Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Transactions UK
-
April 24, 2024
Osborne Clarke Guides Canada Life's £46M Lexmark Deal
Insurer Canada Life has agreed to a £46 million ($57 million) buy-in with the pension scheme of printing business Lexmark Holdings Inc. in a transaction guided by Osborne Clarke LLP.
-
April 24, 2024
Container Giant MSC Offers $700M For Shipping Rival
A subsidiary of MSC, one of the world's largest container shipping companies, said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Gram Car Carriers for 7.6 billion Norwegian kroner ($692 million), in a deal steered by Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS.
-
April 24, 2024
GXO Gets UK All-Clear For £762M Bid For Logistics Biz
GXO Logistics Inc. said Wednesday that the U.K. government has granted national security clearance to its proposed £762 million ($950 million) takeover of British supply-chain group Wincanton PLC.
-
April 24, 2024
Ithaca Energy Inks £754M Deal For Eni's UK Oil, Gas Sites
Ithaca Energy has agreed to buy a "substantial" portion of the U.K. oil and gas-producing assets of Eni of Italy for approximately £754 million ($937 million) as the independent operator eyes expansion in the North Sea.
-
April 23, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Tech Exec Doubted 'Bizarre' $6M Deal, Jury Told
Autonomy's ex-chief technology officer testified Tuesday in the California federal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that he had concerns about Autonomy's "bizarre" 2010 deal to sell $6 million in repackaged hardware, which prosecutors allege was never delivered and was only used to artificially inflate Autonomy's revenues.
-
April 23, 2024
Grain Co.'s $18B Deal Raises Competition Flags For Canada
Canada's competition enforcer said Tuesday it has concerns over grain and seed supplier Bunge Ltd.'s plan to buy global grain trader Viterra Ltd. in an $18 billion deal, saying the acquisition could result in lower prices paid to farmers and higher prices for refined canola oil.
-
April 23, 2024
RGL Confirms Woodford Claim Against Hargreaves Lansdown
RGL Group confirmed Tuesday it is pursuing a fresh claim against investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown over the collapse of Woodford Equity Investment Fund.
-
April 23, 2024
Weil-Led PE Firm Buys Audio Tech Biz Audiotonix
French private equity firm PAI Partners said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in British audio technology business Audiotonix from its rival investment firm Ardian, in a deal guided by Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
-
April 23, 2024
Energy Biz Kistos Completes £25M Buy Of EDF Unit
Kistos Holdings PLC said on Tuesday that it has completed its £25 million ($31 million) purchase of EDF Energy (Gas Storage) Ltd. after winning the necessary clearance required under national security rules.
-
April 23, 2024
Oil Biz 88 Energy To Raise $6.3M In Equity In UK, Australia
Oil and gas explorer 88 Energy said Tuesday that it plans to raise approximately 9.8 million Australian dollars ($6.3 million) with a share placing in London and Australia to help pay for development of major projects.
-
April 23, 2024
15 Pension Mega-Deals Forecast In Coming Months
The U.K. pension deals market is set for another record year, with around 15 mega transactions worth up to £30 billion ($37 billion) expected to go ahead in the next few months, a retirement savings consultancy said Tuesday.
-
April 23, 2024
KKR Pushes Smart Metering Investors To Accept £1.3B Bid
Private equity giant KKR on Tuesday urged the shareholders of British energy infrastructure company Smart Metering who have not yet accepted its £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) takeover offer to submit their shares by May 7.
-
April 23, 2024
Freshfields-Led JD Sports Agrees To Buy US Rival For $1.1B
JD Sports said on Tuesday that it has proposed to buy U.S. athletic fashion retailer Hibbet Inc. for approximately $1.08 billion as the U.K. sportswear store chain eyes expansion in the American southeast.
-
April 22, 2024
Freshfields-Led CVC Unveils Range On $1.7B Amsterdam IPO
European private equity giant CVC Capital Partners PLC, represented by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, on Monday set a price range on initial public offering estimated to raise about €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion), mostly benefiting selling shareholders.
-
April 22, 2024
Med Tech Founder Denies Deceiving Investors For $20M Sale
The co-founder of a medical technology business has denied concealing his financial interest in a $20 million deal to purchase shares in his company, claiming he was never told it was important to reveal the seller's identity to the investment company.
-
April 22, 2024
Tesco Begins £1B Share Buyback Program
Tesco PLC on Monday announced the rollout of the first chunk of its share repurchase program, worth up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion), as it seeks to cut the size of its outstanding share capital.
-
April 22, 2024
Travers Smith Steers Doormaker's £788M Bid For UK Rival
Quanex Building Products Corp. has offered to buy all the shares of door and windows company Tyman PLC for £788 million ($971 million), the companies said Monday, in a deal guided by Travers Smith LLP, Foley & Lardner LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP.
-
April 22, 2024
Frenkel Topping Acquires North West Law For £2.75M
Specialist advisory firm Frenkel Topping said Monday that it has acquired North West Law Services Ltd. for £2.75 million ($3.3 million) to expand its activities within the personal injury and clinical negligence advisory market.
