LafargeHolcim buys $3.4bn Firestone Building Products
Switzerland’s LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest cement maker, has agreed a $3.4 billion deal to buy US commercial roofing giant Firestone Building Products from Japan’s Bridgestone…
European M&A up 5.6% to $847bn – Mergermarket
Mergermarket’s global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) roundup for 2020 has revealed that $847.2 billion was spent on European assets in 2020 across 6,658 deals, representing…
Ireland sells €5.5bn debt; demand drives yield negative
Ireland’s debt agency said it raised almost a third of its 2021 fundraising target on Tuesday by selling €5.5 billion of 10-year bonds at a…
London loses 90% of EU share trading on first day
The three biggest trading venues in London that handle European shares saw almost all of this business move into the European Union on Monday, the…
Italy’s Angelini Pharma buys $960m Swiss-based Arvelle
Italy’s Angelini Pharma said on Monday it will buy Switzerland-based Arvelle Therapeutics in a cash transaction that values the biopharmaceutical company at up to $960…
EU and China agree major investment deal
The EU and China on Wednesday concluded in principle their negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). The EU said China has committed to…
EU Council adopts Brexit deal pending parliament OK
The Council of the European Union said on Tuesday it has adopted, by written procedure, the decision on the signing of the EU-UK Trade and…
Delivery Hero to sell Yogiyo to seal $4bn Woowa deal
Germany’s Delivery Hero said it has agreed to sell South Korean food delivery app Yogiyo as part of the conditions for regulatory approval of its…
EU approves $38bn Fiat Chrysler-PSA merger
The European Commission said it has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed $38 billion merger between the automotive companies Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V….
EU investigates $30bn Aon-Willis Towers deal
The European Commission said it has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Willis Towers Watson by Aon, under the EU Merger…
AstraZeneca agrees to buy Alexion for $39bn
Cambridge-based AstraZeneca said on Saturday it has agreed to buy US drug company Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion in stock and cash in its largest…
Fund managers with $9tn assets set net zero goal
Asset management firms representing over $9 trillion of assets under management (AUM) have announced the launch of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. The global…
Highland Europe raises €700m for fourth fund
Venture capital group Highland Europe announced it has raised €700 million for its fourth fund, its largest yet, “to double-down on its strategy of backing…
Klarna names Michael Moritz as its new chairman
Klarna, the Swedish “buy now and pay later” payments firm, announced the appointment of veteran Silicon Valley venture capitalist Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia…
S&P Global to pay $44bn in stock to acquire IHS Markit
S&P Global Inc has agreed to pay $44 billion in stock to acquire IHS Markit Ltd in the biggest deal of 2020. The deal accelerates…
Spanish banks BBVA and Sabadell call off merger talks
Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and its smaller rival Banco Sabadell have ended merger talks after they failed to agree on price. The move…
Bertelsmann buys Simon & Schuster for $2.2bn
German media giant Bertelsmann said it is further expanding its global content businesses with the acquisition of publishing house Simon & Schuster in the US….
Germany’s DAX expands to 40 firms, toughens criteria
Deutsche Börse AG has announced that Germany’s blue-chip DAX shares index is to expand from 30 to 40 companies from September 2021 with tougher membership criteria….
Global debt could soar to $360 trillion by 2030 – IIF
Global debt could exceed $360 trillion by 2030 — over $85 trillion higher than current levels — according to the latest Global Debt Monitor from…
Germany’s RWE sells £648m stake in UK wind farm
Greencoat UK Wind plc (UKW) said on Monday it agreed to acquire a 49% stake in the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm from German utility…
Thyssenkrupp cuts another 7,400 jobs amid crisis
German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp has announced plans to cut another 7,400 jobs “to address long-term market developments and the effects of coronavirus.” In May 2019 the…
Norwegian Air seeks bankruptcy protection in Ireland
Norwegian Air said on Wednesday it has asked an Irish court to oversee a restructuring of its debt as it seeks to stave off collapse…
Deutsche Börse buys 80% of proxy firm ISS for $1.8bn
German stock exchange operator Deutsche Börse AG said it agreed to acquire an 80% stake in corporate governance firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) for about…
Spanish banks BBVA, Sabadell in merger talks
Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and its smaller rival Banco Sabadell said on Monday they are in merger talks to potentially create Spain’s second-biggest…
EU charges Amazon with ‘distorting competition’
By Mark McSherry The European Union on Tuesday charged Amazon with breaching EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in online retail markets. The EU accused…
EU council, parliament agree €1.8 trillion budget deal
The European Commission on Tuesday welcomed the agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the 2021-2027 EU budget and recovery…
EU imposes $4bn tariffs on US goods in Boeing row
The European Union said on Monday it will “regrettably” impose tariffs on imports of $4 billion in US goods from Tuesday, while hoping that President-elect…
Assets of European ESG funds surge to €880bn
The European sustainable fund market reached a new milestone in the third quarter of 2020 — reaching €880 billion of assets under management, according to…
Iberdrola plans to invest €75bn in renewable energy
Basque wind energy giant Iberdrola has revealed that it plans to invest €75 billion in its renewable energy production, grids and retail operations by 2025…
Ireland leads European ETF fund market with €552bn
Ireland is the European ETF (exchange-traded funds) domicile with the highest assets under management at €552.5 billion, followed by Luxembourg with €203.6 billion, according to…
European fund industry assets slip to €12 trillion
Assets under management in the European fund industry decreased from €12.3 trillion on December 31, 2019, to €12.0 trillion on September 30, 2020, according to…
UBS targets fintech, start-ups with $200m investment
UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, said it has launched UBS Next, a $200 million portfolio that targets investments in fintech and the “broader tech…
Bayer buys AskBio for up to $4bn in gene therapy push
German chemicals giant Bayer AG said on Monday it agreed to acquire US biotech company Asklepios BioPharmaceutical Inc. (AskBio) for as much as $4 billion in…
Spain’s Iberdrola to buy PNM of New Mexico for $4.3bn
Bilbao-based renewable energy giant Iberdrola said on Wednesday its US business Avangrid Inc. agreed to agreed to buy PNM Resources Inc. of New Mexico for…
Record demand for EU bonds; €233bn bids for €17bn
By Mark McSherry There was record demand on Tuesday for the European Union’s first coronavirus-related bonds. The sale of €17 billion of 10-year and 20-year…
EU moves against Cyprus, Malta ‘golden passports’
The European Commission said on Tuesday it is launching “infringement procedures” against Cyprus and Malta by issuing “letters of formal notice” regarding their investor citizenship…
Finland’s Nokia to build first cellular network on Moon
Finland’s Nokia said it has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon. “Nokia Bell Labs’ pioneering innovations will be…
EIB, Alba in €1bn financing for Italy’s smaller firms
€1 billion in new financial resources will be made available to Italy’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps thanks to an agreement between the European…
UK fund SDCL buys Sweden’s Värtan Gas for £100m
UK-listed SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc (SEEIT) said it agreed to acquire Värtan Gas Stockholm AB (VGSAB) in a deal that involves an equity…
Gupta’s Liberty in bid for Thyssenkrupp steel unit
Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel Group, part of the UK-based GFG Alliance, said on Friday it has made a non-binding indicative offer (NBIO) to acquire the steel…