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Transactions UK
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July 09, 2024
Simpson Thacher, Carey Olsen Steer Firm Eyeing $3B Deals
Turnaround business Rosebank Industries PLC said Tuesday it plans to buy businesses worth up to $3 billion after successfully raising funds as it looks to list in London, advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Carey Olsen Jersey LLP.
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July 09, 2024
Dentons Steers Capita On £207M Software Biz Sale
Outsourcer Capita PLC said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its subsidiary Capita One Ltd., which runs its standalone software business of the same name, to real estate software maker MRI Software LLC for £207 million ($265 million).
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July 09, 2024
Linklaters' Earnings Hit Record £2.1B On M&A Rebound
Linklaters LLP said on Tuesday that its earnings have surpassed the £2 billion ($2.6 billion) mark for the first time, which it attributed to a strategic focus on complex cross-border transactions and serving large clients worldwide.
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July 08, 2024
UK Clears Thermo Fisher's $3.1B Olink Buy
Britain's competition enforcer indicated Monday that it will not challenge Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.'s planned $3.1 billion bid for Swedish biotech firm Olink Holding AB after the agency launched an initial investigation of the deal earlier this year.
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July 08, 2024
Wright Johnston-Led Macfarlane Buys Peer
Macfarlane said Monday that it has purchased industrial packaging maker Polyformes Ltd. for up to £11.5 million ($15 million) through one of its subsidiaries to boost its own protective packaging business, in a deal guided by Scottish law firm Wright Johnston & Mackenzie LLP.
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July 08, 2024
Linklaters-Led HgCapital Raises £24.3M In Software Biz Exit
British investment company HgCapital said Monday that its private equity arm Hg has agreed to sell its remaining interest in business software provider TeamSystem to U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, raising approximately £24.3 million ($31 million) for the trust.
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July 08, 2024
Aegon Begins €200M Share Buyback Program
Aegon NV began a share repurchase program worth up to €200 million ($220 million) on Monday, a move expected to lower the size of the Dutch pensions and insurance specialist's outstanding share capital.
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July 08, 2024
Norton Rose Helps Carlsberg Buy 40% Stake In Brewery JV
Carlsberg AS said Monday that it will buy the entire 40% stake in a U.K. brewing joint venture with British pub operator Marston's PLC for £206 million ($264 million) to integrate this with Britvic to form a brewery giant.
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July 08, 2024
Britvic Backs Sweetened £3.3B Carlsberg Takeover Offer
Britvic PLC said Monday that it is backing an improved £3.3 billion ($4.2 billion) cash takeover offer from Danish brewer Carlsberg AS that would create a British beer and soft drinks giant.
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July 05, 2024
EU Watchdog Sets Out Sustainability Reporting Expectations
The European Union's financial markets regulator on Friday set out its expectations on new sustainability reporting standards for large companies with shares listed on stock exchanges and their regulators.
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July 05, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen collapsed sports television company Arena Television hit Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank with a claim, James Vorley, the Deutsche Bank metals trader convicted of fraud, sue his former employer, and journalist John Ware file a defamation claim against Pink Floyd band member Roger Waters and Al Jazeera Media Network. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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July 05, 2024
Matrix KC Richard Hermer Tapped For Attorney General
Matrix Chambers' human rights barrister Richard Hermer KC will serve as the U.K.'s attorney general in a surprise appointment from newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer late Friday.
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July 05, 2024
Cybersecurity Firm Noventiq Kills Plans To List Via SPAC Deal
London-based cybersecurity services provider Noventiq Holdings PLC and blank-check company Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. have canceled their plans to merge in a deal that sought to take Noventiq public in the U.S. at an estimated $1 billion value, citing market conditions.
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July 05, 2024
Shabana Mahmood Named Labour's New Justice Secretary
Prime Minister Keir Starmer named former barrister Shabana Mahmood as the Labour government's new justice secretary on Friday following a sweeping victory in the U.K. general election.
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July 05, 2024
A&O Shearman-Led GSK Signs €1.4B Deal For Vaccines
British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline has amended its collaboration agreement with German biopharmaceutical company CureVac to acquire full rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize globally the candidate vaccines for influenza and COVID-19 in an approximately €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) deal.
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July 05, 2024
Starmer Picks Reeves For Treasury To Steer Growth Aims
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has handed the reins of the U.K.'s fiscal and economic policy to Rachel Reeves, formally naming her as the next chancellor of the exchequer in the first of a round of cabinet appointments on Friday.
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July 05, 2024
Glencore Gets Canadian OK For $7B Buy Of Steelmaking Biz
Glencore PLC said Friday that Canada has given it the go ahead for its $6.93 billion acquisition of the steelmaking coal business of Teck Resources Ltd., clearing the final hurdle for the Anglo-Swiss commodities and mining giant.
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July 05, 2024
Starmer Starts Work As Cabinet Appointments Expected
Keir Starmer, the newly elected prime minister, promised change that focuses on the economy and wealth creation as he prepared on Friday to begin appointing cabinet ministers to form the Labour Party's first government since 2010.
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July 04, 2024
Labour Gov't To Prioritize Competitive Financial Regulation
The Labour government is expected to step up regulatory change to make the country's financial services more innovative and globally competitive, with centralized oversight of the watchdogs to ensure they help consumers and facilitate economic growth.
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July 04, 2024
Labour's Big UK Election Win Clears Way For Tax Reform
Labour's victory in the U.K. general election clears the way for plans to raise taxes on the rich to close a widening spending gap, but it could also mean wider fiscal reform in the new government's first budget later this year.
