Author
Daniel Black
Daniel Black
NatWest completed its £2.7bn acquisition of Evelyn Partners this week, taking its combined UK wealth AUMA to around £127bn.
It caps a busy closing week for UK dealmakers: Bridgepoint agreed a $1.4bn purchase of Kayne Anderson Real Estate, H.B. Fuller formalised its £659m recommended bid for medtech AMS, and BT agreed a 50:50 international connectivity JV with Verizon.
And in other news:
- Getty Images called off its $3.7bn merger with Shutterstock after the CMA demanded the sale of Shutterstock’s editorial business as a condition of approval
- Atom Bank’s sale is reportedly close to collapse, with bids from Pollen Street, Yorkshire Building Society and Leeds Building Society all coming in below the £600m asking price
- EasyJet rejected a fourth Castlelake takeover approach at £4.9bn, accusing the private credit lender of trying to buy the airline “on the cheap”
Thanks for reading, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how I can help with your next M&A deal.
Deal Tracker
Our weekly roundup of all the confirmed M&A deals in the UK.
Rumour mill
- The sale of Atom Bank, known for its four-day week, is reportedly close to collapse after failing to attract enough interest. According to the FT, bids from private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, Yorkshire Building Society and Leeds Building Society came in below the £600m asking price
- EasyJet rejected a fourth bid, worth £4.9bn, from Castlelake after accusing it of trying to buy the company “on the cheap”. Still, the intention to sell appears to remain, with the company asking takeover regulators to extend the previous deadline for Castlelake to make an offer or walk away
- Unilever is exploring a bid for Thorne, the supplements maker taken private in 2023 in a $680mn deal. Sources say the business could now be valued at up to $4bn
- Wayve hands London private market ‘major boost’ with $85m share sale
- BT unloads loss-making ‘International’ unit in Verizon tie-up
- Mega-deals fuel record M&A as boards dream big on takeovers
- Standard Chartered M&A boss looks to ‘double down’ after hiring spree
- Hagerty signs $43M deal to acquire UK’s Bennetts
Regulatory
- The UK competition watchdog said it will fast-track its review of Nexfibre’s proposed £2bn takeover of rival Substantial Group to decide whether a deeper investigation is needed. The deal has drawn concerns from competitors over potential competition issues
- Virgin Media O2’s £2bn push to challenge BT faces a competition investigation
- The UK government has blocked the acquisition of TTG Global, saying the prohibition is necessary and proportionate to prevent risks to national security
- Britain said it may intervene in Paramount Skydance Corp’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, potentially holding up the $110bn deal after the US and China cleared it
- Getty Images has called off its planned merger with Shutterstock after the UK competition regulator required the sale of Shutterstock’s editorial business as a condition for approval. The deal, first announced in January 2025, would have created a $3.7bn stock-image powerhouse geared for the AI era
Job moves
- ADVFN appoints Jason Paltrowitz as non-executive director
- Balfour Beatty appoints Murray to lead major UK projects
- Westgarth Wines appoints Steve Weids as its new director of sales
- Gelion appoints Matthew Wood as chief executive
- IGEL appoints James Millington as field CTO for healthcare in EMEA
- Bango appoints a new non-executive director and audit chair
- Law firm Shoosmiths appoints Charlotte Ward as a partner in its real estate division
- JPMorgan hires BNP Paribas dealmaker Holloway in financial sponsors push
Fundraising
- GCC sovereign AI startup 1001 has secured $30m in a Series A round
- Rugby-based vehicle repair specialist Revive! has secured a £16.3m majority investment from private equity firm Mobeus to support the next phase of its national expansion
- E-commerce group Huddled is raising £1.24m through a subscription of new shares, led by founder and executive chairman Martin Higginson, who is subscribing for £175,000 worth of new shares
- Osney Capital has closed its debut fund at £60m, hitting its hard cap after an oversubscribed raise against an initial £50m target. The fund intends to back pre-seed and seed-stage cybersecurity startups, writing cheques from £250,000 to £2.5m across a target portfolio of 30 companies
- GCP Infrastructure completes £40m solar debt financing and gives update on disposals
- 1001, a GCC- and London-based AI startup, has raised a $30m Series A led by Lux Capital, with participation from Sanabil Investments, Hanabi, 9Yards, General Catalyst, CIV and Chris Ré, alongside regional and global angel investors
- The British Business Bank is committing up to £90m to support a new generation of UK venture capital fund managers, marking the first investments under the Microfunds segment of its £400m Investor Pathways Capital initiative
- Adtech firm raises £1.5m to scale TV-targeting technology
