Hogan Lovells has secured a new role as adviser to the UK government on the £3.6bn acquisition of International Distribution Services (IDS), the parent company of Royal Mail, by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group, alongside Kirkland, Paul Weiss, and Slaughter and May. Continue reading “Hogan Lovells joins top firms in £3.6bn Royal Mail takeover as UK govt approves bid”
Elite US firms played a key role as French broadcaster Canal+ made its debut on the London Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first companies to list under the FCA’s new rules. Continue reading “Cleary and White & Case switch on for Canal+ £2.5bn IPO in London”
Latham & Watkins, Jones Day, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are advising on Anglo American’s sale of its Australian steelmaking coal business to US coal mining company Peabody Energy, in a deal worth up to $3.775bn.
The transaction value comprises $2.05bn at completion, deferred cash consideration of $725m over four years after completion, a price-linked earnout up to $550m, and a further $450m contingent on the reopening of the Grosvenor mine. Continue reading “Dealwatch: US trio lead on $3.8bn Anglo American coal sale as Apax seals £700m professional services buyout”
Five elite US law firms have helped to push through the biggest M&A deal of the year so far – the $36bn acquisition of Pringles and Pop Tarts maker Kellanova by Mars.
The all-cash offer values Kellanova at $83.50 per share – a premium of around 33% to its 52-week high as of 2 August.
Continue reading “Dealwatch: US elite tuck into $36bn Mars-Pringles snackquisition”
Shopping centre owners have weathered a difficult few years, with the rise of e-commerce, Covid and the cost of living crisis causing much grief for those with stakes in bricks and mortar retail.
There is cause for optimism, however, with private equity firm L Catterton’s acquisition of Hammerson’s £1.5bn stake in Value Retail – owner of the Bicester Collection – emblematic of increasing confidence in the sector, and raising hopes of a continued recovery in deal activity.
The long-dormant restructuring market has had a shot in the arm recently, with the City teams of US stalwarts winning lead mandates on the administration of The Body Shop and a rescue deal of Yodel.
Jones Day and White & Case are handling the administration of cosmetic group The Body Shop, while Dechert and Weil advised parcel delivery business Yodel to secure a rescue deal backed by one of its rivals. Continue reading “Dealwatch: US firms lead on household names The Body Shop and Yodel as restructuring returns”
The biggest European transaction of recent weeks came when Vodafone announced the sale of its Spanish business to TMT investor Zegona Communications for €5bn.
Slaughter and May advised Vodafone with a London-based team led by corporate partners Victoria MacDuff and James Cook and including IP and IT partner Duncan Blaikie, finance partner Charlie McGarel-Groves, tax partner Mike Lane, employment partner Philippa O’Malley, and competition partner Claire Jeffs, who splits her time between London and Brussels. Continue reading “Dealwatch: €5bn Vodafone deal shows ‘the debt is there, if you can find the right transaction’”
The broader life sciences sector saw a spate of deal activity in recent weeks, with two acquisitions over the billion-dollar mark and several more in the hundreds of millions.
The highest-value transaction came on 28 August, when US-based life sciences company Danaher announced its agreement to purchase Cambridge-based protein research tools supplier Abcam in a deal valued at $5.7bn. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Big-ticket life sciences activity picks up again as overseas investors buy into the UK”
Early 2023 has been a tough time for deals. In our 2023 Deals Yearbook, for instance, citing Dealogic, we noted a decline in both the volume and value of deals. Q1 2023 saw just 601 deals totalling $19.6bn in the UK, while globally there were 9,400 deals worth a little under $591bn. This marks the lowest UK Q1 since 2009, and the lowest global Q1 since 2012.
Recent weeks, though, have seen an uptick in multibillion-dollar activity. And, while it is certainly too early to declare that we are out of the woods, the mood among corporate lawyers has lifted: more ‘cautious optimism’ than ‘doom and gloom’. Continue reading “‘Carveouts are here to stay’: green energy deals dominate as major players see signs of a bounceback”
In the first half of June, the UK economy suffered another blow. Global soda ash producer, WeSoda, made the decision to pull out of its $7.5bn London IPO, citing a lack of investor demand, leading to criticism of UK investors for being unduly conservative and tight-fisted with their cash.
However, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon in the public M&A arena, in the form of some recent promising, high-value transactions. Continue reading “Dealwatch: ‘Heading back in the right direction’ – positive mood continues for public M&A as UK elite line up on big-ticket deals”
