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Transactions UK
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June 12, 2024
Property Investor Special Opportunities Scraps IPO Plans
Special Opportunities REIT said on Wednesday its planned listing on the London Stock Exchange's standard segment has failed after the U.K. property investor was unable to raise the minimum £250 million ($321 million) needed to proceed with the float.
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June 12, 2024
Winemaker's £46M Buy Of Spirits Group Wins Court Backing
English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber's £46.1 million ($58.8 million) acquisition of The Lakes Distillery, a liquor maker, has won court approval, the companies said on Wednesday.
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June 12, 2024
French Tech Co. Atos To Sell Energy Consultancy For €270M
Atos has said it is selling its energy advisory business to engineering consultancy Alten in a €270 million ($290 million) deal as the French technology company aims to lower its €4.8 billion pile of debt.
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June 11, 2024
Serco Denies Directors Knew Of Fraud In Securities Trial
Serco Group PLC denied investors are entitled to compensation over a fraud that caused the outsourcing giant's share price to nosedive, arguing on the second day of a London trial Tuesday that none of its directors had known about the alleged wrongdoing.
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June 11, 2024
Swiss Firm Closes 5th PE Program With Over $15B In Tow
Switzerland-based private equity firm Partners Group on Tuesday announced that it clinched its fifth direct private equity program after surpassing its $15 billion target, which will be used to invest across the technology, health and life, goods and products, and services verticals.
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June 11, 2024
Widow Who Signed Docs 'Without Reading' Still Owes $64M
A London appellate court has ruled that a former Hong Kong resident can't escape a personal guarantee to pay 500 million Hong Kong dollars ($64 million) to cover bonds issued by her husband's company, in part because she entered the contract for business purposes.
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June 18, 2024
Fieldfisher Hires Linklaters RE Pro To Open Brussels Practice
Fieldfisher LLP has hired a real estate specialist from Linklaters LLP to launch a new practice in Belgium as it ramps up its services to clients in transactional matters and litigation.
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June 11, 2024
Graphene Biz Directa Plus Eyes Raising Up To £6.9M
Directa Plus said Tuesday it plans to raise up to £6.9 million ($8.8 million) by selling shares to investors as it looks to strengthen its operations ahead of an expected boom in demand for graphene.
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June 11, 2024
Shakespeare Martineau Adds Finance Pro From Blake Morgan
Shakespeare Martineau LLP has hired a finance and banking specialist as a partner at the firm's new offices on the south coast of England, where he will work with new and existing clients across a range of sectors.
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June 11, 2024
Tanzanian-Focused Explorer Raises £8M For Helium Project
Helium One Global Ltd. said Tuesday it has raised gross proceeds of £8 million ($10.2 million) through issuing 1.6 billion shares to investors, funds the helium explorer plans to use on its development work in Tanzania, east Africa.
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June 11, 2024
Renew Buys Electric Infrastructure Co. For Up To £26M
Renew Holdings PLC said Tuesday it has bought Excalon Holdings Ltd., an infrastructure contractor, for £22 million ($28 million) upfront, as the U.K. engineering services company eyes entry into the country's growing electricity transmission and distribution market.
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June 11, 2024
MLL-Led Tech Toolmaker To Buy Testing Co. For Up To $27M
Oxford Instruments said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy FemtoTools, a Zurich-based manufacturer of instruments to probe the properties of micro-structures, for 17 million Swiss francs ($19 million) upfront.
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June 11, 2024
Raspberry Pi Debuts In London After Raising £166M
Technology company Raspberry Pi debuted to institutional investors on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday after raising £166 million ($211 million) in a rare endorsement of the U.K. capital markets' fitness for technology companies.
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June 11, 2024
French Tech Group Atos Accepts Investor's Rescue Plan
French IT consultancy Atos said Tuesday that it plans to go ahead with a rescue plan led by anchor investor Onepoint to restructure its €4.8 billion ($5.1 billion) debt burden.
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June 10, 2024
Arnold & Porter Advises Cognizant On $1.3B Belcan Buy
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP is guiding Cognizant on a newly inked agreement to buy Kirkland & Ellis LLP-repped Belcan for about $1.3 billion, Cognizant said in a statement Monday.
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June 10, 2024
BDO Denies Failing To Help In £18.5M Insurance Broker Sale
Accounting firm BDO LLP has rejected an insurance broker's claims that it is not entitled to payment for merger and acquisition advice because it failed to propose or introduce the buyer that eventually purchased the broker for £18.5 million ($23.6 million).
