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Transactions UK
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July 16, 2025
CMA Examines Norcros-Fibo Deal For Competition Concerns
The U.K. competition watchdog said Wednesday it is taking a preliminary look at branded bathroom products maker Norcros' proposed acquisition of Norway-based wall panels maker Fibo from private equity investor FSN Capital Partners for 618 million Norwegian krone ($60.6 million).
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July 16, 2025
Troutman Pepper-Led SPAC To Buy UK FinTech For £26M
Blank-check company Honye Financial Services Ltd. said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Zoyo Capital Ltd., a financial technology company based in London, for £26 million ($35 million) in a reverse takeover to create a digital securities broker platform.
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July 16, 2025
Ricardo Shareholders Approve WSP's £281M Takeover Bid
British automotive parts supplier Ricardo PLC said Wednesday that its shareholders have approved its takeover for approximately £281 million ($376 million) by Canadian engineering consultant WSP Global Inc.
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July 16, 2025
Senior Managers Regime Revamp Risks Letting In Bad Apples
The City watchdog's planned overhaul of its senior managers regime risks allowing people with records of misconduct to slip into financial firms because of the relaxation of rules on references and criminal checks, according to lawyers.
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July 16, 2025
American Axle Gets Nod To Buy UK Car-Parts Biz For £1.2B
American Axle said Wednesday that its shareholders have voted to approve the cash-and-shares takeover of rival automotive engineer Dowlais Group PLC for £1.16 billion ($1.55 billion) in a bid to grow the U.S. company internationally.
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July 16, 2025
Abrdn Unit Sells Dutch Properties For €35M Amid Wind-Down
Abrdn European Logistics Income PLC said Wednesday that it has concluded the sale of two warehouses in the Netherlands for €34.7 million ($40 million) as part of its managed wind-down and capital distribution plan.
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July 15, 2025
Kirkland Tops M&A League Tables In First Half Of 2025
Kirkland & Ellis LLP was the top mergers and acquisitions legal adviser both globally and in North America during the first half of 2025, as measured by both value and transaction numbers, league table data from GlobalData showed Tuesday.Â
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July 15, 2025
Bathroom Biz To Buy Haavind-Led Norwegian Co. For $61M
Branded bathroom products maker Norcros said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Norway-based wall panels maker Fibo Holding AS from private equity investor FSN Capital Partners for 618 million Norwegian krone ($60.6 million) in a deal guided by Haavind.
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July 15, 2025
CMS, Burges Salmon, Sackers Aid £800M Honda Pension Deal
Legal & General has completed an approximately £800 million ($1.07 billion) buy-in transaction to acquire the pensions of more than 4,700 members of the Honda Group UK Pension Scheme in a deal guided by CMS, Burges Salmon LLP and Sackers.
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July 15, 2025
Irish Hotel Group Backs €1.4B Sweetened Buyout Bid
Irish hotel group Dalata said Tuesday that it has backed an increased €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) cash offer from a Scandinavian consortium of property investors, finding that the bid topped its highest market capitalization since it listed in 2014.
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July 15, 2025
Food Biz To Sell Stake In Supply Chain Platform For £22M
Hilton Food Group said on Tuesday it is selling a stake in Foods Connected, its supplier management platform, for £22 million ($30 million) to Apax Global Impact Fund.
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July 15, 2025
Banks To Nudge Savers Toward Stocks Under Gov't Reforms
Banks will be encouraged to push savers toward gambling their cash on the stock market, the government said on Tuesday, as it looks to revitalize the landscape for retail investors in the U.K.
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July 15, 2025
UK To Ease Senior Manager Rules Amid Regulatory Overhaul
The government unveiled a raft of reforms to financial services regulation on Tuesday as it seeks to encourage investment in the economy, a package that includes streamlined rules for senior managers and easier capital requirements for lenders.
