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Transactions UK
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September 17, 2024
Skadden, Freshfields Guide Midea's $4B Hong Kong Listing
Midea Group debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday after the home appliance giant raised almost $4 billion in the largest initial public offering in the special administrative region of China since early 2021.
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September 17, 2024
Arthur Cox Steers Betting Giant On €2.3B Italian Biz Buy
Sports betting giant Flutter Entertainment PLC said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy the Italian online sports betting subsidiary of Playtech PLC, a gambling technology company, for €2.3 billion ($2.6 billion).
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September 16, 2024
DLA Guides Software Biz Netcall On €8.7M Acquisition
Automation software business Netcall PLC said Monday it has bought Belgian document processing company Parble for €8.7 million ($9.7 million), advised by DLA Piper Belgium, a move it expects will bolster its presence outside the U.K.
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September 16, 2024
French EU Commissioner Quits In Dispute With Von Der Leyen
France's candidate to serve as European Union commissioner for the next five-year mandate resigned abruptly Monday, accusing commission President Ursula von der Leyen of "questionable governance" and of asking France to replace him.
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September 16, 2024
Finnish Insurer Boosts Buyback To €475M, Extends End Date
Sampo PLC said Monday that it will raise its €400 million ($445 million) share buyback program by €75 million, as the Finnish insurer moves to acquire all the stock it does not already hold in Danish rival Topdanmark AS.
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September 16, 2024
Insurer Phoenix Group Cancels Plan To Sell SunLife
Phoenix Group Holdings PLC said Monday that it has decided to call off the proposed sale of SunLife Ltd. months after it decided to sell the unit, which provides financial services to over 50s in the U.K.
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September 16, 2024
White & Case-Led Fund Manager To Buy Citi Trust For £80M
JTC PLC said on Monday it has agreed to buy the global fiduciary and trust business from investment banking giant Citigroup Inc. for £80 million ($106 million), as the Jersey-based fund administrator eyes further international expansion of its operations.
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September 16, 2024
A&O Shearman Hires Finance Pro From Latham In Paris
A&O Shearman said Monday that it has recruited a leveraged finance expert as a partner from Latham & Watkins LLP in France, adding to a string of recent exits from the U.S. outfit in Europe.
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September 16, 2024
Thoma Bravo's $5B Bid For Darktrace All Set For Completion
Darktrace PLC said Monday that a bid of approximately $5.3 billion by U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo for the British cybersecurity company has won all the necessary competition and regulatory approval, paving way for the deal to be completed on Oct. 1.
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September 16, 2024
Titanic Shipbuilder Sinks Under Weight Of Debt
Struggling shipbuilder Harland & Wolff said Monday that it plans to enter into administration and remove its shares from the London Stock Exchange after failing to win a £200 million ($264 million) government loan to help offset money owed to creditors.
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September 16, 2024
UniCredit Launches €1.7B Share Buyback After Profit Gains
UniCredit SpA said Monday that it has kicked off a share buyback worth up to €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion) as the Italian commercial bank moves to reward its shareholders after it reported bumper profits.
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September 16, 2024
Law Firm Director Dishonestly Misled Insurer, SRA Says
The solicitors' watchdog told a disciplinary tribunal on Monday that a law firm director had dishonestly concealed the fact that his company had acquired another firm's work and staff after his insurer declined to offer cover for the change.
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September 16, 2024
France's Rexel Rejects €8.6B Offer From QXO Tech Biz
French electrical equipment giant Rexel said Monday that it has rejected a proposed offer of €8.6 billion ($9.6 billion) from QXO, a technology business owned by U.S. billionaire Brad Jacobs.
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September 13, 2024
EU Actors Lobby Hard For Top Jobs in New Commission
European Union lawmakers and national governments are lobbying intensely to pull top jobs and policy their way as the new European Commission is formed for the next five years.
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September 13, 2024
Australia's Roc Oil Bids $186M For Swedish Rival Tethys
Australian oil and gas company Roc Oil said Friday that it has offered to buy Swedish oil exploration and production company Tethys Oil AB for approximately 1.9 billion Swedish krona ($186 million) in a deal guided by three law firms.