-
April 29, 2024
Clifford Chance Adds Private Capital Pro From Paul Hastings
Clifford Chance LLP has recruited an investments expert to join its London office as a partner, as the firm looks to add "firepower" to its global financial markets team.
-
April 22, 2024
Fund Administrator Eyes $21M Deal For JPMorgan Chase Biz
Jersey-based fund administrator JTC PLC said Monday it has offered to buy a trust administration business owned by JP Morgan Chase Bank NA for $21 million, a move it believes will strengthen its presence in the U.S.
-
April 22, 2024
TotalEnergies To Take Over Malaysian Gas Biz For $530M
TotalEnergies SE said on Monday it has agreed to buy Sapura Upstream Assets Sdn Bhd's 50% interest in Malaysian gas producer and operator SapuraOMV Upstream Sdn for $530 million, a move by the French energy giant to boost its output.
-
April 22, 2024
Kirkland-Led Blackstone Bids $1.2B For Music Biz Hipgnosis
Private equity firm Blackstone has tabled an enhanced $1.2 billion bid for U.K. music royalties investment company Hipgnosis, countering an offer from U.S. royalties firm Concord Chorus.
-
April 19, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Cleary, O'Melveny
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Resideo Technologies Inc. announced plans to buy Snap One Holdings Corp., APi Group said it bought an elevator maintenance company, Prysmian said it agreed to purchase Encore Wire, and Sayari said it closed on an investment from TPG.
-
April 19, 2024
Mondi Drops Pursuit Of DS Smith After Int'l Paper Deal
British packaging company Mondi officially dropped out of its running battle with International Paper to buy DS Smith on Friday after the two latter companies struck a more than $7 billion deal to join forces earlier this week.
-
April 19, 2024
Energy Investor Aquila To Return £17.5M To Shareholders
Energy investment company Aquila Energy said Friday that it is planning to buy back £17.5 million ($21.7 million) worth of its shares at an approximately 65% premium to return excess capital to its shareholders.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
A Breakdown Of The SRA's Proposed New Fining Powers
Thanks to the Solicitors Regulation Authority's pending new fining framework, which includes guidance on unsuitable fines and a fixed penalties scheme for low-level breaches, firms can expect to see more disciplinary findings leading to an SRA fine rather than referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, say Graham Reid and Shanice Holder at RPC.
-
Merger Ruling Shows Risk Of Not Seeking Prior CMA Approval
The recent decision by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority to unwind the acquisition by Cerelia Group of Jus-Rol demonstrates that despite the voluntary nature of the U.K. reporting regime, parties may wish to consider the potential for wider scrutiny when deciding whether to seek merger control clearance, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
-
Warranty & Indemnity Insurance Considerations For M&A
With increased competition and greater capacity leading to lower premiums and deal costs, warranty and indemnity insurance is now available to the wider M&A market, and may help to limit risk and help parties focus on other key elements of the transaction, says Alice Wooler at Birketts.
-
What The Dignity Takeover Deal Says About M&A Trends
While some public companies may prefer to go private to maximize company growth and shareholder returns, there are potential pitfalls and in the current uncertain economic climate pairing up between private equity and public entities is likely to increase, as evidenced by the recent Dignity takeover deal, says James Lyons at Lawrence Stephens.
-
How Geopolitical Change Is Affecting M&A Activity In Europe
Several factors are leading businesses to divest from Russia and invest in central and Eastern European EU member states, with particular sectors attractive to U.K. companies and certain trends in M&A transactional activity emerging, says Oksana Howard at Colman Coyle.
-
Discovery Blocking Reform Better Protects French Companies
The 2022 reforms to France's 1968 blocking statute gives French companies more tools to resist abusive discovery requests from foreign competitors and public agencies, but France should do more to defend confidential information and assert its sovereignty, says Raphael Gauvain at Betto Perben.
-
A Look At New Vertical Laws, Their Opportunities And Pitfalls
Looking at trends that have gained the most traction under the new vertical laws in the EU and U.K., it is clear that brands should use the transition period wisely, ensuring that lessons have been learned on what to avoid and that go-to-market strategies are future-proof, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
-
Why 2023 Could Be The Year Of The Restructuring Plan
As U.K. businesses face a challenging economic environment going into 2023, the stage may be set for a rise in restructuring plans, with early signs such as an increasing body of case law, the pragmatic approach taken by the judiciary to date and the cross-class cramdown mechanism, say Rachael Markham and Charlotte Møller at Squire Patton.
-
How Mur Ruling May Affect Force Majeure Considerations
The recent U.K. Court of Appeal decision in Mur Shipping v. RTI demonstrates that exercising reasonable endeavors can include payment in an alternative currency to overcome a force majeure event, and is topical for contracting parties in light of Russia-related sanctions, say attorneys at Debevoise.
-
ECJ Fiat Ruling Sets Clear Boundaries For EU State Aid Law
The European Court of Justice's recent landmark decision in Fiat v. Commission limiting the commission’s attempts to circumvent the lack of EU powers in the area of tax law has important implications in EU state aid law and beyond, say Andreas Reindl and Pietro Stella at Van Bael.