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July 15, 2025
Barratt Redrow Starts First Stage Of Up-To-£100M Buyback
Barratt Redrow PLC kicked off a stock repurchase program of as much as £50 million ($67 million) on Tuesday, the first part of the British housebuilder's wider £100 million plan to buy back shares.
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July 14, 2025
FCA To Loosen Prospectus Rules For Firms Raising Cash
The Financial Conduct Authority set out rules on Tuesday that it said will make it easier and cheaper for listed companies to raise cash as the regulator makes another attempt to rebalance risk and help resuscitate U.K. capital markets.
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July 14, 2025
DCC To Sell £100M Tech Biz To Eversheds-Led PE Firm
Irish conglomerate DCC PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell Exertis, its technology distribution business in Britain and Ireland, to private equity firm Aurelius for approximately £100 million ($135 million) in a deal guided by Eversheds Sutherland.
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July 14, 2025
Wealth Manager Sues For £4.5M Over Failed Investment Deal
A Swiss wealth manager has sued a U.K. company for 5 million Swiss francs ($6.3 million), saying that it failed to return its investment after a share purchase deal went sideways.
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July 14, 2025
Supermarket Investor Buys Tesco Store For £54.1M
Supermarket Income REIT PLC said Monday that it has acquired a Tesco supermarket in southeastern England for £54.1 million ($73 million) in its first transaction since it formed a strategic joint venture with U.S. asset management firm Blue Owl.
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July 14, 2025
PR Adviser PPHC Pay $13M To Buy Texan Coms Consultancy
Advisory company Public Policy Holding Co. Inc. said Monday that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the business and assets of Texas consultancy Pine Cove Capital LLC in a cash-and-shares deal worth up to $13 million.
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July 14, 2025
Crédit Agricole Seeks ECB Approval To Buy 20% BPM Stake
French lender Crédit Agricole said Monday that it is seeking approval from the European Central Bank to increase its stake in Italian rival Banco BPM to more than 20%.
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July 14, 2025
Partners Group Leads €6.7B Buyout Of Germany's Techem
Swiss private equity company Partners Group said Monday that its infrastructure business will lead a consortium to buy Techem, a German digital energy metering business, in a €6.7 billion ($7.8 billion) deal.
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July 14, 2025
PHP Says £1.8B Assura Takeover Cleared By Irish Regulator
Primary Health Properties said on Monday that its planned £1.79 billion ($2.42 billion) takeover of rival NHS landlord Assura PLC has gained foreign direct investment clearance in Ireland, completing the necessary regulatory approval process for the acquisition to go ahead.
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July 11, 2025
Merck's $10B Pulmonary Power Play Is Among Its Top 5 Deals
When Merck agreed to purchase respiratory disease-focused Verona Pharma PLC for $10 billion, it became one of Merck's largest deals ever, and the pharmaceutical giant made clear that its bet on a potentially transformative pulmonary therapy was much more than a speculative pipeline acquisition.
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July 11, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Kirkland, Cassels
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Merck buys U.K. drugmaker Verona Pharma, CoreWeave acquires fellow data center company Core Scientific, Royal Gold acquires Sandstorm Gold and Horizon Copper, and Italian food company Ferrero buys WK Kellogg.
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July 11, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen HS2 hit with a defamation claim by two ex-employees who blew the whistle on alleged under-reporting of costs, Craig Wright and nChain face legal action brought by its former chief financial officer over a fraud scheme, and pro-footballer Axel Tuanzebe bring a clinical negligence claim against his former club Manchester United F.C. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
Expert Analysis
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What French Watchdog Ruling Means For M&A Landscape
Although ultimately dismissed due to lack of evidence, the French competition authority’s recent post-closing review of several nonreportable mergers is a landmark case that highlights the increased complexity of such transactions, and is further testament to the European competition authorities’ willingness to expand their toolkit to address below-threshold M&As, say lawyers at Cleary.
