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Transactions UK
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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July 23, 2024
Eni's Mobility Biz Unit Valued At €12.5B As KKR To Buy Stake
Private equity shop KKR will buy a minority stake in the sustainable mobility business of Eni SpA, the Italian supermajor oil company, in a deal that values the subsidiary at up to €12.5 billion ($13.6 billion), the companies said Tuesday.
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July 22, 2024
Royalty Co. Wins Bid To Confirm Award Against Utopia Music
A New York federal judge has granted a petition by the former owners of artist royalties company Lyric Financial LLC to confirm an arbitral award against Lyric's buyers, Utopia Music Holdings (US) Inc. and its Swiss parent, Utopia Music AG.
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July 22, 2024
Lending Biz CEO Says Director Forced Him To Transfer Shares
A solicitor has asked a court to unwind a share transfer that he allegedly made under duress to an ex-director and a lawyer with whom he was business, claiming that he had to make the transfer to quash a false fraud allegation.
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July 22, 2024
UK Ends DJ Equipment Merger Probe As Parties Ditch Deal
The antitrust regulator of the U.K. said Monday that it has canceled its probe into DJ equipment maker AlphaTheta's proposed acquisition of audio technology company Serato, after the audio entertainment companies abandoned the deal.
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July 22, 2024
Norton Rose, Akin Steer $900M LNG Biz Deal
Woodside said Monday it has agreed to buy Tellurian Inc., a liquefied natural gas developer in the U.S., for $900 million, with the Australian energy company saying that this will allow it to become a major player in the LNG business.
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July 22, 2024
Vodafone Raises Another €1.3B From German Towers Biz Sale
Telecommunications giant Vodafone Group PLC said Monday that it has raised another €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) from the 2022 sale of its German mobile phone tower operating company Vantage Towers.
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July 22, 2024
Latham-Guided PE Firm To Buy UK Property Biz For £600M
Hammerson PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell retail management company to a vehicle owned by U.S. private equity firm L Catterton for £600 million ($775.6 million) to help the real estate developer pay back debt and make other investments.
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July 22, 2024
UK Eases Reporting Rules For Investment Stewardship
Britain's accounting watchdog unveiled changes to the U.K.'s stewardship code for investment on Monday that it said would help reduce the reporting burden for investors.
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July 22, 2024
Ascertus, Lawcadia Partner For Streamlined Legal Operations
Legal services provider Ascertus Ltd. said on Monday that it has entered a partnership with Australian technology company Lawcadia to provide management and workflow services to corporate clients.
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July 29, 2024
White & Case Hires Secondaries Pro From Ropes & Gray
White & Case LLP has hired an expert in U.S. and European secondaries transactions from Ropes & Gray LLP in London as it continues to expand its global investment funds practice.
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July 19, 2024
FTC Says Microsoft Price Hike Shows Activision Deal Harm
The Federal Trade Commission told the Ninth Circuit that Microsoft's recently announced Game Pass price increase is an example of the harm caused by the company's $68.7 billion acquisition of game developer Activision Blizzard Inc.
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July 19, 2024
Kirkland-Led Evolution Bets On Galaxy Gaming For $124M
Swedish betting company Evolution has said that it has agreed to acquire casino table games developer Galaxy Gaming Inc. for approximately $124 million, including debt, to cement its presence in the U.S. market in a deal guided by Kirkland and Latham.
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July 26, 2024
Akin Snaps Up Cooley's London Chief In Three-Partner Hire
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP said on Friday that it has recruited a three-partner team of experts in technology transactions from Cooley LLP in London, led by the U.S. outfit's office managing partner.
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July 19, 2024
Nordic Care Services Provider Kicks Off $14M Share Buyback
Attendo said on Friday that it has launched a share buyback program worth up to 150 million Swedish kronor ($14 million) as the Nordic care services specialist seeks to raise money for possible acquisitions and reward investors.
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July 19, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a libel clash between comedian Paul Currie and the Soho Theatre Company over allegations of anti-semitism, technology giant Huawei face a patents claim by Mediatek, Westfield Europe pursue action against Clearpay Finance for contract breaches and tour operating company Carnival hit chartered airline Maleth Aero for significant flight delays. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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July 19, 2024
UK Clears Nationwide's £2.9B Purchase Of Virgin Money
The competition regulator of the U.K. said Friday that it has cleared Nationwide Building Society's acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC for £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion), which the companies say would create a combined group with assets of approximately £366 billion.
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July 19, 2024
REIT Segro Sells €327M Logistics Warehouse Portfolio
Real estate investment trust Segro PLC said on Friday that its joint venture in Europe has sold four warehouses in Italy for a total of €327 million ($356 million).
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July 19, 2024
UK Clears Roche's $295M Purchase Of Diagnostics Biz
The U.K. antitrust watchdog said Friday that it has cleared a $295 million proposed purchase by Swiss drugmaker Roche of parts of diagnostic company LumiraDx.
Expert Analysis
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Global M&A Outlook: Slow But Moving Along
Global merger and acquisition markets had a tough start to the year, with inflation, rising interest rates and the Ukraine conflict knocking sentiment, but in the macroeconomic, deal makers have continued to unearth pockets of activity to keep deal volumes ticking over, say lawyers at White & Case.
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Why Int'l Investors Should Keep An Eye On German M&A Regs
While German reform proposals will digitize corporate law formalities that have long been immune to change, international limitations remain, particularly for countries outside the European Union, as Germany moves to tighten regulatory hurdles to control inbound investment, say Marcus Geiss and Sonja Ruttmann at Gibson Dunn.
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CMA Review Could Help Shape UK's AI Landscape
The Competition and Markets Authority's recent review of the U.K. market for artificial intelligence foundation models is likely to feed into its recommendations concerning future legislative and regulatory changes, but may be overtaken by fast-changing developments, say lawyers at Cooley.
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Microsoft Takeover Shows The Need For EU-UK Cooperation
The differing European Commission and U.K. Competition and Markets Authority outcomes regarding Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard demonstrate the need for better cooperation in the post-Brexit era, but the regulators still follow a rigorous approach and ultimately convergence may prevail over divergence, say Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte and Raphaël Fleischer at King & Spalding.
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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.