CMA sets 18 December deadline for initial review as it considers whether deal could reduce competition
The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into the £3.3bn takeover of the UK soft drinks maker Britvic by the Danish brewer Carlsberg.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set a deadline of 18 December for the first phase of its investigation into the deal.
Continue reading...Private equity firm CD&R revealed to be in exclusive talks to buy 50% stake in consumer healthcare arm Opella
The French government has warned a US private equity firm buying the consumer healthcare arm of the drugmaker Sanofi that it faces penalties of more than €100m if it does not keep production and jobs in France.
Sanofi is splitting off Opella, which makes the paracetamol brand Doliprane, the laxative Dulcolax and other over-the-counter medicines and vitamins. However, news of talks with the New York-based Clayton, Dubilier & Rice on 11 October prompted fears about French jobs and the loss of control to a foreign company.
Continue reading...FTSE 100 firm turns down fourth offer from the Australian property company REA Group
Rightmove has rejected a £6.2bn takeover offer from REA Group, the Australian real estate firm backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The UK property portal told the City on Monday morning that its board had turned down REA’s fourth offer, having concluded it was “unattractive and materially undervalues Rightmove”.
Continue reading...Australian group calls on Rightmove board to ‘engage now’ after fourth offer for UK online property portal
Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group has made a fourth attempt to buy Rightmove, increasing its offer to £6.2bn as it steps up its pursuit of the UK’s largest online property portal.
The Australian property group, which is controlled by News Corp, raised its cash and shares offer from the £6.1bn offered earlier this week and called on Rightmove’s board to “engage now” after it refused repeatedly to meet the suitor.
Continue reading...Japanese group says Couche-Tard plan undervalues firm, but leaves door open to higher offer
The parent company of the global convenience store chain 7-Eleven has rejected a near $39bn (£29.6bn) takeover offer from a Canadian rival, arguing it “grossly undervalues” the company.
Last month, Tokyo-based Seven & i revealed that it had received a bid from Alimentation Couche-Tard setting the scene for what could be Japan’s biggest ever foreign takeover.
Continue reading...Proposal to Tokyo-based Seven & i by ACT could become biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese firm
The owner of the global convenience store chain 7-Eleven has received an offer from a Canadian rival to buy the company, in what could be Japan’s biggest ever foreign takeover.
The Tokyo-based Seven & i revealed on Monday that it had received a bid from the Canadian convenience store multinational Alimentation Couche-Tard (ACT) to buy its stake in the company.
Continue reading...Shares in FTSE 250 company slump 37% in early trading after Dubai-based Sidara cites geopolitical risk
The share price of the British oil services company John Wood Group has plunged by more than a third after a Dubai-based suitor pulled out of a purchase amid global market turmoil.
In a statement to the stock market on Monday the engineering company Sidara said it had pulled out of a bid for Wood “in light of rising geopolitical risks and financial market uncertainty”.
Continue reading...Deal for undisclosed sum secures Bristol-based company’s future after ‘material uncertainty’ in 2023
Graphcore, a British chipmaker once seen as a potential competitor to Nvidia, has been bought by Japan’s SoftBank in a deal that secures the company’s future.
The Bristol-based startup’s products are focused on artificial intelligence and it has been acquired by the powerful Japanese tech investor for an undisclosed sum. Last year, Graphcore warned that there was a “material uncertainty” over its survival and that it needed fresh funding by May 2024.
Continue reading...Three more freight flights to go this month as parent company’s CEO Martin Seidenberg pursues transformation
The boss of Royal Mail’s parent company has said it will push on with a transformation of the group despite its £3.57bn takeover, as Royal Mail prepares this month to cut more daily freight flights.
Martin Seidenberg, the chief executive of International Distribution Services, plans “the biggest network change in 20 years” to revamp Royal Mail’s deliveries despite uncertainty created by the Czech energy tycoon Daniel Kretinsky’s takeover, which has been backed by the board.
Continue reading...Investment bank Stephens hired to find suitors for business, which wants to expand overseas operations
The high-end steakhouse chain Hawksmoor has been put up for sale in a deal that could value it at about £100m.
The restaurant chain has hired the investment bank Stephens to start looking for potential suitors for the business, which is hoping to expand its overseas operation.
Continue reading...Merger with International Paper moving at ‘absolutely full steam’ in face of separate interest from Brazil’s Suzano
The boss of the FTSE 100 company DS Smith has said its £5.8bn takeover by a US rival is going at “absolutely full steam”, despite concerns it could be derailed by another packaging sector merger.
