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☆ INEOS Quattro to raise 750 mln euros from loans, pay dividend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Chemicals company INEOS Quattro is planning to raise 750 million euros ($794 million) from the sale of two loans, according to a lead manager memo seen by Reuters on Friday. The seven-year financing - which comprises a euro loan and a minimum $400 million loan - will fund a dividend payment and the rest will be used for general corporate purposes, the memo said. INEOS Quattro is owned by global chemical company INEOS, which is among the bidders for Manchester United. INEOS wants to fund an offer without external financing, but could consider bringing in a minority equity partner, Reuters reported earlier this week, citing a source. JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank are leading the new loan sale for INEOS Quattro, according to the memo.

☆ Cineworld shares dive on reports of no bidders for UK, U.S. assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Cineworld (CINE.L) slumped as much as 22% on Wednesday after media reports said the world's second-largest cinema operator had received 40 non-binding bids, but none for its UK and U.S. assets or nearing its $6 billion secured debt load. When requested by Reuters, Cineworld did not immediately confirm details of the update it provided to the court. The reports also said the company was proposing an April 10 deadline for final bids, with an auction, if necessary, to follow on April 17. A vote on restructuring has been set for May 21, with a court confirmation hearing tentatively set for May 30. Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Cineworld has shuttered 23 theatre sites since filing for bankruptcy protection and was planning more closures.

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Buyout financier Ares Management Corp (ARES.N) has been offering funds to support a takeover of Manchester United (MANU.N), three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. It is the latest U.S. asset manager to seek a financing role in the battle for the English soccer club. It was unclear whether Ares has been looking to finance bids for Manchester United through that fund, which has already invested in Spain's Atletico de Madrid soccer club and Inter Miami CF, or another vehicle. Last Friday, Manchester United received indicative offers from bidders including chemicals firm INEOS, led by long-time fan Jim Ratcliffe, and Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani. INEOS wants to fund an offer without external financing, but could consider bringing in a minority equity partner, one source said.

☆ Florida Great Displacement: Climate Change Forces Residents to Leave State
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Jake Bittle | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The Keys are also the first flock of canaries in the coal mine of climate change. The hurricane made undeniable what previous floods had only suggested: that climate change will someday make life in the archipelago impossible to sustain. The decision to leave, on the other hand, which once signified surrender, now looks more like acceptance of the inevitable. It's this messiness that is reflected in the word "displacement": the migratory shifts caused by climate change are as chaotic as the weather events that cause them. This is an excerpt adapted from THE GREAT DISPLACEMENT: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittle.

☆ Manchester United Begins Sifting Through Numerous Bids for Club
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Joshua Robinson | Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Manchester United has received two public offers and several more private proposals. Three months after announcing that they were open to selling one of the most prized assets in sports, the Glazer family received a set of preliminary bids for soccer giant Manchester United before a deadline on Friday evening. Though two were made public by the bidders, several more offers poured in for both partial stakes in the club and to acquire the team outright, according to a person familiar with the process. United itself hasn’t commented on the sale process since the initial deadline on Friday, and the valuations of the bids aren’t known. The multiple offers—including one from the chairman of a Qatar bank and the other from a British billionaire—could put the Glazers in a position to capitalize on a hot market that has recently pushed the valuation of top sports properties to new record highs.

☆ Vince McMahon reportedly wants at least $9 billion for potential sale of WWE
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ex-WWE CEO Vince McMahon reportedly wants at least $9 billion for the company, according to Bloomberg. He has been considering a sale since his return, and several bids reportedly have been submitted. Days after McMahon's return, WWE also announced that Stephanie McMahon was resigning as co-CEO, and Khan would serve as the lone CEO going forward. Last month, Khan said reports that a sale to the Saudi Arabian fund was complete in principle "totally false." McMahon's desired $9 billion is a high ask considering the company reported $1.29 billion in sales last year, and the $9 billion price tag is about 23 times the company's operating income, according to Bloomberg.

