In its latest annual Market Cleanliness report published yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that 38% of UK takeover targets in 2024 experienced an abnormal increase in their share price in the two days...more
In an M&A market characterized by buyer caution and narrowing liquidity pathways for sellers, flexible minority stakes transactions are proving a valuable option for dealmakers in the US and Europe - In an M&A market that has...more
6/25/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Markets ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Private Equity ,
Shareholders ,
Strategic Partnerships ,
Technology Sector ,
Venture Capital
While the direction of the UK economy remains uncertain, dealmaking is flourishing as the country races ahead of its European peers in the M&A market -
The UK economy currently stands at a crossroads. Critics of the new...more
We have gathered and examined data from AGM Notices published by FTSE 350 companies until April 2025. We have set out the approach companies have taken on a number of key aspects of their meetings, including the venues of...more
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
This briefing is the seventh in our series of briefings on corporate governance and is designed to provide a synopsis of topical corporate governance matters impacting companies in the United Kingdom. This briefing tracks...more
On 22 January 2024, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published its much-anticipated revisions to the UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code) which was followed on 29 January 2024 by revised guidance on the Code. In this...more
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
We have gathered and examined data from AGM Notices published by FTSE 350 companies since January 2024. We have set out the approach companies have taken on a number of key aspects of their meetings, including where the...more
One -
Latest data from the Investment Association has shown investors plunged nearly four times the amount of cash into responsible investment funds in 2020 than they did in 2019. Responsible investment funds saw net...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
This briefing is the second in our series of briefings on corporate governance and is designed to provide a synopsis of topical corporate governance matters impacting companies in the United Kingdom. This briefing tracks the...more
11/30/2020
/ BEIS ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SMCR ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On 11 November 2020, the FCA published a review of delayed disclosure of inside information (DDII) by issuers under MAR as part of its latest Primary Market Bulletin newsletter.
As part of this review the FCA analysed all...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
The mobile payments sector is on regulatory tenterhooks following the increase in the use of mobile wallets and the entry of new competitors, including tech companies, in the sector. The European Commission ("EC") just...more
10/31/2020
/ American Express ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
APIs ,
Big Tech ,
China ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Informational Studies ,
Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR) ,
Interchange Fees ,
Libor ,
Member State ,
Mobile Payments ,
Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) ,
United States
One
The Takeover Panel has announced today proposals to make substantial changes to the UK Takeover Code. These are the most significant changes to the Code since the September 2011 amendments in the wake of the...more
As companies look to plan their FY 2020 annual report and prepare for the 2021 AGM season, we have reflected on our experience in 2020. We summarise below key learnings and what we think will undoubtedly be on the agenda and...more
10/27/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Annual Reports ,
CIGA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Pensions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Remuneration ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK ,
UK Insolvency Act
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