Breakdown recovery group’s private equity owners reportedly in talks with various suitors to sell company
The German-based financial services company Allianz is considering a £5bn takeover swoop for AA, the breakdown recovery group, Sky News has reported.
Allianz was one of a small number of parties holding talks with advisers to AA about a deal, Sky News said, adding that the private equity outfit EQT was another bidder.
Continue reading...Company acquired in deal involving Affinity Partners, a firm run by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner
Electronic Arts, the maker of video games such as The Sims, Madden NFL and Battlefield, has been bought by Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and a group of investors for $55bn (£41bn).
The company announced the completion of the deal on Tuesday evening, only days after the EU gave its approval, the final regulatory green light needed.
Continue reading...$400bn tie-up with Bristol Myers Squibb would create world’s fourth largest drugmaker but analysts question rationale for deal
More than £17bn was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, on Monday after a report that it was in discussions to take over its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb in a deal that would create a near $400bn (£300bn) pharmaceutical group.
AstraZeneca, run by Pascal Soriot, its longtime chief executive, had been worth nearly £196bn before the news broke. BMS, headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and known for its cancer treatments, was worth $133bn (£98bn).
Continue reading...KKR and Energy Capital Partners poised to buy firm despite misgivings from founder and biggest shareholders
One of the biggest energy businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange has agreed a controversial £5.7bn takeover by private equity, adding to the growing exodus of companies from the UK market.
The US private equity groups KKR and Energy Capital Partners are poised to buy DCC Energy after the company’s board recommended the offer despite misgivings from its founder and biggest shareholders.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Watchdog asked to look into how James Watt got data of ex-crowdfunders he invited to join buy-back bid
James Watt, the BrewDog founder who sold the debt-laden “punk” brewer earlier this year, is the subject of complaints to the UK’s data privacy watchdog linked to his surprise bid to buy the company back, the Guardian has learned.
BrewDog’s brand, intellectual property, UK breweries and 11 bars were sold to the US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray in March for £33m, in a deal that rendered the shares of more than 200,000 crowdfunding investors worthless.
Continue reading...FTSE 100 firm says Prologis all-share proposal turned down as it falls long way short of its own views on value
The UK warehouse landlord Segro is at the centre of the latest transatlantic takeover battle after rejecting a £12.6bn takeover approach from the US rival Prologis.
Prologis has gone public with its offer for the FTSE 100 company after it was “unequivocally rejected” by Segro’s board on Tuesday despite valuing the company at almost 25% more than its market value at that day’s close.
Continue reading...Deal will create pensions and savings group with 16m customers and £480bn of assets, while Aegon focuses on US
The Dutch financial services group Aegon has struck a £2bn deal to sell off its almost 200-year-old UK arm to Standard Life, as part of a US push in which the group will be rebranded as Transamerica.
Standard Life, previously known as Phoenix Group, said the deal to buy Aegon UK would create a pensions and savings group with 16 million customers and £480bn of assets under administration.
Continue reading...Once-hyped, celebrity-backed company snapped up by American Exchange Group for fraction of former value
Allbirds, the San Francisco sustainable trainer brand once valued at more than $4bn, is being sold for just $39m (£29.6m) after global demand for its wool-based footwear failed to materialise.
American Exchange Group, the owner of a string of brands including the fashion label Ed Hardy and the accessories maker Born, is snapping up the struggling company once touted as the future of footwear.
Continue reading...Anglo-Dutch company, which also owns Dove and Hellmann’s, will focus more on personal care products if deal agreed
Unilever, the owner of Marmite, Dove and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is in talks to combine its food business with the US-based spice and seasoning maker McCormick.
The Anglo-Dutch food company – which last year spun off its ice-cream division, the home to Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Wall’s – has entered discussions over the future of the “highly attractive” business.
Continue reading...Milan-based bank plans to up its near-30% stake in German lender to trigger formal talks despite strong opposition from Berlin
Two European banking powerhouses have become embroiled in a €35bn (£30bn) takeover battle after Italy’s UniCredit stepped up its long-running pursuit of German lender Commerzbank, despite strong opposition from the German government.
UniCredit first took a stake of 9% in Commerzbank in September 2024 and has since built up its holding to just under 30%. It said on Monday it was pushing to increase that holding further and push the rival lender into formal merger talks.
