Author
Daniel Black
Daniel Black
Hello,
The easyJet saga has landed. Castlelake and easyJet have reached agreement in principle on a £5bn take-private, according to CBS News.
It closes off months of rejected approaches and headlines about the US private credit lender trying to buy the airline “on the cheap”, and caps a busy week for UK inbound M&A across media, defence and biotech.
And in other news this week:
- Sky agreed to acquire ITV’s media and entertainment unit for up to £1.6bn, reshaping the UK broadcasting landscape
- Lockheed Martin agreed a US$3.45bn purchase of UK defence supplier Ultra Maritime
- Novartis agreed a deal worth up to US$1.5bn for UK biotech Myricx Bio to expand its oncology payload platform
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 UK’s largest supermarket group, Tesco, is exploring a move to find a buyer for its European business and focus on its core UK and Ireland operations. The sale would not be the first of its kind, and appears to be part of a broader divestment strategy: the company recently sold its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia for around £8bn
- Fattal Hotels Ltd is not proceeding with £22 per share bid for the London-listed PPHE Hotel Group after one of the sellers major shareholders, Euro Plaza Holdings, expressed opposition
- A series of Stonegate’s premium pubs are for sale, and Elliott Advisors have just joined the list of bidders. Other competitors includes Terra Firma Capital and the the assets are valued at £300m
- Next is in the early stages of preparing a takeover bid for luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols.
- DCC’s major shareholders, including Ninety One, Aviva Investors and Fidelity International, have opposed a £65.25-per-share cash offer, arguing that it undervalues the FTSE 100 energy group.
- Gymshark founder Ben Francis is in talks with General Atlantic to buy back part of the stake he sold in 2020, as he seeks to increase his control of the UK sportswear brand.
- ElevenLabs is exploring a secondary share sale that would allow employees to sell stock and could value the London-based AI startup at around $22bn.
Regulatory
- UK’s competition watchdog has launched an in-depth investigation into Virgin Media O2’s £2bn bid to take on BT in the broadband market. The review is set to delay a deal that would create an 8mn home fibre network, in a blow to efforts to stabilise the UK broadband market
- The CMA is taking a harder look at nexfibre’s £2bn move for Substantial, the group behind Netomnia, brsk and YouFibre. The parties asked for a fast-track review, but the deal still heads into Phase 2 as the watchdog tests what it could mean for UK full-fibre competition.
Job moves
- CFC is bringing in Adam Winslow for its next chapter. The specialist insurance group is making the former Direct Line boss its CEO as it scales globally and keeps strategic options, including a possible London listing, on the table.
- RBC is putting two familiar names in charge of its European push. Sian Hurrell and Robin Beer become co-CEOs of RBC Europe, with the bank pointing to Brewin Dolphin and its UK wealth platform as a bigger part of its growth plan.
- Michael Jary is moving from boardroom adviser to public-sector watchdog chair. The OC&C co-founder and former worldwide managing partner will take over as chair of the National Audit Office in January 2027, adding the role to a portfolio that already includes Barclays, Openreach and Kensington Mortgages.
- Markel is pulling its marine and transport lines closer together in London. Grant Smith will lead the new Marine Transportation business at Markel International, bringing shipping, logistics and related liability classes under one roof.
- Biopharma-focused private equity firm Jeito Capital has appointed Magdalena Jonikas as partner and Anastasiya Sybirna as principal
- Geldards appoints Laura Mackin as Partner. Laura is specialized in Wills and inheritance planning, estate administration and complex multi-generational family planning
- Deloitte has promoted two new partners and 11 directors across its Midlands practice as part of its annual round of senior appointments
- Levicept is bringing in a capital markets heavyweight before the next stretch for LEVI-04. Darlene Deptula-Hicks joins as CFO after helping F-star through a Nasdaq listing, a public raise and a sale.
- Diginex is adding a commercial lead for its next scale-up phase. Jan-Jaap Verhoeve joins as CCO to sharpen global sales, reseller channels and strategic partnerships for the London-headquartered ESG and compliance software business.
Fundraising
- Pragmatic Semiconductor is in talks to raise about £150m, in a funding round that could move the Cambridge chipmaker close to unicorn status.
- Balfour Beatty made a £10 million strategic investment in Pi Labs’ Fund IV, an early-stage venture capital fund and platform focused on technologies transforming the built environment
- UK’s biggest pension fund, Nest, is planning to allocate up to £1 billion to VC by 2030, initially commiting £200 million to Schroders Capital to support existing investments and provide fresh funding for late-stage companies
- QRIF II, Quinbrook’s renewables fund, raised GBP 587 million, exceeding its GBP 500 million target. Investments will focus on decarbonisation, improve security of energy supplies, and provide critical grid support across the UK and Ireland
- LondonMetric Property and Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust reached agreement in principle with Picton Property Income on the key financial terms of a non-binding indicative all-share offer. Under the proposed structure, Picton shareholders would receive new shares in both LondonMetric and Schroder REIT
- CVC has closed a bigger-than-planned mid-market fund for Europe. Catalyst III finished at about €3bn, almost double target, giving the firm more capital for founder-led and growth businesses below the flagship buyout end of the market.