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Exploring The EU's Draft Standards On Crypto Authorization
The European Securities and Markets Authority’s recently published draft standards aim to promote fair competition and a safer environment for crypto providers and investors, detailing precisely the information to be provided to national authorities in charge of screening the acquisitions of a qualifying holding, says Mathieu de Korvin at Norton Rose.
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What The New Digital Markets Bill Will Mean For Companies
The recently passed Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will bring significant reform to U.K. merger control and antitrust rules for all businesses, but the introduction of a strategic market status regime and its reporting obligations means large tech organizations in particular need to think carefully about the forthcoming changes, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Insurance Ruling Stresses High Hurdle To Fix Policy Wording
In Project Angel v. Axis, the Court of Appeal recently refused to rewrite the exclusion clause of an insurance policy, reminding parties in the warranty and indemnity market to carefully word clauses, as there is a high threshold before courts will intervene to amend policies, say Joseph Moore and Laura McCann at Travers Smith.
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CMA Reports Signal Tighter Scrutiny Of AI Model Markets
The Competition and Markets Authority’s recent reports on artificial intelligence foundation models suggest that competition in AI is not working as it should, so large digital firms can expect the regulator to use its full toolbox as it continues to monitor and investigate the sector, say lawyers at Cooley.
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How Gov't Response Addresses Investment Act Concerns
The government’s recently published response to a call for evidence on the National Security and Investment Act is largely appropriate to stakeholder concerns raised and demonstrates in its five areas of focus that it is willing to respond to live issues, say lawyers at Watson Farley.
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Pharma Remains A Key Focus Of EU Antitrust Enforcement
The recently published European Commission report on pharmaceutical sector competition law illustrates that effective enforcement of EU rules remains a matter of high priority for EU and national authorities, say lawyers at Dechert.
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The Dangers Of Providing Misleading Info In A Merger Review
Although Kingspan's recent proposed acquisition of Trimo, brought before the European Commission, was abandoned following investigation for an alleged breach of EU Merger Regulation requirements, it has brought to light the importance of submitting accurate and complete information in merger reviews to avoid incurring a substantial fine, say lawyers at Steptoe.
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Cum-Ex Prosecutions Storm Shows No Sign Of Abating
The ongoing trial of Sanjay Shah in Denmark is a clear indicator that efforts remain focused on holding to account the alleged architects and beneficiaries of cum-ex trading, and with these prosecutions making their way across Europe, it is a more turbulent time now than ever, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
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EU Inquiry Offers First Insight Into Foreign Subsidy Law
The European Commission's first in-depth investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation into a public procurement process, and subsequent brief on regulatory trends, sheds light on the commission's approach to such cases, as well as jurisdictional, procedural and substantive issues under the regulation, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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Key Points From EC Economic Security Screening Initiatives
Lawyers at Herbert Smith analyze the European Commission's five recently announced initiatives aimed at de-risking the EU's trade and investment links with third countries, including the implementation of mandatory screening mechanisms and extending coverage to investments made by EU companies that are controlled subsidiaries of non-EU investors.
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Vodafone Decision Highlights Wide Scope Of UK's FDI Rules
The U.K. government’s recently imposed conditions required for its approval of Vodafone and Etisalat’s strategic relationship agreement under its National Security and Investment Act jurisdiction, illustrating the significance of the act as an important factor for transactions with a U.K. link, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.
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What Extension Of French FDI Control Means For Investors
The recently published French order on foreign investment control expands the regime's application to more sectors and at a lower threshold of share ownership, illustrating France's determination to maintain sovereignty over its supply chains in sensitive sectors, and adding new considerations for potential investors in these areas, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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What To Expect For Private Capital Investment Funds In 2024
As 2024 gets underway, market sentiment in the private fundraising sphere seems more optimistic, with a greater focus on deal sourcing and operational optimizations, and an increased emphasis on impact and sustainability strategies, say lawyers at Ropes & Gray.