Digital wealth management firm Yieldstreet buys Athena Art Finance from Carlyle in $170m deal April 10, 2019 A wealth management firm backed by billionaire George Soros has bought art collector lender Athena from Carlyle, the US private equity giant, for $170m (£130m). The deal is digital wealth management platform Yieldstreet’s first corporate acquisition following its recent $62m Series B funding round, which received backing from Soros Fund Management. Read more: Private equity investment bounces back [...]
Private equity investment bounces back at the beginning of 2019 April 9, 2019 Private equity investment in UK companies bounced back in the first three months of this year following a slump at the end of 2018, according to the latest data. Total deal value climbed from £6.1bn in the fourth quarter of 2018 to £8.9bn between January and March this year, a £3.9bn increase from the £5bn [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown and the Share Centre acquire £1.5bn of JP Morgan assets April 9, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown and the Share Centre have agreed to buy £1.5bn in assets from JP Morgan Asset Management as the firm shifts its focus from direct-to-consumer to fund management. Read more: JP Morgan plans to cut hundreds of asset and wealth management jobs Hargreaves Lansdown has acquired up to 33,000 of JP Morgan’s retail managed fund [...]
Lloyds Bank private equity arm LDC invests £17.6m in recruitment services firm Amberjack April 7, 2019 LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has invested £17.6m in graduate recruitment services firm Amberjack to support a management buy-out. The company, which provides careers services and software to major employers such as Unilever, Network Rail and BP, will use the equity to improve its software and technology products and explore acquisitions. [...]
UK M&A slumps in first quarter as Brexit uncertainty lingers April 2, 2019 The value of UK M&A has slumped this quarter as Brexit uncertainty lingers, however, tech deals have grown to the highest year-to-date level in at least 18 years. A total of 27.4bn has been spent on UK assets so far this year, representing a 1.9 per cent decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. [...]
Inmarsat prepares to leave stock market in $3.4bn private equity deal March 25, 2019 Private equity firms have sealed a $3.4bn (£2.58bn) deal for UK satellite operator Inmarsat, sending its shares up seven per cent in early morning trading. The agreement will see the successful bidders pay $7.21 (546p) per share for the firm, a premium on its Friday close price of 506.2p. Read more: Inmarsat shares jump 16 [...]
Profit dips at Shore Capital ahead of its purchase of Stockdale Securities March 21, 2019 Profit dipped at corporate finance firm Shore Capital in 2018, in a year of rocky capital markets. Read more: Shore Capital snaps up Stockdale Securities to create broking powerhouse The figures The Aim-listed business said profit fell 11.1 per cent to £4.1m, which it blamed on increased investments. Revenue increased 3.4 per cent to £43.3m and its [...]
Simplybiz acquires financial adviser platform Defaqto for £74m March 20, 2019 Simplybiz has acquired financial adviser fintech firm Defaqto for £74.3m. Shares in AIM-listed Simplybiz, a compliance and business services provider, rose more than four per cent on the news. Read more: Business software M&A hits five-year high The combination will create a single fintech and support services group, and the acquisition is expected to enhance earnings during the first [...]
Germany’s forced marriage of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank may not work out March 19, 2019 Germany seems to be obsessed with the idea of creating a national banking champion. Is it a way of standing up to the big-ticket US banks, or reaffirming Germany’s dominance as the biggest European economy? Either way, it looks like the country is pushing to create yet another “too big to fail” bank. Back in [...]
Brookfield buys 62 per cent of Oaktree Capital in $4.7bn deal March 13, 2019 Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to buy 62 per cent of US alternative asset management company Oaktree Capital for an estimated $4.7bn (£3.56bn). The combined companies will have around $475bn of assets under management and $2.5bn of annual fee related revenue, creating one of the world’s biggest alternative asset managers. Read more: Oaktree Capital [...]