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July 04, 2024
Labour Sweeps Tories From Power In UK Election Rout
Keir Starmer was poised to become Britain's next prime minister on Friday after his Labour Party ousted Rishi Sunak's Conservatives in a landslide general election victory, ending 14 years of Tory government with a pledge of "national renewal."
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July 04, 2024
UK Insurer Utmost Group Plans £200M Buy Of Rival
Utmost Group PLC said Thursday that it has agreed to buy rival insurer Lombard International Assurance Holdings Sarl for more than £200 million ($255 million), strengthening its presence in key European markets.
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July 04, 2024
UK Insurance Investor Expands In Poland, Buys Broker
Insurance acquisition vehicle PIB Group Ltd. said Thursday that it has bought a Polish broker, Nord Group, strengthening its foothold in the Eastern European country.
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July 04, 2024
Investor NewRiver Buys Property Manager For Up To £9M
Property investor NewRiver REIT PLC said on Thursday that it has bought Ellandi Management Ltd., an asset and development manager, for up to £9 million ($11.5 million) in a move to diversify its business and boost its assets under management.
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July 04, 2024
British Biz To Buy US Material Analysis Co. For $260M
Spectris PLC said Thursday that it has acquired SciAps Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of analysis instruments, for up to $260 million as the British high-tech instrument maker seeks to expand its presence in North America.
Expert Analysis
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The Potential Benefits Of New EU Merger Control Rules
The core objective of a newly adopted EU Commission package is to simplify merger review procedures, which is an evolution that is more than welcome, especially in light of the very recent regulation on foreign subsidies that imposes additional burdens on M&A transactions, say lawyers at McDermott.
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Growing EU Scrutiny Increases Hurdles For Foreign Investors
The application of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation from July will bring further oversight to many large deals, and together with bolt-on strategies, foreign investment regulation and antitrust enforcement, financial sponsors will need to start planning for compliance to avoid potential delays, say Anna Mitchell and Neil Hoolihan at Linklaters.
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How The New UK Digital Markets Bill Will Affect CMA's Powers
The highly anticipated U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill sets out far-reaching changes in terms of merger control and conduct requirements, but some are skeptical of the Competition and Markets Authority’s enhanced powers and potential for divergence in treatment between firms, say Ben Chivers, Stephen Whitfield and Nigel Seay at Travers Smith.
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M&A Considerations For European Cos. Acquiring US Entities
As investment banks forecast a resurgence of mergers and acquisitions later this year, European companies seeking to acquire U.S. businesses should be aware of key procedural differences and federal regulatory requirements that will affect the process, timing and terms of the transaction, say attorneys at Mintz.
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A Review Of The EU FDI Screening Regulation And Its Scope
The EU advocate general’s recent broad interpretation of the EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation takes account of some of the geopolitical challenges faced by the bloc, and may foreshadow a revision of the regulation and widen the scope of investments screened, say Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring.
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Key Takeaways From EU Proposal For Greenwashing Rules
If the proposal for a Green Claims Directive, with its enhanced rules on claims about a product or trader's environmental impact, is adopted, it will affect all businesses selling their products in the EU and bring major changes to the way those products are packaged and advertised, say attorneys at Shearman.
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UK Investment Screening Inches Closer To US Regime
The recent agreement between the U.K. Cabinet Office and House of Commons concerning parliamentary scrutiny of the Investment Security Unit represents a step toward greater transparency of intervention in investments that may raise national security concerns, and underscores increasing alignment with the U.S. regime, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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UK Ruling Offers Useful Guidance To Insolvency Practitioners
The recent U.K. High Court ruling in a matter involving Sova Capital represents the first unsecured credit bid to be approved by an English court, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to complex sanctions-related administrations and identifying a novel solution for insolvency practitioners to maximize value for the benefit of creditors, say attorneys at Katten.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Ofwat's New Guidance For Water Projects: Key Takeaways
While increased competition is a laudable aim, the U.K. Water Services Regulation Authority's introduction of direct procurement for customers by default for projects above a size threshold could have ramifications for the financial stability of the companies delivering major water infrastructure, say Jennifer Charles and Marianne Anton at Watson Farley.
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Court Ruling Strengthens EU Stance On Non-Notifiable M&A
The recent European Union Court of Justice's decision in Towercast can be seen as part of a pattern of increasingly rigorous scrutiny of M&A, and provides scope for greater intervention by national competition authorities on acquisitions by dominant companies that do not meet the EU or national merger control thresholds for notification, say attorneys at Herbert Smith.
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How Changes To 'Acting In Concert' Will Affect UK Takeovers
The recent changes made to the rules by the U.K. Takeover Panel on who is presumed to be acting in concert will be of most interest to parties proposing to make a bid for a U.K. listed company, and give welcome clarity as to how the U.K. takeover regime operates, say attorneys at Herbert Smith.
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Key Points In Draft EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The draft implementing regulation on EU foreign subsidy control provides eagerly awaited guidance on the submission of mandatory notifications, but there are still many open questions, say Paul van den Berg and Merit Olthoff at Freshfields.
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ClientEarth Claim May Expand Scope Of Directors' Duties
In using litigation to hold Shell’s board of directors to account for failing to properly prepare for the net-zero transition, ClientEarth’s actions represent a shift in climate change activism strategy and an unprecedented application of directors’ duties as a mechanism to drive change, say Marlene Henderson and Danielle De Val at Browne Jacobson.
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Volatile Energy Prices Complicate Int'l Arbitration Damages
In the turbulent global energy market, international arbitration is a crucial tool for resolving cross-border disputes — but determining how, if at all, to account for recent energy price spikes when quantifying damages presents many challenges for tribunals, say attorneys at White & Case.