Transactions UK

  • July 26, 2024

    Legal Services Biz To Buy UK Regional Law Firm For £12.5M

    Knights Group Holdings PLC said Friday that it has agreed to buy Thursfields Legal Ltd., an independent, full-service regional law firm, for £12.5 million ($16.1 million), as the growing legal and professional services company moves to expand its presence in central England.

  • July 26, 2024

    NatWest To Buy £2.5B Mortgage Portfolio From Metro Bank

    NatWest will acquire a £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) portfolio of U.K. residential mortgages from Metro Bank as it seeks to expand its retail book without taking on unnecessary risk, the lenders said on Friday.

  • August 01, 2024

    Bracewell Hires 11 Norton Rose Energy Attys In Paris Launch

    Bracewell LLP said Thursday it has opened a new office in Paris with the hiring of an 11-lawyer team of energy and infrastructure specialists from Norton Rose Fulbright in a move to develop its legal services in France and in French-speaking countries in Africa.

  • July 25, 2024

    Deals Rumor Mill: Wiz-Google, Daily Telegraph, Medline IPO

    Cybersecurity startup Wiz has rebuffed a buyout offer from Google, former British finance minister Nadhim Zahawi is preparing a $773 million bid for the Daily Telegraph, and medical supplies giant Medline is preparing an initial public offering for 2025. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

  • July 25, 2024

    Audit Watchdog Sanctioned Firms £48M Last Year

    The Financial Reporting Council revealed Thursday that it fined firms a total of £48.2 million ($62 million) in the financial year ended March 31, including a £21 million fine against auditor KPMG related to its accounting for construction giant Carillion prior to its collapse in 2018.

  • July 25, 2024

    Fintech Co. To Return £150M To Shareholders With Buyback

    Global fintech company IG Group said Thursday that it will buy back up to £150 million ($193 million) of its shares over the next six months to return excess cash to its shareholders.

  • July 25, 2024

    BAE Systems' First Tranche Of £1.5B Buyback Takes Off

    BAE Systems PLC on Thursday launched the first part of a new share repurchase program worth up to £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) that the arms and aerospace giant said is aimed at lowering its outstanding share capital.

  • July 25, 2024

    Indivior Announces $100M Buyback To Trim Market Capital

    Addiction treatment company Indivior PLC said Thursday that it plans to return $100 million to its shareholders in its latest share buyback program over the next six months to reduce the number of its shares in the market.

  • July 25, 2024

    Bird & Bird-Led Comms Biz Buys Rival For Up To £13M

    Gamma Communications PLC said Thursday that it has bought call center technology specialist BrightCloud Group Ltd. in a transaction worth up to £13 million ($17 million), as the telecommunication services provider looks toward expansion in Europe.

  • July 25, 2024

    FCA Consumer Duty Deadline May Spark Clash With UK Gov't

    The new Labour government and the Financial Conduct Authority could be heading for a clash over what constitutes a vulnerable consumer and how the laws protecting them from abuse should be enforced.

  • July 24, 2024

    London Tech Week Co. To Make £1.2B Bid For Lions Owner

    British publisher and events company Informa PLC said Wednesday that it has offered to acquire exhibitions company Ascential PLC, which owns the Cannes Lions and Money20/20 brands, for approximately £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) to expand its business-to-business events space.

  • July 24, 2024

    Outsourcer Mitie Doubles Share Buyback To £100M

    Mitie Group PLC said Wednesday that it will extend its current £50 million ($65 million) share buyback program to £100 million after it posted strong financial results and showed positive momentum.

  • July 24, 2024

    US, British PE Firms Make €2.2B Offer For Cybersecurity Biz

    Cybersecurity firm Exclusive Networks said Wednesday that it has been handed a takeover offer of approximately €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) from a consortium made up of U.S. private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice and its biggest shareholder, Permira.

  • July 24, 2024

    Grainger Acquires Manchester Real Estate For £31M

    Grainger PLC said Wednesday it has bought 135 homes in a build-to-rent scheme in Manchester for £31 million ($40 million), as the U.K. property manager looks to bolster its high-quality apartment portfolio to meet growing demand.

  • July 24, 2024

    UniCredit To Buy Vodeno, Aion Bank For €370M

    Italy's UniCredit said Wednesday that it will buy cloud-based digital banking services provider Vodeno and online bank Aion for approximately €370 million ($401 million) in total as a foray into new financial technology.

  • July 24, 2024

    Student Housing Biz Unite Raises £450M Through Share Sale

    Unite said Wednesday that it has raised £450 million ($580 million) by selling new shares to institutional and retail investors to help the student housing manager fund its pipeline of properties.

  • July 24, 2024

    Vodafone, Spanish Co. Agree To Create Joint Fiber Biz

    The owner of Vodafone's Spanish subsidiary said Wednesday that it has agreed to form a national fiber-optic network-sharing company in Spain with MasOrange SL to expand its presence in the country.

