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Transactions UK
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May 02, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: Coca-Cola, General Mills, MLB's Giants
Coca-Cola is preparing an IPO for its African bottling division, cereals giant General Mills is exploring selling its North America yogurt business, and a 5% stake in the San Francisco Giants is up for sale at a price that could value the club at $4 billion. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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May 02, 2024
Freshfields-Led Novartis Inks $1.75B Cancer Drug Co. Buyout
Novartis AG said Thursday it has agreed to buy U.S. radiopharmaceutical company Mariana Oncology in a transaction worth up to $1.75 billion, as the Swiss pharmaceutical giant moves to bolster its precision nuclear medicine portfolio.
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May 02, 2024
Shell To Buy Back $3.5B Worth Of Shares
Shell PLC said Thursday it will reward its shareholders with $3.5 billion in share buybacks over the next three months, as the energy giant reported a rise in profits to $7.7 billion for the first quarter of the year.
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May 02, 2024
ING Kicks Off €2.5B Share Buyback With Q1 Results
Dutch multinational bank ING said Thursday that it will buy back up to €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) of its shares to streamline its capital-to-stock ratio, as it announced strong financial results for the first quarter of the year.
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May 02, 2024
Adhesives Biz Diploma Buys Sealings Specialist For £38M
Diploma PLC, a specialty fasteners and adhesives company, said Thursday it has acquired sealings firm PAR Group for approximately £38 million ($47.6 million).
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May 02, 2024
DLA Piper Leads Bar Group On Sale Talks With Rival Chain
Revolution Bars Group PLC said on Thursday that it has held discussions for a potential takeover by U.K. rival Nightcap PLC.
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May 01, 2024
Autonomy CEO's Atty Says Judge 'One-Sided' Against Client
A Steptoe LLP partner representing former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch in his criminal fraud jury trial accused the judge overseeing the case of making comments to the jury that are "one-sided" in a way that prejudices the defense.
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May 01, 2024
BBVA Makes €12B Offer For TSB Parent Sabadell
Banking giant BBVA on Wednesday said it has proposed to buy Banco de Sabadell for approximately €12 billion ($12.8 billion) in an all-share deal to create one of Europe's largest financial bodies with more than €1 trillion in assets.
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May 01, 2024
CMA Worries DJs Might Pay More If Equipment Makers Merge
The antitrust regulator of the U.K. on Wednesday said that DJ equipment maker AlphaTheta's proposed acquisition of audio technology company Serato could increase costs for DJs in the country to keep partygoers entertained.
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May 01, 2024
Gov't To Pay £19K For Worker Status Error
An employment tribunal has ruled that the government owes a company director £19,522 ($24,371) after the Insolvency Service rejected his redundancy payment claims and mistakenly concluded that he wasn't an employee.
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May 01, 2024
Norton Rose-Led Touchstone Bids £24.1M For Rival
Touchstone Exploration said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire a rival oil and gas company for approximately £24.1 million ($30 million) in a bid to scale its business in Trinidad and Tobago, with guidance from Norton Rose and Pinsent Masons.
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May 01, 2024
UK Safety Biz Halma Acquires Testing Tech Firm For £44M
Halma PLC said on Wednesday that it has snapped up MK Test Systems Ltd., an electrical testing technology company, for £44 million ($55 million) as it continues to splurge cash on mergers and acquisitions.
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April 30, 2024
Ex-Autonomy VP Says CEO Lynch Told Him To Lie To Investors
A former Autonomy business development executive testified Tuesday that CEO Mike Lynch directed him to lie to a hedge fund investor about prepaid royalty deals that boosted the company's upfront revenue numbers, saying at Lynch's criminal fraud trial that it was hard to say no to the "big boss."
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May 07, 2024
Kingsley Napley Hires M&A Pro From Deloitte
Kingsley Napley LLP has hired a partner from Deloitte LLP as it seeks to expand its corporate practice and its focus on mergers and acquisitions despite the slowdown in the U.K. deals market.