Continue reading...Jobs expected to go if competition watchdog approves takeover by Associated British Foods
The owner of Kingsmill has agreed to buy its rival Hovis in a deal worth an estimated £75m that could create the UK’s biggest bread brand if the competition regulator approves it, but also put jobs at risk.
The deal comes after decades of decline in the popularity of the packaged sliced loaf, with Hovis, owned by the private equity company Endless, and its rival Kingsmill – part of Associated British Foods (ABF) – struggling to get out of the red for some years.
Continue reading...CMA to decide whether deal will substantially lessen competition in delivery market
The UK’s competition watchdog has announced an investigation into the proposed merger of the delivery company Evri with DHL’s UK e-commerce business, a deal set to create one of the biggest parcel couriers in Britain.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday it was investigating Evri’s purchase of DHL eCommerce UK, as well as the parent company DHL Group’s acquisition of a minority stake in Evri.
Continue reading...TalkTalk has been hit by financial difficulties and customer exodus but it is thought no approach has been made
BT is weighing up a potential takeover of the rival telecoms and broadband company TalkTalk, which is struggling amid financial difficulties and a customer exodus.
The UK’s biggest broadband provider is understood to have discussed the strategic possibility of buying TalkTalk. However, it is understood no approach has been made or talks held with TalkTalk, and that bankers have not been asked to draw up takeover plans.
Continue reading...Microsoft president declares ‘victory’ in Call of Duty maker deal as FTC chair says case doesn’t fit with Trump’s agenda
The US Federal Trade Commission dropped a case that sought to block Microsoft’s $69bn purchase of the Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, saying on Thursday that pursuing the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.
Andrew Ferguson, the FTC chair, is seeking to use the agency’s resources for cases that fit with Donald Trump’s agenda, such as an investigation related to whether advertisers colluded to spend less on X.
Continue reading...Cap of 15% could allow US firm RedBird Capital to finalise deal to buy titles after two years of uncertainty
The government will allow foreign states to own stakes of up to 15% in British newspapers in a move that could finally end two years of uncertainty over the ownership of the Telegraph titles.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is to announce the limit on Thursday through the introduction of a new statutory instrument in parliament, ending a months-long consultation involving intensive lobbying by newspaper owners.
Continue reading...Guardian understands plan from US private equity firm to form a consortium or self-fund could come as soon as next month
The US private equity firm RedBird Capital is confident of tabling a deal to take control of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph as soon as next month, in an attempt to end two years of “paralysis and unhappiness” at the 170-year-old titles.
The firm’s founder, Gerry Cardinale, is personally involved in drafting a plan to either form a consortium or self-fund a takeover at Telegraph Media Group, the Guardian understands.
Continue reading...Prada has secured Versace at a €180m discount amid market turmoil and after months of speculation
Prada has agreed to buy the Versace fashion brand for €1.25bn ($1.38bn) from the fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings.
It comes after months of speculation about a potential deal to combine the two Italian fashion houses and, more recently, rumours that the acquisition was set to collapse after market upheaval in response to President Trump’s tariff policies.
Continue reading...Childhood friends sell upmarket brand to Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Marmite
A pair of UK entrepreneurs selling refillable deodorant cases and manuka honey lip balms made from natural ingredients have reportedly landed a near-£100m payday from the sale of their brand to the global consumer goods group Unilever.
Wild, founded by childhood friends Freddy Ward and Charlie Bowes-Lyon, has been bought by Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Marmite.
Continue reading...Under terms of deal with Hobbycraft owner, 233-year-old brand will become TGJones
WH Smith is to sell its 480 retail stores to the Hobbycraft owner, Modella Capital, in a deal worth £76m, and has confirmed that the 233-year-old brand will disappear from the high street after a “short transitional period”.
Under the terms of the deal, the high street business, which employs 5,000 staff, will be rebranded as TGJones. WH Smith is retaining its brand for its travel shops.
Continue reading...Walgreens Boots Alliance sold to Sycamore Partners and ends almost a century of trading on public markets
The US owner of the high street pharmacy chain Boots is to be taken private in a $10bn (£7.8bn) deal that will bring an end to almost a century of trading on public markets for Walgreens Boots Alliance.
The company, which operates more than 1,800 Boots stores in the UK, has been sold to the US private equity firm Sycamore Partners after struggling in the internet era as customers have turned to online shopping for cheaper products.
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