The pro-business agenda of the new US administration looked set to boost outbound M&A into Europe in 2025, but tariff announcements and geopolitical tumult mean that dealmakers are holding fire for now -
Following a year...more
Despite prevailing headwinds in wider M&A markets, take-private deal flow across EMEA sustained robust levels of activity as dealmakers jumped at opportunities to buy listed companies at attractive valuations -
EMEA...more
3/5/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Buyouts ,
Capital Markets ,
EMEA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Take-Private Transactions
Updated Principles of Remuneration -
On the 9 October 2024, the Investment Association (‘IA’), a trade body for UK investment managers, published the Principles of Remuneration (the Principles). IA members are...more
2/5/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Glass Lewis ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Remuneration ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK
We have gathered and examined data from AGM Notices published by FTSE 350 companies until November 2024. We have set out the approach companies have taken on a number of key aspects of their meetings, including the venues of...more
11/18/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
FTSE ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
On 24 April 2024, the Takeover Panel published a consultation paper, PCP 2024/1, which proposes to narrow the scope of the companies to which the Takeover Code (Code) applies. The changes would have the effect of removing UK...more
Bank M&A across Europe comes to a boil—the COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the confluence of conducive conditions for mega domestic mergers. Spain and the Balkans lead the charge, with Italy, Germany, France, Poland and the UK...more
2/1/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Asset Management ,
Banks ,
Capital Raising ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Sponsors ,
FinTech ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Wealth Management
Despite considerable volatility and uncertainty, 2020 has been an extraordinary year for the London Corporate team at White & Case, with a strong performance across the practice. We are pleased to have advised a large number...more
On 11 November 2020, the government announced the details of its proposals for national security-based review of investments in the UK, in the form of the National Security and Investment Bill ("NSIB").
Protectionism is a...more
Private equity-backed takeovers of listed companies in Western Europe have enjoyed several strong years, with deal value rising year on year from 2013 to reach a total of US$38.8 billion in 2019. Volume followed a similar...more
One-
The UK has championed an open and dynamic market economy, including foreign direct investment ("FDI") into the UK, ever since political theorists such as Adam Smith argued the benefits of free trade over mercantilism...more
We set out below a number of interesting English court decisions and market developments which have taken place and their impact on M&A transactions. This review looks at these developments and gives practical guidance on...more
9/20/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Company Law ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Good Faith ,
Indemnification Clauses ,
Joint Venture ,
Listed Company Manual ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Material Change Doctrine ,
Mergers ,
Motion for Sanctions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Risk Allocation ,
Scheme of Arrangement ,
UK
One -
SPACs (special purpose acquisition or "blank cheque" companies) have recently regained prominence in the US, with H1 2020 seeing record-breaking levels of activity, both in terms of value (Bill Ackman's $4bn...more
One -
Whilst we have seen a decline in new public activist campaigns and demands since the onset of the pandemic, there is much going on below the surface. Many activists have adopted a "wait and see" approach regarding...more
Financial Institutions M&A sector trends: Banks — H1 2020 and outlook for H2 2020.
Overview -
3 highlights of bank M&A:
- Strategic M&A: Surge, post-easing of lockdowns, as pent-up deal-making prowess is unleashed
-...more
Activism affects virtually everyone now—even those who may never have to deal with an activist -
If you’re still nursing doubts about whether activism has a broad effect on M&A, it may be time to put them to bed....more
HEADLINES
- In 2019, European take-private deals backed by private equity reached €34.5 billion over 31 deals
- This is 14 per cent higher than 2018 and more than five times the total deal value seen just five years...more
2/25/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Equity Markets ,
EU ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Leveraged Finance ,
Mergers ,
p2p ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
UK
Financial institutions M&A sector trends: banks — H2 2019 and outlook for 2020 -
Entry into the new decade brings promise—banks finally have the tools to shake off the remaining shackles of the global financial crisis and...more
Against a global backdrop that saw M&A slip 9% by both value and volume year on year, the financial services sector was one of a few outliers. M&A value in the industry climbed 14% in 2019, to a total of US$343.3 billion...more
2/19/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Merger Act ,
Banks ,
Charles Schwab ,
China ,
Domestic Dealmaking ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Germany ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Mergers ,
TD Ameritrade
We set out in the attached Newsletter a number of interesting English court decisions and market developments which have taken place in the second half of 2019 and their impact on M&A transactions. This review looks at these...more
1/24/2020
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Acquisitions ,
Administrative Hearings ,
Audit Reports ,
Authentication ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Buyers ,
Buyouts ,
CEOs ,
Company Law ,
Contract Formation ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Liability ,
Corporate Officers ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
E-Signatures ,
Email ,
Executive Authority ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
FSMA ,
Good Faith ,
Individual Accountability ,
Insider Information ,
Mergers ,
Mutual Mistake ,
Notice Requirements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Put and Call Options ,
Rectification ,
Scheme of Arrangement ,
Securities Litigation ,
Sellers ,
Share Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) ,
Shareholder Distributions ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholders ,
Takeovers ,
Tax Liability ,
UK
We set out in the attached Newsletter a number of interesting English court decisions and market developments which have taken place in the first half of 2019 and their impact on M&A transactions. This review looks at these...more
8/19/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Asset Management ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Warranty ,
Competition Act 1998 ,
Duty of Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Environmental Claims ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Mergers ,
Parent Corporation ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Subsidiaries ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Companies Acts ,
UK Insolvency Act ,
UK Supreme Court
The wait is over. Whispers of mega-deals have matured into agenda items for boards of many larger European banks.
Overview -
3 highlights of bank M&A:
- Bank consolidation: The numbers speak for themselves—100 regional and...more
7/3/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist Investors ,
Banks ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Debt Restructuring ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
Family Businesses ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Sponsors ,
FinTech ,
High Net-Worth ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Lenders ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Investment Funds ,
State Aid ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Venture Capital
M&A across Europe heats up. Banks resort to regional and domestic consolidation as they look to cement market share and complement existing product and service offerings....more
We set out in the attached Newsletter a number of interesting English court decisions and market developments which have taken place in the second half of 2018 and their impact on M&A transactions. This review looks at these...more
1/11/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
AIM ,
Appeals ,
Arms Length Transactions ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Censures ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Consideration ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Fines ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Majority Shareholders ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Misrepresentation ,
Non-Reliance Clauses ,
Parent Corporation ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Scheme of Arrangement ,
Shareholders' Agreements ,
Subsidiaries ,
UK ,
UK Companies Acts ,
Unfair Prejudice