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April 30, 2024
Oil Co. Claims Nigeria In For Windfall From $11B Win Legal Bill
An oil and gas company urged a London appellate court on Tuesday to change the currency for Nigeria's legal costs from a battle over an $11 billion arbitration award due to bribery and fraud, arguing the West African state would profit from exchange rate fluctuations.
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April 30, 2024
Morrisons, MFG Close £2.5B Petrol Station Deal
Morrisons said Tuesday it has closed the sale of its 337 petrol station forecourts and 400 electric vehicle charging points to an independent forecourt operator in a £2.5 billion ($3.18 billion) transaction advised by five law firms including Pinsent Masons LLP.
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April 30, 2024
Garrigues-Led BBVA Eyes Deal For Rival Spanish Bank
Spanish banking giant BBVA confirmed Tuesday it is eyeing a merger with Banco de Sabadell SA for an undisclosed amount.
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April 30, 2024
Backing For Concord's $1.5B Hipgnosis Bid Falls
Support for music rights company Concord Chorus' $1.5 billion bid for rival Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. dropped among the latter's shareholders on Tuesday, after private equity giant Blackstone swooped in with an improved $1.6 billion offer.
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April 30, 2024
UAE-Backed Firm Walks Away From Telegraph Deal, Eyes Sale
RedBird IMI said Tuesday that it will ditch its takeover of Telegraph Media Group and sell the business as the Abu Dhabi-backed private equity firm added that its plans are "no longer feasible," citing a push to ban foreign ownership of British media groups.
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April 30, 2024
HSBC To Return Another $3B To Shareholders After Strong Q1
British banking giant HSBC said Tuesday that it plans to initiate a buyback program of up to $3 billion to reward its shareholders after having a profitable first quarter, following the $2 billion buyback it completed earlier in the year.
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April 30, 2024
UK Pension Deal Market Sees Surge In Smaller Transactions
The number of pension deals worth less than £100 million ($125 million) rose 10% in 2023, according to data released on Tuesday by Aon PLC, as doubts grow over the need for a state-backed consolidator of retirement savings plans.
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April 30, 2024
Medical Device Biz Hologic To Buy UK Rival For $310M
Hologic Inc. has agreed to buy Endomagnetics Ltd., a developer of breast cancer surgery technology, for approximately $310 million, as the U.S. medical company moves to expand its presence in the women's health sector.
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April 30, 2024
Satellites Biz SES To Buy Rival Intelsat For $3.1B
SES SA said Tuesday that it will buy rival operator Intelsat SA for $3.1 billion to create a European satellite giant to compete with Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
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April 29, 2024
'I Don't Want To Try That Case,' Judge Tells Mike Lynch's Atty
The California federal judge overseeing Autonomy founder Michael Lynch's fraud trial over claims he duped HP into paying an inflated $11.7 billion for his company pushed back Monday against an attempt by Lynch's lawyer to introduce evidence of events that took place after the acquisition, saying, "I don't want to try that case."
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April 29, 2024
Conglomerate Aspo To Pay $43M For Swedish Chemical Biz
Aspo PLC said on Monday a subsidiary has agreed to buy Swed Handling AB, a chemical distributor based in Sweden, for approximately 473 million Swedish kronor ($43.3 million or £34.5 million) up front, as the Finnish conglomerate seeks to expand its presence across the Nordic region.
Expert Analysis
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A Look At 2023's Landmark Insolvency Developments
The insolvency landscape in 2023 witnessed pivotal court decisions that will continue to shape the industry in 2024, with a focus on refining director and administrator duties and obligations, and addressing emerging challenges, says Kerri Wilson at Ontier.
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Regulating Digital Platforms: What's Changing In EU And UK
Lawyers at Mayer Brown assess the status of recently enacted EU and U.K. antitrust regulation governing gatekeeper platforms, noting that the effects are already being felt, and that companies will need to avoid anti-competitive self-preferencing and ensure a higher degree of interoperability than has been required to date.