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June 10, 2024
Serco Accused Of Playing Around With Books As Trial Opens
Institutional investors told a London court Monday that Serco had "played around" with its financial reporting to keeping the government from clocking fraud in its contract for electronic tagging services as a landmark securities trial kicked off.
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June 17, 2024
Hogan Lovells Adds Insurance Pro From Slaughter And May
Hogan Lovells has bolstered its London corporate insurance practice by tapping a former senior counsel from Slaughter and May as a partner.
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June 10, 2024
Recruiter Staffline Announces £2.5M Share Buyback
Staffline Group PLC on Monday launched a share repurchase program of up to £2.5 million ($3.2 million), a move expected to lower the recruitment and training company's outstanding share capital.
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June 10, 2024
Amazon Sold Facial Tech To Russia, Ex-Employee Alleges
A former Amazon worker has alleged that the technology giant sold facial recognition software to a Russian company in violation of U.K. sanctions.
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June 10, 2024
DWF Guides Brown & Brown Buy Of NI Broker Rollins
Insurance giant Brown & Brown Europe Ltd. said Monday it has bought Oscar Rollins & Co. Ltd., a broker based in Northern Ireland, in a deal steered by its in-house legal team and DWF Law.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Cos. Can Expect Intense Antitrust Enforcement This Year
In 2023, authorities in the U.K. and Europe are expected to push the boundaries of antitrust enforcement, merger control and foreign investment screening with the goal of achieving positive outcomes for consumers, say Nicole Kar and Tara Rudra at Linklaters.
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Foreign Direct Investment Considerations For Buyers, Sellers
The rapidly developing legal and regulatory foreign direct investment landscape means the challenge for deal makers is in navigating the continuously changing rules and understanding the manner in which regulators interpret them, says Kurt Ma at BCLP.
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Widely Forecast UK Recession Is Likely To Reshape M&As
Despite the economic downturn in the U.K., transactions will continue to get done in 2023, albeit with more complex terms and a greater focus on undertaking vigorous due diligence on customer relationships and contracts, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Czech Z-Trade Ruling Shows Benefit Of Compliance Program
With its recent Z-Trade fine reduction decision, the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition has for the first time put into practice its compliance program consideration policy, providing a further incentive for companies to implement such programs and underlining the office's intention to pay attention to them, say Vojtech Chloupek and Martin Taimr at Bird & Bird.
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Lessons That May Be Learned From The Demise Of Made.com
With Made.com going into administration, companies that may face similar challenges should take on board that the earlier adequate preemptive planning is considered, the more financial and legal options there will be to avoid last minute firefighting and to focus instead on strengthening the business, says Eleni Michaela at Faegre Drinker.
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Link Ruling Shows FCA's Wide Change-In-Control Powers
The Financial Conduct Authority's recent decision regarding the proposed acquisition of Link Fund Solutions is a reminder that the regulator has significant powers to attach conditions to its approvals and the advent of the Financial Services and Markets Bill could lead to the widening of those powers, say Charlotte Hill and Daniel Hirschfield at Taylor Wessing.
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Takeaways For Transaction Parties After UK Acquisition Block
The U.K. government recently used its retrospective powers under the National Security and Investment Act for the first time to block Nexperia’s acquisition of Newport Wafer Fab, highlighting the considerations that parties have to evaluate when contemplating transactions in high-risk areas, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Understanding The EU's New Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The European Parliament’s newly adopted Foreign Subsidies Regulation extends already wide-ranging European Union state aid powers and adds new layers of deal conditionality, so companies will need to carefully consider how the regulation may affect their EU-bound activities, say Peter Camesasca and Sophie Bertin at Covington.
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A Look At The Increase In Employee Ownership Trusts
The rise in employee ownership trusts has brought certain challenges, but with tax advantages and a proven positive impact on individuals, businesses and regional economies, employee buyouts are set to become more popular and could outstrip mainstream deal activity, says Lisa Hayward at Birketts.
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EU Basel III Bank Reforms May Weaken Securities Market
Recent proposals from the Council of the European Union's review of Basel III bank capital regulatory reforms did not adopt substantive changes urged by the market for the securitization framework, and may have a dampening effect on the competitiveness of European securitizations, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.