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Transactions UK
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October 01, 2024
Insurance Consolidator PIB Group Buys UK Broker
PIB Group Ltd. said it has bought RS Insurance Brokers Ltd., as the insurance acquisition vehicle seeks to boost its presence in the sector with a "burgeoning" portfolio of specialisms across the U.K. and Europe.
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October 01, 2024
4 Firms Guide Partners Group In €6.7B Sale Of German Biz
Swiss private equity shop Partners Group said Tuesday that it is selling its stake in a German digital energy metering business to Texas-based TPG and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund for approximately €6.7 billion ($7.4 billion).
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October 01, 2024
Mulberry Turns Down £83M Takeover Offer From UK's Frasers
Mulberry's board said Tuesday that it has rejected a buyout bid from retail giant Frasers, which values the handbag maker at £83 million ($111 million), because it fails to recognize its "substantial future potential value."
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October 01, 2024
Freshfields Guides Abu Dhabi Oil In €14.7B German Bid
Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company said Tuesday that it will buy a German chemicals producer, Covestro AG, in a €14.7 billion ($16.3 billion) deal as the Gulf state seeks to lower its dependence on oil amid the transition to green energy.
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September 30, 2024
Chancery Sidelines Squarespace Merger Doc Suit For Now
A Delaware Court of Chancery action to compel stockholder access to website builder Squarespace Inc.'s corporate records remained under a stay Monday, after a court finding that the suit aimed to preserve future review rights focused on a proposed $7.2 billion company take-private deal.
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September 30, 2024
Activist Investor Urges Basic-Fit Gym Operator To Sell
Buckley Capital Management LLC made an appeal to the board of Basic-Fit NV on Monday recommending that the company undergo a strategic review with the intention of selling the business and going private.
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September 30, 2024
Addleshaw Goddard-Led Supplement Co. Signals £500M IPO
Applied Nutrition Ltd. said on Monday it is planning to make an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, as the U.K. sports supplements maker eyes increasing its international presence in the booming health and wellness sector.
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September 30, 2024
Royal London Enters Pension Insurance Market
The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd. said Monday that it has officially entered the bulk purchase annuity market after it completed several smaller transactions.
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September 30, 2024
Cineworld Wins Court Approval For UK Restructuring Plan
Cineworld was granted approval for a U.K. restructuring plan on Monday as a judge concluded it was a better option than allowing the struggling cinema chain to fall into administration.
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September 30, 2024
Vodafone-Three Deal No Longer Requires Shareholder Nod
British telecom giant Vodafone said Monday that it no longer requires its shareholders to approve its proposed £16.5 billion ($21.7 billion) merger with Three UK, following the enforcing of the new listing rules in the U.K.
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September 30, 2024
Frasers Group Makes £83M Offer For Luxury Brand Mulberry
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group said Monday that it is making an £83 million ($111 million) proposed cash offer for Mulberry Group PLC, after the struggling British lifestyle brand blindsided it with plans to sell more shares to its majority shareholder.
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September 30, 2024
Home REIT Sells 200 Properties For £37M Amid Wind Down
Home Reit PLC said Monday it has sold 200 properties for a total of £36.9 million ($49.4 million), as the troubled real estate investor continues to clear its debts before it closes.
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September 30, 2024
Electrics Retailer Luceco Buys UK Rival For £30M
Luceco PLC said Monday it has bought workplace wiring appliance maker CMD Ltd. for £30 million ($49.4 million), as the U.K. trade and retail supplier of lights and electrical products looks to bolster its portfolio and boost profits.
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September 30, 2024
REA Pulls £6.2B Rightmove Bid After Board's Rejection
Rupert Murdoch's REA Group withdrew its £6.2 billion ($8.3 billion) potential bid for Rightmove PLC on Monday, hours before a deadline for making a firm offer, after the board of the British property business continued to reject its advances.
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September 29, 2024
Law Firm Mergers Stay High As Consolidators Press On
Merger activity in the British legal sector continued to recover in 2023 from the low levels seen two years earlier, partly driven by consolidator firms acquiring other practices, Hazlewoods LLP said on Monday.
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October 04, 2024
Clifford Chance Hires Ex-Sidley Restructuring Pro
Clifford Chance LLP has recruited a former restructuring partner at Sidley Austin LLP in Germany, amid high demand from clients for specialist advice in the face of challenging macroeconomic conditions.
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September 27, 2024
Advil Owner Haleon Paying $637M To Up Stake In China JV
British consumer healthcare giant Haleon plc said Friday that it has agreed to pay the equivalent of roughly $637 million to increase its stake in a Chinese joint venture, Tianjin TSKF Pharmaceutical Co., from 55% to 88%.
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September 27, 2024
Infrastructure Investor Sells Stake In US Assets For £30M
Infrastructure investment company International Public Partnerships said Friday that it has partially sold its investment in a public-private partnership housing scheme in the U.S., raising £30 million ($40 million) in the process.
