21st Century Fox £12bn takeover of Sky has been referred to regulators Ofcom and the CMA by culture secretary Karen Bradley March 16, 2017 The bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox to take over Sky has been referred to regulators by the culture secretary. Karen Bradley confirmed her decision this morning after already announcing she was “minded” to do so. Broadcast regulator Ofcom will examine “public interest considerations” and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) “jurisdiction issues”. Read more: Sky takeover [...]
AT&T wins European Commission approval for $85bn Time Warner deal but faces battle in the US March 15, 2017 US telecoms giant AT&T has won European Commission approval for its $85bn (£70bn) takeover deal for Time Warner. “We appreciate the skilled work of the European Commission’s team for their timely effort to analyse and clear the AT&T-Time Warner merger,” said Bob Quinn, senior executive vice president of AT&T external and legislative sffairs. Read more: [...]
Activist investor Chris Hohn tells Safran chairman: Pull €8.5bn Zodiac deal or we’ll try to oust you March 15, 2017 Chris Hohn’s activist hedge fund has called for a chairman to abandon a proposed €8.5bn (£7.4bn) takeover or face being ousted. The Children’s Investment (TCI) Fund has previously made clear its opposition to a deal under which French aircraft-engine maker Safran, in which it owns a 4.1 per cent stake, is due to buy plane [...]
Unilever shows that the Prime Minister must show her cards on takeovers by foreign companies March 15, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has talked tough on foreign takeovers and raised the prospect of a beefed-up national interest policy as fears rise about opportunistic takeovers on the back of the weaker pound. However, it is unclear how far the government would actually intervene in corporate dealmaking when it comes to the crunch. Ministers were [...]
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 [...]
Chris Hohn’s activist fund attacks Safran’s “enormously destructive” €8.5bn Zodiac takeover March 14, 2017 Chris Hohn’s activist hedge fund has had another bite at French aircraft-engine maker Safran over a planned €8.5bn (£7.4bn) takeover. The Children’s Investment (TCI) Fund, which owns a 4.1 per cent stake in Safran, publicised its opposition to the deal for plane-seat maker Zodiac last month, saying it had “no strategic rationale”. Safran hit back shortly [...]
Ithaca Energy shareholder urges fellow investors to reject $1.2bn Delek takeover and hold out for better deal March 14, 2017 A major shareholder in North Sea oil producer Ithaca Energy has issued a statement urging fellow investors to reject a $1.24bn (£1bn) takeover deal. Ithaca’s board accepted a bid from Delek Group, which is currently the company’s largest shareholder with a 19.7 per cent stake, in February. The deal values Ithaca’s share value at $646m and [...]
Private equity firm Privet Capital cuddles up with Care Bears maker Vivid Toy Group March 14, 2017 Private equity firm Privet Capital has snapped up a toymaker behind Care Bears, Thunderbirds and Moshi Monsters. Vivid Toy Group sells its products to major retailers across the UK, France, Benelux, Germany and the US, including in Tesco, Argos, Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us and Amazon. Headquartered in Guildford, the firm also has operations in Paris, Frankfurt and [...]
Australian investment bank Macquarie sells last of its stake in Thames Water to Canadian and Kuwaiti funds March 14, 2017 Australian investment bank Macquarie has sold its stake in Thames Water to a Canadian pension fund and a Kuwaiti infrastructure investor. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) today announced the sale of its 26.3 per cent interest in Kemble Water Holdings, the holding company of Thames Water. The buyers are Borealis Infrastructure, part of Canada’s OMERS pension fund, and Wren [...]
Mobileye share price soars as Intel’s $15.3bn acquisition confirmed March 13, 2017 Intel has snapped up an Isreali technology firm specialising in driverless car tech in a multi-billion dollar deal to accelerate its automotive plans. Shares of Mobileye shot up more than 30 per cent in pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange after reports of the deal initially serviced. Mobileye, which works on technology for driverless cars, has [...]