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September 13, 2024
Plane Leaser Avolon To Fly Away With Aircraft Fleet For $5B
Avolon Ltd. said Friday that it has agreed to buy a portfolio of nearly 120 aircraft indirectly owned by U.S. alternative investment manager Castlelake LP for $5 billion as the aviation leasing giant looks to accelerate its growth.
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September 13, 2024
Energy Biz Wants To Claw Back £3.8M From Waste Plant Deal
An energy business has sued the directors of a waste management company that it acquired for almost £40 million ($52 million), alleging that it overpaid for shares in the business because of a mistake that overstated the capacity and output of a food waste processing plant.
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September 13, 2024
High Court Sanctions £2.2B Deal For Network International
Middle Eastern payments company Network International Holdings said on Friday that the High Court has sanctioned a £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) takeover bid from Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.
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September 13, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a football agent sue Chelsea FC after being cleared of allegations he threatened the club’s former director, an ongoing patent dispute between Amgen and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and a private school in Edinburgh suing Riverstone Insurance over compensation claims tied to historical abuse allegations made by former pupils. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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September 13, 2024
PE Giant KKR's Plan To Buy Entertainment Biz Gets EU Nod
Europe's antitrust authority said Friday that it has cleared plans by private equity giant KKR & Co. to buy entertainment business Superstruct from Providence Equity Partners LLC.
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September 13, 2024
Arthur Cox-Led Betting Biz Buys $350M Stake In Brazil Rival
Sports betting giant Flutter Entertainment PLC said on Friday that it has bought a 56% stake in NSX Group, operator of Brazil's Betnacional gambling brand, for approximately $350 million as it looks to expand internationally.
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September 13, 2024
Freight Co. DSV To Buy Germany's Schenker For €14.3B
Danish freight company DSV AS said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Schenker AG, the logistics division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG, at an enterprise value of €14.3 billion ($16 billion) to create a "transport and logistics powerhouse."
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September 13, 2024
French Vaccine Maker Valneva Raises €61M In Private Placing
Vaccine manufacturer Valneva SE said Friday that it has successfully raised approximately €61.2 million ($67.9 million) by selling shares to investors, which it plans to use to fund projects.
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September 13, 2024
Shell Companies Shuttered By Court For £1.6M COVID Fraud
The High Court has shut down two connected companies that fraudulently received £1.6 million ($2.1 million) in COVID-19 support loans, a U.K. government agency said Friday.
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September 13, 2024
HSF-Led National Grid To Sell Supply Unit To Gov't For £630M
National Grid PLC said Friday that it has agreed to sell its electricity supply system to the U.K. government for £630 million ($827 million), which will bring it into public ownership.
Expert Analysis
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EU Case Shows Wide Approach To Blocking Telecom Mergers
The EU court's recent judgment in Commission v. CK Telecoms may make it more challenging to secure clearance for telecom and other companies pursuing mergers, illustrating its broad approach to mergers that risk harming competition without creating a dominant position, say Dominic Long and Christopher Best at Allen & Overy.
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PR Perspectives: Getting Merger Communications Right
As the recent Allen & Overy and Shearman Sterling deal announcement demonstrates, controlling the narrative is the priority when merger discussions begin, so law firms need to consider their stakeholder base and the best communication channels for each segment, ready to adapt to the audience group's needs, say Ben Girdlestone and Bethany Durkin at Byfield.
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Trustees Should Take Caution After UK Pension Tap Plan
The U.K. government's recent plan to boost technology startups by tapping into pension sector funds may risk the hard-earned savings of members, so trustees need to be mindful of the proposals in light of their fiduciary duties, say Beth Brown and Riccardo Bruno at Arc Pensions.
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Report On UK Investment Act Offers Welcome Insights
The U.K. government's recent report on the National Security and Investment Act's first full year of operation is to be applauded for disclosing more information on the act's notification system than was required, enabling a better understanding of what has taken place and what the next year may hold, say Andrea Hamilton and Ajal Notowicz at Milbank.
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Preparing For M&A Under The Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation introduces requirements that companies operating in the region must consider in M&A transactions, and any foreign financial contributions received by a target should be checked during the due diligence stage, with specific provisions for commission approval if a notification requirement is triggered, say Hendrik Viaene and Stéphane Dionnet at McDermott.
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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.