And they’re off: Shire fires the starting gun on 2016’s takeover action with Baxalta deal January 12, 2016 Shire and Baxalta have agreed on their $32bn (£22bn) merger after six months of negotiations, sending Shire's share price plummeting 7.25 per cent yesterday. Despite impressive pre-market gains in New York, Baxalta shares also fell, down 1.55 per cent. Baxalta shareholders will receive $18.00 in cash and 0.1482 Shire shares per Baxalta share, amounting to [...]
Two companies, $20bn in combined revenue, 100 countries, and six things you need to know about Shire and Baxalta’s merger January 11, 2016 Shire spent six months trying to woo Baxalta's board, here's all you need to know about the long-awaited $32bn (£22bn) merger in six points: The deal The merger is the third largest pharma deal by a UK company, and the 16th biggest pharma deal ever, according to Dealogic's data. In the UK it is only beaten by the mega-mergers that created [...]
Flybe signs new franchise agreement with Blue Islands to operate all Jersey and Guernsey flights January 11, 2016 Flybe is to sign an agreement with Channel Island-based airline Blue Islands to take over the running of flights to and from Jersey and Guernsey. From May, Blue Islands flights will be in Flybe-branded aircraft, and all tickets will be booked through the Flybe website. Blue Islands will continue to employ its own crew, set prices, and [...]
European Commission: Belgium’s €700m dollar tax breaks were illegal January 11, 2016 The European Commission today ruled that Belgium's tax scheme, which handed out tax breaks worth around €700m (£522m) to companies, was illegal. Belgium's tax scheme favoured multinational companies by exempting them from paying tax on so-called excess profits. The Belgian tax authorities could lower the tax base by deducting excess profit for certain companies, on the basis that a [...]
Eat and London Luton airport owner Ardian Private Equity closes the largest ever European infrastructure fund worth €2.65bn January 11, 2016 Ardian, the French private equity house whose investments include restaurant chain Eat and London Luton airport, has closed its infrastructure fund with €2.65bn (£1.98bn) of investment. It is Ardian's fourth infrastructure fund, and is the largest such fund raised by a European firm, surpassing Ardian's third fund by 50 per cent. Some €900m came from new [...]
The rise of the talking head: why City experts are taking over our TV screens and it’s not just back-to-back suits January 11, 2016 By eight o’clock on a typical Monday morning Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank, will have been at her desk for nearly two hours preparing for her clients and keeping an eye on the markets. She will also have had to squeeze in a couple of live interviews, providing expert commentary for broadcasters from [...]
Total value of derivatives held FTSE 100 companies rises to £1.1trillion, almost two-thirds of UK GDP January 11, 2016 The value of derivatives held by FTSE 100 companies increased by 27 per cent in 2015 from £890bn to £1.1 trillion-worth of assets, according to data from Banc de Binary. A derivative is a financial product with a price determined by the value of another asset, such as stocks, currencies or commodities, which can be [...]
Shire and Baxalta’s £22bn merger on the verge of completion January 10, 2016 On Monday 11 January, the deal was announced. Read more here: Shire and Baxalta agree $32bn merger It will be the first mega-deal of 2016, Shire and Baxlata are on the verge of completing their $32.5bn (£22bn) merger. After a five month wait, and the lawyers working over Christmas hammering out the details, the deal could be [...]
Peer to peer mortgage lender LendInvest hits £500m mark January 8, 2016 LendInvest, the peer-to-peer mortgage provider, has reached a new milestone: it has lent more than £500m in short-to-medium term mortgages. In the first week of 2016, it processed a £5m loan in London, taking the total lent to £501m. The site was the first crowdfunding platform for residential and commercial mortgages and since launching in May [...]
Stirling Square private equity closes third funding round at €600m as private equity funds reach record highs January 7, 2016 Private equity firm Stirling Square Capital Partners, whose portfolio includes the UK’s National Fostering Agency, has closed its third fund after raising €600m (£447m). Stirling Square’s second fund in 2010 raised €375m, and 60 per cent of the third fund’s investors were involved in the last fund. The firm was founded in 2002, and specialises [...]