Miles Roberts, DS Smith’s chief executive, said merger work with International Paper was “going very well” and that he definitely expected the deal to complete.
Continue reading...Business secretary is due to meet Czech tycoon to discuss a takeover the Guardian has raised questions about
The business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, is being pressed to question the Royal Mail bidder Daniel Křetínský on his business links, after the Guardian raised questions about a series of controversial global property deals connected to the Czech billionaire’s longtime business partners.
Badenoch is scheduled to meet the tycoon next week to discuss his £3.57bn bid for the 500-year-old institution, which will be subjected to a review under the National Security and Investment Act.
Continue reading...British company says concerns not addressed during approach by Australian firm
Anglo American has survived an almost £39bn takeover plot by the Australian mining rival BHP after last-ditch talks over restructuring the 107-year-old company collapsed.
The five-week pursuit came to an end after Anglo rejected BHP’s 11th-hour appeal to extend the takeover talks for a second time, after three failed takeover proposals from the Melbourne-based miner.
Continue reading...IDS says a change in ownership may lead to ‘material uncertainty’ over the company’s future
Royal Mail’s owner has warned that a potential £3.5bn bid by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský could create risk around the company’s finances.
The warning came as the industry regulator Ofcom announced that it had opened an investigation into the parent group, International Distributions Services (IDS), for failing to meet its annual delivery targets for the second year in a row. Last year, Ofcom fined the company £5.6m for failing to meet its first-class and second-class delivery targets in 2022-23.
Continue reading...RedBird IMI deal effectively killed by new legislation blocking foreign states from owning UK newspapers
The former CNN executive who fronted a failed bid for the Telegraph newspaper by a UAE-backed consortium has suggested the government was not willing to listen to assurances about editorial neutrality.
Jeff Zucker said there were figures in the UK who were “scared” of the £600m deal, which would have seen the Abu Dhabi-backed consortium, RedBird IMI, take control of the Telegraph and Spectator.
Continue reading...Australian company says FTSE 100-listed group’s board did not engage with its all-share approach
Anglo American has rejected a second takeover approach by its Australian rival BHP that values the London-listed mining company at £34bn.
BHP said Anglo’s board had not engaged with its offer, which came after an initial £31bn offer was also rejected last month. Anglo rejected the second offer on Monday, BHP said.
Continue reading...But such a takeover of London-listed mining firm opposed by politicians and unions in South Africa
South African shareholders of the mining company Anglo American have signalled they are open to a revised takeover offer from BHP, despite warnings from South African politicians and unions that a deal could be bad for the country.
Investors, which collectively own more than 15% of the London-listed mining company, told the Financial Times that they were not opposed in principle to an acquisition by its Australian rival but said an improved and less complex offer would be needed.
Continue reading...Aberdeen-based firm listed on FTSE 250 knocked back unsolicited approach from Dubai-based Sidara
The British oil services company John Wood Group has rejected a £1.4bn takeover offer from a Dubai-based rival, Sidara, which “fundamentally undervalued” the company.
Aberdeen-based Wood is the latest British company on the London Stock Exchange to face takeover speculation amid deepening concerns that UK-listed stocks are undervalued compared with other markets.
Continue reading...The De Beers owner is a longstanding jewel in the African' state’s economic crown – it would be a ‘big blow’ to see it sold off
The world’s largest mining company has a problem. Australia’s BHP has set out its intention to snap up the rival miner Anglo American in a multibillion-pound deal that would reshape the global industry. Its proposed £31bn takeover plan has already been rebuffed as a lowball offer that undervalues the company. But Anglo’s deep roots in South Africa could be a far more sensitive issue to address.
Africa’s most advanced economy was built on mining. For more than 150 years since the first discovery of diamonds, gold and coal, the industry has remained South Africa’s economic lifeblood. Today it is the world’s fifth largest producer of coal and diamonds and the 10th largest producer of gold.
Continue reading...All-share proposal had potential to be one of biggest deals in sector for decade but deemed ‘opportunistic’
The board of Anglo American, the London-listed mining company, has rejected a “highly unattractive” £31bn takeover approach from its Australian rival BHP.
BHP’s all-share proposed offer for Anglo American had the potential to be one of the biggest deals in the global mining sector for a decade but has attracted criticism from Anglo’s shareholders as being too low and “highly opportunistic”.
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