Government mulls privatisation of Channel 4 next year June 17, 2021 The government could sell Channel 4 as early as next year, as the UK culture secretary seeks the “best model” for the broadcaster. Ministers are planning to launch a consultation within weeks to explore what is next for the 39-year-old company, the Financial Times reports this evening. Youth-oriented Channel 4 is owned by the government [...]
Deadline extended on Blackstone’s £1.2bn takeover of property developer St Modwen June 16, 2021 Private equity firm Blackstone and British property investment and development group St Modwen have been granted an extension to finalise a £1.2bn takeover deal. In a statement today St Modwen said it had reached an agreement on the terms of the takeover bid by Brighton Bidco, a newly former company of funds advised by Blackstone. [...]
Mullins in private equity talks that could value Pimlico Plumbers at £100m June 3, 2021 Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins is in talks to sell off part of his company, in a move that could value the business at £100m. Mullins is in talks with private equity firms about a deal, and has hired Cavendish Corporate Finance to advise on the sale, Bloomberg first reported. It is understood a number [...]
Sweet Dreams are made of this: UK bed retailer sold to Tempur Sealy for £340m May 27, 2021 Sweet Dreams are made of these: UK bed retailer sold to Tempur Sealy for £340m
Wave of dealmaking sees 123 UK firms taken over by private equity during pandemic May 25, 2021 The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for a wave of private equity takeovers of UK firms, with their value reaching their highest level since the financial crisis. While coronavirus initially triggered a slowdown in dealmaking, private equity houses gained momentum by the autumn with a string of high-profile and high-value deals. Some 123 UK [...]
FCA proposes structure shake-up to tackle illiquid fund flaws May 7, 2021 Britain today put forward a new long-term asset fund structure to invest in illiquid assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, following a series of high-profile suspensions. Illiquid assets typically offer better long-term returns but come with higher risk. They can be difficult to value or sell in a crisis, making it hard to meet [...]
SPAC frenzy holds valuable lessons for the UK May 6, 2021 | City Talk The explosive growth in Special Acquisition Purpose Company (SPAC) listings – shell companies listed on the stock exchange with the purpose of ‘reversing-in’ to another company and taking it public by the backdoor, has so far been a purely US phenomenon. However, other markets are now catching on. The value of listings by SPACs grew [...]
Exclusive: UK private equity firms pool £20bn fire power as they circle higher value targets April 29, 2021 The total value of UK private equity club deals reached £19.7bn last year, a fourfold increase from the £4.5bn in 2019. Moreover, the number of club deals has reached a three-year high as there were 56 deals in 2020, a jump of 30 per cent from 43 the year before, according to new data that [...]
Exclusive: Private equity firms strike £10bn of carve-out deals as pandemic drives sale of non-core units April 28, 2021 Private equity firms made £10.1bn of corporate carve-out acquisitions in the UK last year, up from just £765m in 2019 as the Covid-19 pandemic drove more corporates to sell non-core business units, according to new data shared with City A.M. this evening. The economic disruption of the past year has forced many large businesses to [...]
Equiniti receives sweetened £661m takeover bid from US private equity firm April 28, 2021 Equiniti Group has received a revised offer from US private equity investor Siris Capital, to buy the outsourcer for around £661m in cash. Siris revised its bid to 180 pence per share following discussions, London-listed Equiniti said. In early April, Siris submitted a non-binding proposal for 170 pence per share, which Equiniti said it would evaluate “carefully [...]