KPMG in exclusive talks to sell pensions arm to private equity firm for more than £200m October 23, 2019 KPMG today confirmed it is in exclusive talks to sell its pensions advisory arm to private equity firm Exponent. The Big Four firm is in discussions to sell its pensions unit to the former Quorn-owner for more than £200m, Sky News reported. Read more: KPMG launches £100m cost-cutting programme The division has more than 20 [...]
Goals Soccer Centres: Sports Direct says ‘skulduggery’ wiped out shareholders October 23, 2019 Retailer Sports Direct has today blasted the management of Goals Soccer Centres after the five-a-side football firm delisted from Aim after an accounting scandal. Goals suspended shares in March after saying its financial results contained a misdeclaration of VAT, leaving a black hole in its accounts of more than £12m. Read more: Goals Soccer Centres [...]
Activist investor Cat Rock tells Prosus not to interfere with Takeaway.com bid for Just Eat October 22, 2019 Activist investor Cat Rock has warned investment firm Prosus not to interfere with Takeaway.com’s bid for rival food delivery service Just Eat. Prosus launched a £4.9bn all-cash offer for Just Eat today, representing a 20 per cent premium to Takeaway.com’s all-share offer which has been negatively impacted by the Dutch businesses’ falling share price. Read [...]
Bidding war on the cards as Just Eat rejects £4.9bn hostile bid from Prosus October 22, 2019 Just Eat could find itself at the centre of a bidding war after rejecting a hostile £4.9bn bid from investment firm Prosus that threatens to disrupt its merger with Takeaway.com. The firm’s share price leapt 24 per cent to 732.8p despite the rejection in favour of its £8.3bn tie-up with the Dutch Takeaway.com as a [...]
Value of deals taking UK-listed firms private trebles October 21, 2019 The value of private equity (PE) deals taking UK-listed companies private has more than trebled over the past year, as the valuation premium of listed companies compared to private firms narrows. The total valuation of deals taking UK-listed firms off the stock market more than trebled in 2018/19 to £14bn, according to new research by [...]
Kester Capital backs management buyout of Yougarden October 21, 2019 Kester Capital has thrown its weight behind a management buyout of Yougarden, as the online garden centre seeks to grow its influence over the UK’s horticultural market. Founded in 2012, Yougarden operates a direct-to-consumer brand and also supplies retailers including Amazon, Groupon and Shop Direct. Read more: M&A activity targeting UK slumps amid no-deal Brexit [...]
Temasek mulls purchase of Atkins from SNC-Lavalin October 20, 2019 Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek has reportedly held talks about a possible takeover of British engineering giant Atkins. Canadian conglomerate SNC-Lavalin, which bought Atkins in 2017, is believed to have approached potential bidders including Temasek over the sale of the engineering firm, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Shares in UK engineer Renishaw fall as [...]
London Stock Exchange third quarter income climbs as CFO set to retire October 18, 2019 London Stock Exchange today posted robust gains in its third quarter for its first set of results since rejecting a hostile £32bn takeover bid from Hong Kong. Total income climbed 12 per cent year on year to £587m in the three months to the end of September. Read more: Why Hong Kong’s bid for the [...]
Seplat Petroleum expands production with £382m purchase of Eland Oil & Gas October 15, 2019 Nigerian oil company Seplat Petroleum is set to acquire London-listed Eland Oil & Gas for £382m. The West African oil group will pay 166 pence per share for Eland, which translates into a premium of 28.5 per cent from the company’s closing price on Monday. Read more: Afren in talks to recapitalise after Seplat deal [...]
Takeover titan and Blackstone boss Steve Schwarzman talks charity, business and life advice October 14, 2019 Private equity does not have a reputation for giving away money: on the contrary, it is an industry known for its hard-headed obsession with turning a profit though buying companies and selling them on. So it comes as something of a surprise to find that the boss of the world’s biggest private equity company, Steve [...]
