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Transactions UK
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June 10, 2024
Ad Agency Brave Bison Abandons Bid For UK Rival
Advertising agency Brave Bison said Monday it has now ended its interest in potentially buying The Mission Group PLC, claiming its peer refused to enter into constructive negotiations and provide important commercial data.
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June 10, 2024
Partway Group To End Trading On London's Junior Market
Partway Group PLC said Monday that it will end the trading of its shares on London's growth market after the shell company failed to find a target business to acquire.
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June 10, 2024
Paul Weiss Guides Noble Corp. In $1.6B Deal To Buy Rival
Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp. PLC said Monday that it will buy Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. in a cash and stock deal that values the rival operator at $1.6 billion.
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June 07, 2024
Shein's Pursuit Of London IPO Proves US-China Rift Persists
Online fashion giant Shein's expected pivot to London rather than the United States for its initial public offering — triggered by persistent tensions between China and the U.S. — will be closely watched by IPO prospects mulling where to list their shares in a dicey geopolitical climate, experts say.
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June 07, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen British broadcaster GB News hit with a libel claim by climate activist Dale Vince, MGM take aim at an immersive events company over intellectual property rights to the James Bond franchise, and law firms Stephenson Harwood and Bowen-Morris & Partners tackle a contracts claim by investment adviser Yieldstreet. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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June 07, 2024
Swiss Law Firm MLL Advises Cleaning Biz On $280M Deal
Property cleaning and repairs company PHM Group Oy said Friday it has agreed to buy the real estate services business of Investis Group for 240 Swiss francs ($280 million), assisted by Swiss firm MLL Legal Ltd.
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June 07, 2024
PE Firm TDR To Take Control Of UK's Asda Grocery Chain
Private equity shop TDR Capital will become majority owner of British supermarket giant Asda by acquiring the shares held by one of the British Indian billionaire Issa brothers, the companies said Friday.
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June 07, 2024
Hill Dickinson-Steered Tech Co. Raises £11M Via Placing
SysGroup PLC said Friday it has raised £11 million ($14 million) after completing an oversubscribed share placing and subscription to finance artificial intelligence adoption and general funding requirements for the U.K. business.
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June 07, 2024
Fieldfisher-Led Lobby Giant Buys UK Adviser For Up To £30M
Public Policy Holding Company said Friday that it has bought Pagefield, a British public relations company, for up to £30 million ($38.4 million) as the Washington-based government relations and advisory group looks to support its clients in Europe.
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June 07, 2024
White & Case Guides French Tech Biz On €350M Paris IPO
French imaging technology specialist Exosens debuted on the Paris stock exchange on Friday after raising €350 million ($380 million) to support development of its defense and nuclear components.
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June 06, 2024
Ex-Autonomy CEO, VP Both Cleared In HP Criminal Fraud Trial
A California federal jury on Thursday acquitted former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and former finance Vice President Stephen Chamberlain of criminal fraud and conspiracy charges following an 11-week trial over allegations that the two conned HP into overpaying billions for the British tech company.
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June 06, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman, Michael Bloomberg
Carl Icahn invests in Caesars, Bill Ackman plans Pershing's public offering, and Michael Bloomberg joins prospective Timberwolves buying group. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.
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June 06, 2024
Aquiline Secures More Than $3.4B Across 2 New Funds
Financial services-focused private investment firm Aquiline Capital Partners LP on Thursday announced that it garnered more than $3.4 billion of capital across its two latest funds, a financial services-focused private equity fund and a continuation fund.
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June 06, 2024
Pension Funding Levels 'Stable' Ahead Of Looming Election
The political party that wins the July 4 general election will is likely to operate within an environment of stable funding for retirement savings plans, a consultancy said Thursday, as it highlighted the "relatively" consistent levels of funding in the past year.
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June 06, 2024
Latham Leads Robinhood In $200M Buy Of Crypto Exchange
Robinhood said on Thursday that it will buy cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for approximately $200 million, as the electronic trading platform looks to scale up its global services for digital assets.
