By: William Turvill

I write about M&A, deals, IPOs, private equity, asset management, media and a few other areas for City A.M. I also write news features and am always interested in interviewing and profiling high-profile business figures. I previously worked for Press Gazette and Mail Online.

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Germany emerges as main concern for London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse as UK government appears unopposed to merger

February 21, 2017

German opposition to the London Stock Exchange’s tie-up with Deutsche Boerse is fast emerging as the main area of concern for the companies, given the UK government and European Commission are seemingly on board. Deutsche Boerse’s chief executive, Carsten Kengeter, is to host local German politicians at an exclusive venue in the state of Hesse [...]
Private equity houses battle it out for £500m UK IT services firm Claranet

February 21, 2017

Private equity houses Blackstone and Inflexion are battling it out for a stake in a £500m-valued British IT services company, City A.M. has learned. US-based private equity firm Abry Partners is in the process of selling Claranet, which it invested in in 2012. Read more: Private equity giant buys majority stake in London cloud tech company [...]
UK politicians to have their say on London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse deal

February 20, 2017

British MPs are set to crank up the pressure on the London Stock Exchange over its merger with Deutsche Boerse tomorrow. Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash has secured a parliamentary debate for tomorrow discussing the future of the London Stock Exchange and exploring whether the deal could be blocked. Read more: Deutsche Boerse boss attempts [...]
Asset managers await City watchdog’s final industry report after closing comments on interim recommendations

February 20, 2017

The City watchdog today closed the consultation on its interim asset management market study report and will release its final recommendations in the second quarter of this year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its interim report in November, criticising weak price competition, transparency issues, conflicts of interests and sustained profitability of asset management companies. Read [...]
Kraft Heinz’s withdrawn Unilever bid ranks as the world’s third largest collapsed M&A deal

February 20, 2017

Kraft Heinz’s scrapped $140bn (£113bn) bid for Unilever marks the third biggest M&A collapse in history, according to Thomson Reuters figures. US food giant Kraft shocked the financial world on Sunday night, withdrawing the bid just two days after details of the deal leaked. Read more: Unilever share price plunges after deal talks with Kraft [...]
Unilever share price drops after deal talks with Kraft Heinz fall apart

February 20, 2017

Shares in Unilever finished more than seven per cent lower today after talks around a potential deal with Kraft Heinz were called off over the weekend. The proposed takeover was revealed on Friday, sending FTSE 100-listed Unilever's share price up 15 per cent, and Kraft's up by 4.3 per cent in pre-market trading in New York. [...]
Vehicle rental company backed by Bridgepoint to announce takeover of Coca-Cola truck provider

February 20, 2017

A northern private equity-backed vehicle rental company is set to announce the takeover of a local rival that provides trucks to clients including Coca-Cola, City A.M. can reveal. Leeds-based Zenith, which private equity house Bridgepoint bought from HgCapital for £750m last month, has agreed a deal for CVL, which is also based in Leeds. Read more: Private equity [...]
Activist investor takes swipe at Johnston Press chief executive after building up 21 per cent stake

February 17, 2017

The activist investor building up a stake in Johnston Press has taken a first public swipe at the newspaper group’s chief executive since becoming its biggest shareholder. Richard Bernstein, who leads the Crystal Amber fund, has told City A.M. he lacks “confidence” in Johnston Press boss Ashley Highfield to lead the company out of trouble. [...]
Industry calls for corporate governance clampdown for private firms to avoid BHS-style scandals

February 17, 2017

Business groups are urging the government to strengthen corporate governance rules for privately-run firms, or risk a repeat of high-profile scandals like last year's collapse of BHS. The UK's private companies are currently not held to the same set of standards as the country's listed companies. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is [...]
99 problems? Not for this M&A bank, which recently advised on Jay Z deal

February 16, 2017

An investment bank which recently advised on a Jay Z deal has reported record revenues for 2016. GCA has reported a turnover of £148m and earnings before interest and taxation of £27m for the year to 31 December. Read more: Boutique investment bank Zeus triumphs in biggest IPO of 2017 so far The results are the first [...]

HSBC: City market’s top firm turns to Asia and Middle East

Premiership run-in: Saints and Bath will impact top four

Here We Are, National Theatre, review: Stephen Sondheim musical is more Severance than sing-a-long

By: William Turvill

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