Clyde of almost £640m [...]
Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo enters bidding war for River & Mercantile November 23, 2021 Fund management veteran Martin Gilbert has been thrown into a bidding war for River and Mercantile (R&M) after the asset manager revealed it has been approached by more than one suitor. Both AssetCo, an Aim-listed acquisition vehicle chaired by Gilbert, and rival fund manager Premier Miton have made bids for R&M. Both firms already have [...]
It’s happened: Global M&A hits all-time record of $5 trillion in 2021 November 18, 2021 Dealmaking has reached new heights this year, as the momentum seen each quarter continued unabated and propelled the global M&A market to a new all-time record of $5 trillion in deals – with still one month to go. As of yesterday, global transactions have topped $5 trillion so far this year – already 40 per [...]
UK government opens national security probe into Nvidia’s $54bn Arm deal November 16, 2021 The UK government has launched a a full-blown national security investigation into Nvidia’s planned takeover of British chip designer Arm, introducing another obstacle in the way of the $54bn deal. Digital and culture secretary Nadine Dorries has ordered a “phase 2” investigation into whether the deal operates against public interest, thus instructing the UK competition [...]