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An Overview Of European Private Investments in Public Equity
Although still fairly rare, private investments in public equity may continue to be an attractive option for some European issuers seeking to secure equity financing, and advisers planning such an investment should consider the various local options, requirements and norms, say lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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UK Takeover Code Changes: Key Points For Bidders, Targets
Newly effective amendments to Rule 21 of the U.K. Takeover Code, which remove legal and administrative constraints on a target operating its business in the ordinary way during an offer, will add clarity for targets and bidders, and are likely to be welcomed by both, say lawyers at Davis Polk.
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EU Rejection Of Booking.com Deal Veers From Past Practice
The European Commission's recent prohibition of Booking's purchase of Etraveli based on ecosystem theories of harm reveals a lower bar for prohibiting nonhorizontal mergers, and may mean increased merger scrutiny for companies with entrenched market positions in digital markets, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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What Lawyers Can Learn From FDI Screening Report Findings
The recent European Commission report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU reveals how member states need to balance national security concerns with openness, and with more cross-border transactions subject to screening, lawyers must be alert to jurisdictional variances, says Jonathon Gunn at Faegre Drinker.
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UK Review May Lead To Lower Investment Screening Burden
The government’s current review of national security investment screening rules aims to refine the scope of mandatory notifications required for unproblematic deals, and is likely to result in much-needed modifications to minimize the administrative burden on businesses and investors, say lawyers at Simpson Thacher.
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Tools M&A Deal Makers Can Use To Bridge Valuation Gaps
As macroeconomic headwinds reset valuation expectations, parties to merger and acquisition are increasingly looking to methods such as earnouts, vendor financing and minority transactions to bridge the valuation gap and get deals done, says Philip Herbst at Cleary.
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Takeaways From The CMA's Green Collaboration Guidance
Recently published Competition and Markets Authority guidance on the application of competition law to environmental sustainability agreements should remove barriers for businesses that want to collaborate on environmental sustainability without breaking the law, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.
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What The Anti-Coercion Instrument Will Bring To The EU
Vassilis Akritidis and Jean-Baptiste Blancardi at Crowell & Moring discuss why the European Union recently adopted a report on the anti-coercion instrument to reform its trade legislation, how the instrument will be used to respond to unfair economic pressure from third countries, and how businesses can impact the EU's decision making.
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CMA Report On AI May Lead to Greater Competition Control
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority’s recent report on artificial intelligence foundation models is a sign that developers could face increased merger control and antitrust enforcement, and businesses should be mindful of these views to ensure that their models do not come under investigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Recent Trends In European ESG-Related Shareholder Activism
New ESG reporting standards in the European Union, as well as recent climate change, board diversity and human rights cases, illustrate how shareholder activism may become more prominent in years to come as regulation and investor engagement continues to strengthen, say lawyers at Debevoise.
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Employer Due Diligence Lessons From Share Scheme Case
The Scottish Court of Session recently confirmed in Ponticelli v. Gallagher that the right to participate in a share incentive plan transfers to the transferee, highlighting the importance for transferee employers to conduct comprehensive due diligence when acquiring workforce, including on arrangements outside the employment contract's scope, say lawyers at McDermott.
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4 Compliance Considerations Under FCA Consumer Duty
Following the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority's recent introduction of the new consumer duty regime, firms will need to be mindful of data protection implications when managing their compliance with the duty and data protection legislation, say lawyers at Bird & Bird.
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How The UK Investment Screening Regime Is Taking Shape
A recent order imposing remedies on an acquisition by EDF Energy highlights emerging trends in the U.K. government's national security reviews of transactions under the U.K. National Security and Investment Act, and shows how the U.K. remedy landscape compares to the U.S. regime, say lawyers at Arnold & Porter.