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June 06, 2024
Shein's London Float Invites Scrutiny Of ESG Issues
The decision by Shein to choose London for its much-anticipated flotation is a boon for the U.K. market — but it exposes the ultra-fast fashion company to scrutiny of perceived ESG shortfalls that might serve as a new litmus test for other businesses seeking a listing in the British capital.
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June 06, 2024
Smoke Alarm Co.'s £28M Bid For Rival Wins 71% Backing
FireAngel Safety Technology Group PLC said Thursday that Singapore-based home security company Intelligent Safety Electronics Pte. Ltd. has now bought or agreed to buy 71.18% of the U.K. smoke and carbon monoxide detector maker.
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June 06, 2024
Watford FC Fans Set To Score In Sale Of 10% Of Club
English football club Watford has put 10% of the outfit up for sale for £17.5 million ($22.4 million) to fans and investors, in a bid to raise revenue and strengthen the squad.
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June 06, 2024
Haynes Boone Guides Natural Gas Producer's SPAC Merger
An Italian natural gas producer has said that it will merge with a Nasdaq-listed blank-check company to help accelerate its transition to clean energy in a deal steered by Haynes and Boone and Greenberg Traurig.
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June 05, 2024
Debevoise-Led Ambac Unveils 2 Deals Totaling $702M
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP-led Ambac Financial Group on Wednesday announced two deals totaling $702 million, as the insurance holding company said it agreed to sell its financial guarantee business for $420 million in cash and separately announced that it will purchase a majority stake in Beat Capital Partners for roughly $282 million.
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June 05, 2024
Microsoft Blasts Gamers' Bid To Add To Activision Appeal
Microsoft Corp. says the Ninth Circuit should reject a "bevy of additional, extra-record 'facts'" seeking to hold up the recent layoffs of 1,900 Activision and Xbox employees as proof that the tech giant's acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. was anticompetitive.
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June 05, 2024
Orrick-Led SAP Inks $1.5B Deal For Israeli Tech Co. WalkMe
German software company SAP SE said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase software-as-a-service company WalkMe Ltd. for approximately $1.5 billion.
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June 05, 2024
Gov't UK ISA Savings Proposal Gets Cold Shoulder
More financial firms on Wednesday warned that the U.K. government's plans to give consumers a new tax break for investing in U.K. companies was unworkable, adding it could conflict with the Financial Conduct Authority's consumer protection rules.
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June 05, 2024
Swiss Bank Escapes Investor's Unlawful Conspiracy Claim
Lombard Odier has partially succeeded in blocking the claims of an investor who says the private bank withheld inside information about the merits of a British nanotech company's U.S. legal dispute with Samsung to convince him to buy shares in the company just before its price tanked.
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June 05, 2024
Ad Agency Mission Weighs New Offer From Rival Brave Bison
The Mission Group PLC has said it is now evaluating rival Brave Bison's improved possible offer to buy the company for £32.3 million ($41.2 million), although it added the bid fails to reflect the U.K. digital marketing company's value.
Expert Analysis
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Important Generative AI Considerations In M&A
The recent surge of interest in generative artificial intelligence and its use of machine learning algorithms means there are novel concerns as well as inherent risks for those engaging in M&A activity, and acquirers should pay careful attention to a target’s scope of ownership and licensing rights, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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Pension Trustee Case Could Lead To Fossil Fuels Divestment
While the recent Court of Appeal case McGaughey v. Universities Superannuation Scheme attempts to link fossil fuel investment by trustees to significant risk of financial detriment, it is concerning that two out of 470,000 scheme members could be permitted to bring a claim without ensuring that other members are represented, says Anna Metadjer at Kingsley Napley.
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Green Loans May Be Hungary's Path To Sustainable Financing
Fueled by a rising trend in the use of green loans, Hungary is making impressive progress in its journey toward achieving a net-zero future, although the development of social and sustainability-linked loans is still a work in progress, say Gergely Szalóki and Bálint Bodó at Schönherr.
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Tackling Global Inflation Is A Challenge For Antitrust Agencies
Recent events have put pressure on antitrust agencies to address the global cost-of-living crisis, but the relationship between competition and inflation is complex, and with competition agencies’ reluctance to act as price regulators, enforcement is unlikely to have a meaningful impact, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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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.