  • July 23, 2024

    Microsoft Calls FTC Price Hike Claims 'Misleading' At 9th Circ

    Microsoft pushed back against the Federal Trade Commission's contention that an increase in the company's gaming subscription pricing is evidence of the anticompetitive effects of the software giant's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc., calling the commission out for trying to "reinvent" its case against the merger on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

  • July 23, 2024

    US, UK, EU Antitrust Enforcers Outline AI Principles

    The top antitrust officials from the U.S. Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority presented a unified international commitment Tuesday to closely monitor artificial intelligence technology and the companies that they warned could wield AI anticompetitively.

  • July 30, 2024

    Akin Alum To Head Paul Weiss' European Restructuring Team

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP announced Tuesday that it has hired a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to steer the leadership of its European restructuring practice as it looks to boost its legal services to large companies and creditors.

  • July 23, 2024

    Bosch To Buy Johnson Controls' Air Con Biz For $8.1B

    German engineering and technology giant Bosch said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire U.S. peer Johnson Controls' global residential and light commercial heating and cooling business, as well as its air conditioning joint venture with Hitachi for $8.1 billion.

  • July 23, 2024

    EU Urged To Give Finance Watchdogs More Powers

    A financial trade body on Tuesday called on European Union legislators to give regulators the power to modernize financial markets and make them more globally competitive.

  • July 23, 2024

    Axway To Raise €131M To Fund €330M Banking Software Buy

    Information technology company Axway said Tuesday that it is planning to raise approximately €131 million ($142 million) in equity as part of its €330 million acquisition of the banking software activities of Sopra Steria Group.

  • July 30, 2024

    Bird & Bird Hires 2 Ex-Hogan Lovells Finance Pros In Milan

    Bird & Bird LLP has recruited two senior finance partners as part of a team of seven lawyers moving from Hogan Lovells in Milan, boosting growth in the firm's international finance and financial regulation practice.

  • July 23, 2024

    Laundry Tech Biz Jensen Buys 85% Stake In Rival For €34M

    Belgian laundry tech company Jensen said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy 85% of Maxi Press, which makes parts for washing machines and irons, for €34.3 million ($37.3 million), with the remaining 15% due to be purchased over a three-year period.

Expert Analysis

  • Agreement Among Litigants Key To Using E-Discovery Tech

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    Parties are increasingly using e-discovery technologies to control costs, but as a New York federal court order in Actos Antitrust Litigation shows, a well-drafted, negotiated protocol allows them to address potential objections prior to use and helps protect against later claims of incomplete production, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • 4 Ways M&A Deals Are Changing

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    There are signs that the market may be cooling, but recent trends in M&A transactions reflect more than just market strength and indicate that there has been a more general change in deal approach, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    Law School Admissions Shouldn't Hinge On Test Scores

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    The American Bar Association recently granted law schools some latitude on which tests it can consider in admissions decisions, but its continued emphasis on test scores harms student diversity and is an obstacle to holistic admissions strategies, says Aaron Taylor at AccessLex.

  • How Market Challenges Are Affecting Deal-Making Trends

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    As private equity investors adjust to a new period of volatility and uncertainty in the marketplace, various trends in deal making are emerging in order to bridge valuation gaps and address financing concerns, say Alvaro Membrillera and Anna Pollak at Paul Weiss.

  • What Digital Asset Decisions Mean For Future Disputes

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    Following a number of recent landmark decisions in the English courts, the law continues to develop in the sphere of digital assets, and several themes are emerging that will benefit both individuals and organizations, say Chris Recker at Duane Morris and Celso De Azevedo at The 36 Group.

  • A Look At UK's 1st Report On Security Regime For Deals

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    The U.K. government’s recent report on the National Security and Investment Act, covering its first three months since it came into force in January, suggests that the regime may not be leading to a surge in benign notifications and that the government is responding quickly, which is good news for businesses, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • What EU Changes To Dual Distribution Mean For Franchises

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    Following the European Commission’s adoption of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and accompanying vertical guidelines regarding dual distribution, which took effect this month, franchisors should examine their flow of information to and from franchisees to determine whether it must be restricted, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • How ESG Matters Are Influencing M&A Due Diligence Trends

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    With a proliferation of environmental, social and governance-related regulatory developments and a desire to comply with best practice, ESG matters have become an increasingly important area of focus for both clients and advisers in M&A transactions, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Changes To UK Competition Rules Will Extend CMA Powers

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    Recent amendments to U.K. competition and consumer law regimes introduce changes to merger control and antitrust investigations that will result in the speedier resolution of cases and greater autonomy for the Competition and Markets Authority, say Bill Batchelor and Aurora Luoma at Skadden.

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