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September 27, 2024
Real Estate Debt Investor To Launch £10M Share Buyback
Real Estate Credit Investments Ltd. said Friday it plans to roll out a share buyback of up to £10 million ($13.4 million) in a move expected to lower its outstanding share capital.
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September 27, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen Coca-Cola bring a trademark infringement claim against its former marketing director, Glencore face legal action by American Century ETF Trust, law firm Bishop Lloyd & Jackson defend itself against two solicitors it worked alongside during inquiries into Grenfell Tower, and a U.K. cruise line face a claim by a subsidiary of the sanctioned gambling platform GTLK.
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September 27, 2024
Abrdn Property To Sell £351M Portfolio To Travelodge Owner
Abrdn Property Income Trust said Friday that it has agreed to sell one of its subsidiaries that owns a portfolio of 39 properties to the owner of Travelodge for £351 million ($470 million) as it moves to a controlled wind-down.
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September 27, 2024
UK Tagging Biz To Reward Shareholders With £6M Buyback
Big Technologies PLC launched on Friday its debut share repurchase program worth up to £5.9 million ($7.9 million) aimed at rewarding shareholders, days after the people tagging business reported a dip in revenue.
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September 27, 2024
UK Drops Probe Into Amazon's $4B AI Investment
The Competition and Markets Authority dropped its formal probe on Friday into Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic, a U.S. artificial intelligence startup, after it found that the companies do not hit thresholds for investigation in Britain.
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September 27, 2024
Murdoch's REA Group Logs 4th Offer For Rightmove At £6.2B
Rupert Murdoch's REA Group said Friday that it has tabled a fourth potential offer of £6.2 billion ($8.3 billion) for Rightmove PLC as the board of the British property business continues to refuse to engage with the publisher's real estate advertising company.
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September 26, 2024
VivoPower Keeps HQ In UK To Qualify For $21B Gov't Program
Sustainable energy solutions company VivoPower International PLC and hydrogen technology business Future Automotive Solutions and Technologies on Thursday outlined additional terms to their proposed $1.13 billion merger, including settling the combined company's headquarters in the U.K. in order to qualify for potential "significant and attractive" government incentives.
Expert Analysis
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EU Rejection Of Booking.com Deal Veers From Past Practice
The European Commission's recent prohibition of Booking's purchase of Etraveli based on ecosystem theories of harm reveals a lower bar for prohibiting nonhorizontal mergers, and may mean increased merger scrutiny for companies with entrenched market positions in digital markets, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings
The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.
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Tools M&A Deal Makers Can Use To Bridge Valuation Gaps
As macroeconomic headwinds reset valuation expectations, parties to merger and acquisition are increasingly looking to methods such as earnouts, vendor financing and minority transactions to bridge the valuation gap and get deals done, says Philip Herbst at Cleary.
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Takeaways From The CMA's Green Collaboration Guidance
Recently published Competition and Markets Authority guidance on the application of competition law to environmental sustainability agreements should remove barriers for businesses that want to collaborate on environmental sustainability without breaking the law, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU
Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.
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CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism
New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Employer Due Diligence Lessons From Share Scheme Case
The Scottish Court of Session recently confirmed in Ponticelli v. Gallagher that the right to participate in a share incentive plan transfers to the transferee, highlighting the importance for transferee employers to conduct comprehensive due diligence when acquiring workforce, including on arrangements outside the employment contract's scope, say lawyers at McDermott.
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4 Compliance Considerations Under FCA Consumer Duty
Following the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent introduction of the new consumer duty regime, firms will need to be mindful of data protection implications when managing their compliance with the duty and data protection legislation, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.
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How The UK Investment Screening Regime Is Taking Shape
A recent order imposing remedies on an acquisition by EDF Energy highlights emerging trends in the U.K. government's national security reviews of transactions under the U.K. National Security and Investment Act, and shows how the U.K. remedy landscape compares to the U.S. regime, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.
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EU Antitrust Rules Set To Pose Challenges To US Businesses
With stark differences between U.S. and European Union antitrust regimes, and potential for the forthcoming EU guidelines to turbocharge the commission's appetite for intervention, it is important that U.S. businesses with activities in the region take note of the reforms, say Andrea Pomana and Sarah Wilks at Mayer Brown.
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German Competition Law May Herald New Enforcement Trend
The recent amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition is expected to significantly expand the powers of the German Federal Cartel Office, and could signal a global trend toward greater direct intervention by national competition authorities and political interference in competition law, say lawyers at Simmons & Simmons.
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How The OECD Global Tax Proposal Could Affect M&A
Following agreement on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Pillar Two proposal to introduce a global minimum tax, domestic implementation is expected to have a significant impact on international M&A transactions, with financial modeling, deal structuring, risk allocation and joint venture arrangements likely to be affected, say lawyers at Freshfields.
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A Look At German And French Merger Control Trends In 2023
Merger control statistics from the first half of 2023 in Germany and France — key merger control jurisdictions with strict enforcement and sophisticated analysis tools — highlight trends on the length and number of investigations by the respective authorities, say Laurence Bary and Clemens Graf York von Wartenburg at Dechert.