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Transactions UK
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May 09, 2024
UK Luxury Watch Retailer Buys Italian Jewelry Biz For $130M
Watches of Switzerland Group PLC said Thursday that it has acquired Italian jewelry company Roberto Coin Inc. for $130 million to expand its luxury branded jewelry strategy, building on their existing partnership.
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May 09, 2024
Aviva Takes On Construction Co. Pension Scheme In Full
Insurance giant Aviva has secured the benefits of all uninsured final salary members of a pension plan sponsored by a British construction group in a deal guided by CMS.
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May 09, 2024
Concord Won't Increase 'Final' $1.5B Bid For Rival Hipgnosis
Concord Chorus Ltd. said Thursday that it has ruled out raising its "final" all-cash offer of $1.25 per share for rival music rights company Hipgnosis Songs, which leaves only an improved bid by private equity firm Blackstone in the running to buy it.
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May 09, 2024
BBVA €12B Offer For TSB Owner Sabadell Turns Hostile
Spanish banking giant BBVA launched a hostile takeover of Banco de Sabadell on Thursday, approaching shareholders directly with a €12 billion ($12.8 billion) all-share deal after being rebuffed by the rival bank's board.
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May 08, 2024
HSF, Ashurst-Led Ardonagh Buys Insurer For $1.5B
U.K. insurance broker Ardonagh Group Ltd. said on Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Australia-based PSC Insurance Group Ltd. in a transaction worth $2.25 billion Australian dollars ($1.48 billion), to help it expand into new markets.
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May 15, 2024
White & Case Grows Milan M&A Office With Ex-Shearman Pro
White & Case LLP has bolstered its global mergers and acquisitions practice and private equity industry group with the recruitment of a senior dealmaker as a partner.
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May 08, 2024
Dentons Guides Life Sciences Biz Ondine On $4M Fundraise
Life sciences firm Ondine Biomedical Inc. on Wednesday said it has generated gross proceeds of approximately 6.07 million Canadian dollars ($4.42 million) from a fundraising program aimed at boosting its working capital and infection treatment therapy, advised by Dentons LLP.
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May 08, 2024
ICG Enterprise Trust To Return Another £25M To Shareholders
Private equity investment company ICG Enterprise Trust said Wednesday that it plans on buying back up to £25 million ($31.2 million) of its shares to take advantage of its lower share price and return excess capital to its shareholders.
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May 08, 2024
Renewables Investor Greencoat Starts €25M Share Buyback
Greencoat Renewables PLC said on Wednesday it has launched a share buyback scheme worth up to €25 million ($27 million) as the Irish infrastructure company said it has confidence in its financial performance.
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May 15, 2024
Linklaters Hires M&A Pro From Travers Smith
Partner losses at Travers Smith LLP are continuing to mount after Linklaters LLP said on Wednesday that it has recruited a corporate specialist from the troubled U.K. law firm.
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May 08, 2024
Publisher Informa Ups Share Buyback Plan To £500M
Publishing and exhibitions specialist Informa said Wednesday that it has decided to increase its share buyback plan for 2024 by nearly 50% to approximately £500 million ($624 million) because of strong financial performance and "continuing cash flow."
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May 08, 2024
Insurer Claims 400 Pension Deals Penned In 12 Years
Insurer Just Group said Wednesday it has completed 400 pension transfer deals since it launched in 2012, adding that the year ahead is poised to break more records in the retirement savings de-risking market.
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May 08, 2024
Biopharm Biz Oxford Cannabinoid To Quit London Exchange
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings PLC said on Wednesday it has applied to cancel its London listing, citing "turbulent" U.K. public markets that it maintains has undervalued the company.
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May 07, 2024
Everton Investors Bemoan Soccer Team Sale Amid Fraud Suit
The Everton FC Shareholders Association wants to slam the brakes on the "farce" sale of its Premier League soccer team to private equity firm 777 Partners LLC, arguing they are not qualified owners, a demand that comes as the firm faces allegations of fraud.
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May 14, 2024
Clifford Chance Hires Finance Pro From A&O Shearman
Clifford Chance LLP said Tuesday that it has recruited a specialist in derivatives and structured finance from A&O Shearman, just a week after the new transatlantic giant's merger went live.
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May 07, 2024
BP To Return Another $1.75B To Shareholders
BP PLC said Tuesday that it will now return $1.75 billion to its shareholders as part of a $3.5 billion buyback program it announced in February when it reported a $13.8 billion profit for 2023.
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May 07, 2024
Apax Unit Raises €23M From Parent's Sale Of Biz To KKR
Investment company Apax Global Alpha said Tuesday that it has raised approximately €22.7 million ($24.4 million) from its parent company's sale of India-based medical devices maker Healthium MedTech Ltd. to investment giant KKR & Co. Inc.
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May 07, 2024
Self-Drive Car Co. Wayve Gets $1B In Softbank-Led AI Funding
Self-driving car company Wayve said on Tuesday that it has raised $1.05 billion in a funding round, led by SoftBank Group Corp. of Japan, to speed up its development of vehicles driven by artificial intelligence.
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May 07, 2024
Orrick Advises Energy Trust On £91M Sale Of Green Biz
Energy sector investor SEEIT said Monday it has sold its British onsite solar portfolio to UK Power Networks Services Holdings Ltd. for £90.8 million ($114 million) in a transaction guided by Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP.
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May 07, 2024
UK Bar Chain Gets 42 Purchase Offers Amid Talks With Rival
Revolution Bars Group PLC said on Tuesday that it has now received more than 40 serious expressions of interest in buying either "assets or subsidiaries" and that 32 of the potential bidders have signed confidentiality agreements with the U.K. pub operator.
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May 03, 2024
FTC Requests Additional Info On $16.5B Novo-Catalent Deal
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking additional information on Novo Holdings' planned $16.5 billion acquisition of pharmaceutical services company Catalent in order to examine whether the blockbuster deal passes antitrust muster, according to a Friday securities filing.
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May 03, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen rapper Ivorian Doll hit with a copyright claim, private members club Aspinalls file a claim against a Saudi sheikh, and Motorola Solutions file a claim against the British government on the heels of its dispute over losing a £400 million ($502 million) government contract. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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May 03, 2024
UK Cites Regulatory Fears Over Utility's £89M Water Biz Buy
The competition watchdog said on Friday that the proposed purchase of Sumisho Osaka Gas Water UK Ltd. by rival Pennon Group in a deal worth approximately £89 million ($112 million) could hinder government regulation of water companies in Britain.
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May 03, 2024
Cosmetics Co. Warpaint Raises £31.5M In Upsized Placing
Warpaint London PLC said Friday it has completed an expanded placing of 7 million shares, raising £31.5 million ($39.5 million), as the U.K.-based makeup supplier looks to fund continued expansion.
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May 03, 2024
Beauty Biz Puig Begins Trading In Spain After €2.6B IPO
Charlotte Tilbury owner Puig Brands SA began trading in Spain on Friday after raising €2.61 billion ($2.8 billion) as part of Europe's largest initial public offering so far in 2024.
Expert Analysis
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What New FCA Management Will Mean For Enforcement
Therese Chambers’ first speech since becoming the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s joint executive director provided insightful observations about the expected behaviors of firms and their legal advisers during investigations, indicating the advent of a proactive, prosecution-minded enforcement agency trying to do the right thing, says Richard Burger at WilmerHale.
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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.