Daniel Black
Hello,
In a sign of the burgeoning popularity of Formula One racing, Aston Martin is selling its minority stake in its F1 team for £110 million. The deal values the team at £2.4 billion, a sizeable increase from the £1 billion valuation it achieved in 2023.
In other news this week:
- Brookfield agreed a £2.4bn deal for Just Group
- Evercore bought Robey Warshaw for £146m
- Greencoat UK will sell its wind farm stakes for £181m
We’re taking a break over August, so we’ll be back with the next Teaser UK on September 5. Here’s wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable summer!
And as always, please connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how I can help with your next M&A deal.
Share your thoughts on AI for a chance to win $100
We’re surveying top dealmakers on how AI is used in M&A as part of a major research project.
Please complete this short survey and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win one of three $100 Amazon vouchers.
Deal Tracker
Our weekly roundup of all the confirmed M&A deals in the UK.
Industry news
- Pound heads for worst month since 2022 budget crisis
- UK stocks rise as Rolls-Royce drives earnings momentum
- Bank of England set to split again in face of inflation, job risks
The rumour mill
- Aston Martin stake sale is set to value F1 Team at £2.4bn
- Hammerson launches share placing to buy £319m mall stakes
- Brookfield agrees £2.4bn deal for UK insurer Just Group
- Anglo cuts dividend as units it’s selling weigh on profits
- Buyout groups explore sale of British wealth manager Evelyn
- Cinven leads bidding for French data services firm Artefact
- Greencoat UK to sell wind farm stakes for £181m
- Bridgepoint agrees to buy majority stake in German insurance broker HBC
- Corpay agrees $2.2bn deal to buy Alpha Group
- Apollo Global close to taking stake in Motor Fuel Group
- Why Evercore’s £146m Robey Warshaw deal could end up being a bargain
- Billionaire Zara founder buys stake in UK port group from Brookfield
- Close Brothers agrees to sell UK market maker Winterflood to Marex
- KNDS, Triton reach agreement after spat over Renk stake
- BTG agrees to buy HSBC’s Uruguay Unit in an international expansion
- Diageo said to Tap BofA, Goldman for East African Arm Review
- Nordic Capital, Permira say Bavarian offer is ‘full and fair’
- Apollo leads £600m private credit deal to back Bridgepoint’s Mydentist buyout
- Brightstar Capital Partners to buy Arden University stake
- Phoenix Invests in FutureMeds
- Third Point takes stakes in Rocket Cos., Informa Plc in Q2
Salaries and bonuses
- Boutique bank PJT hit the brakes on pay – at $860k
- Kind colleagues quadrupled banker’s bonus to $50k, yet he still complained
Job moves
- Brutal job cuts at New York fintech’s London office are raising eyebrows
- PJT Partners revenue hits record $407m, up 13% after hiring spree
- Citigroup hires UBS dealmaker Fremy to lead European transportation
- UBS funds business taps DWS for ETF hire
Market trends
Asset managers keep consolidating
European asset management M&A hit the third-highest year-to-date (YtD) results in a decade with 190 deals worth €9.6bn, according to Mergermarket. The industry is experiencing pressure on its margins with profits 20% below 2021 levels, despite assets under management (AUM) reaching a record €28tn in 2024.
The need for efficiencies and economies of scale are key drivers for M&A activity, with the proposed Generali-Natixis joint venture (€1.9tn in combined AUM) exemplifying this trend.
JVs are all the rage
Speaking of European JVs, Mergermarket reports that they’ve surged 8.5x by volume YtD with 22 deals worth €6bn. Trump’s mercurial approach to tariffs has apparently created conditions for European corporates to opt for JV’s instead of full mergers.
PE giants losing their lustre?
The top three European PE funds contributed just 26.7% of regional fundraising in H1 2025, down sharply from 39.3% in 2023 and 35.1% in 2024.
2025 has been notable for its dearth of mega-funds, with the largest close being TowerBrook Investors VI at €5.3bn in January. In fact, the top three funds combined – TowerBrook Investors VI, CVC Strategic Opportunities III (€4.6bn), and Oakley Capital Fund VI(€4.5bn) – raised just €14.6bn, still smaller than last year’s single largest fundraise: EQT X’s record €22bn close.
Topping the PE tables
And finally, congratulations to VIA Equity Fund for topping PitchBook’s 2024 Manager Performance Score League Tables for European PE with a rating of 83.1, ahead of CapVest Partners (79.3) and Down 2 Earth Capital (71.8).
Fundraising
- Qube is to merge two hedge funds into a pool worth over $20bn
- TalkTalk secures £100m funding injection from Ares
IPOs
- Nordic Bank leads Europe IPO arrangers as local listings boom
- British lender Shawbrook picks banks for London IPO
