S&P Global agrees $44bn mega-deal for IHS Markit November 30, 2020 S&P Global has agreed a $44bn (£33bn) deal to buy data firm IHS Markit in a move that will create a new financial services giant.
Estate agent chain Connells confirms £82m Countrywide takeover bid November 23, 2020 Estate agent chain Connells has confirmed an £82m takeover bid for competitor Countrywide, saying a cash injection by private equity rival Alchemy Group would not go far enough to rescue the embattled firm. Connells said this morning that it has completed its due diligence work on Countrywide and reconfirmed its offer price of 250p per [...]
Insurer RSA’s board backs £7.2bn takeover deal November 18, 2020 British insurance giant RSA has recommended its shareholders back a £7.2bn takeover bid by groups from Canada and Denmark, in what could be one of the biggest M&A deals this year. The final bid from Canada’s Intact Financial and Denmark’s Tryg comes after two weeks of speculation, and was confirmed by RSA today. RSA has [...]
Deloitte Legal acquires London tech and digital media law firm November 3, 2020 Deloitte Legal will acquire technology and digital media law firm Kemp Little, adding 29 partners and up to 57 lawyers in the process.
October saw second highest ever month for ‘mega deals’ November 2, 2020 October was a bumper month for mergers and acquisition activity, with the second-highest monthly tally of “mega deals” on record. Nineteen mega deals – worth $5bn or more – were announced last month, a monthly tally exceeded only once, in May 2007, according to data from Refinitiv. Since 1 January, 93 mega deals have been [...]
UK betting firm Genius Sports to go public with $1.5bn US deal October 27, 2020 UK sports data firm Genius Sports Group is planning to go public with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange by merging with special purpose acquisition company Dmy Technology. The deal values the combined group at around $1.5bn. Genius Sports boss Mark Locke will stay on as chief executive following the transaction. Dmy chairman [...]
Customer generation platform MVF buys Appwiki amid online sales surge October 26, 2020 Digital customer generation platform MVF has bought Dutch software comparison site Appwiki amid a surge in the number of firms attempting to boost their online capabilities due to the coronavirus crisis. The acquisition, which will allow MVF to use Appwiki’s comparison technology, comes as demand for digital consumer generation has soared due to the acceleration [...]
Carlyle Group snaps up majority stake in funds firm Calastone October 26, 2020 Global investment firm The Carlyle Group is set to snap up a majority stake in funds network Calastone for an undisclosed amount, it said today. Carlyle said in a statement that it would buy the stake from current shareholders including venture capital firms Octopus Ventures and Accel. It comes with Carlyle nearing an agreement to [...]
US private equity firm Lone Star to buy developer McCarthy & Stone for £630m October 23, 2020 US private equity firm Lone Star has made an offer to buy UK retirement property developer McCarthy & Stone for £630m. McCarthy & Stone has recommended that shareholders approve the deal, which represents a premium of 38.6 per cent to yesterday’s closing share price of 83p. The board said the offer represents “fair value” for [...]
London investment firm Centricus makes surprise entry into Tiktok takeover race October 9, 2020 A little-known British investment firm has reportedly emerged as a shock bidder for Tiktok as it looks to derail Oracle’s tie-up with the Chinese viral video app. London-based Centricus Asset Management has been in negotiations with the chief executive of Tiktok’s parent company Bytedance for weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm is said [...]