☆ U.S. Hedge Fund Elliott to offer financing for Manchester United takeover bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Peter Hall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S.-based hedge fund giant Elliott Investment Management is planning to offer financing for a bid to take over Manchester United Plc (MANU.N), sources close to the matter told Reuters. The fund has ruled itself out of a full takeover of the Premier League soccer club, the source added on Saturday. It is unclear at this stage which bid Elliott, who owned Serie A champions AC Milan until last year, will be involved in. Elliott and United both declined to comment when approached by Reuters. British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a life-long United fan, and his company INEOS lodged an offer for a "majority ownership" of the club on Saturday.

☆ Soccer’s new M&A binge will mostly benefit players
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Streisand Neto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Qatari consortium is set to make a $6 billion offer for Man Utd, home to stars including Marcus Rashford, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The Financial Times reported that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi is preparing a $3.8 billion swoop on Harry Kane’s Tottenham Hotspur. The Qataris’ reported Man Utd offer of $6 billion would value the New York-listed club at 8.6 times trailing revenue. Man Utd, whose financial advisers are U.S. investment bank Raine Group, has set an initial Feb. 17 deadline for bids. The Financial Times on Feb. 15 reported that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi was preparing a $3.8 billion offer for Tottenham Hotspur.

☆ Standard Chartered CEO says the bank has not engaged with prospective bidders
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailStandard Chartered CEO says the bank has not engaged with prospective biddersBill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered, speak to CNBC's Geoff Cutmore and Karen Tso following the global bank's earnings.

☆ StanChart’s takeover defences are getting stronger
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

This year, he reckons the bank will churn out a near-10% return, rising to more than 11% in 2024. But if Winters can convince investors his new targets are remotely plausible, he’ll have a stronger case for StanChart’s independence. A typical offer pitched 30% above the price before the latest takeover speculation would value StanChart at just three-quarters of forward tangible book value. StanChart’s stronger takeover defences may be a problem for its suitors. StanChart earned an 8% return on tangible equity (ROTE), excluding restructuring expenses and a writedown of goodwill on the bank’s balance sheet.

☆ Netflix exec reveals sports ambitions and what's next for live sports as golf series 'Full Swing' debuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Formula 1 racing saw a boost in TV viewership and fandom since Netflix began streaming docuseries "Drive to Survive." Amid a boom in sports docs, the streamer has tennis series "Break Point" and golf-centered "Full Swing." Netflix unscripted TV head Brandon Riegg spoke to Insider about the streamer's ambitions in live sports. "I wouldn't be surprised," Netflix VP of unscripted and docuseries Brandon Riegg told Insider ahead of the "Break Point" premiere. Also in the works are series on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the Six Nations rugby tournament.

☆ Hong Kong: National security warning now a part of land sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Hong Kong real estate is the most expensive in the world, but it wasn’t eye watering prices that took investors by surprise this week. Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly claimed the law has restored order and stability after the city’s 2019 anti-government, pro-democracy protests. Lee said the legal provision is “an obvious thing” for Hong Kong to add to safeguard national security. “Safeguarding national security is the shared responsibility of the entire Hong Kong society,” it said. Developers and investors bidding on land sales are not normally involved in activities that violate the national security law, she said.

☆ Rothschild holdouts have little chance of a bump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The dynasty behind famed investment bank Rothschild & Co (ROTH.PA) has sided with France’s business elite to buy out minority investors on the cheap. Any potential holdouts, though, have little hope. If they miss that threshold, the Rothschild family can keep whatever shares they get. That means they could just try the whole thing again next year – but starting from a higher ownership base. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Hong Kong adds security law clauses to land sales, property stocks drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Safeguarding national security is the shared responsibility by the entire Hong Kong society," the Development Bureau told Reuters, confirming the media report. Hong Kong Economic Times reported that Hong Kong authorities began to include applicable provisions of the National Security Law in the terms of land sales and short-term leases in the Asia financial hub. That sent Hong Kong property stocks index (.HSNP) down as much as 4.9% to the lowest in six weeks, compared to a 0.1% slip in the benchmark Hang Seng Index (.HSI). "It suggests that developers will be even more cautious in putting a bid in land sale," said Steven Leung, a sales director at UOB Kay Hian. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities say it is necessary to restore stability after anti-government protests in 2019.

☆ NBC Sports hopes to make an aggressive bid to bring back the NBA, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Discovery own the NBA rights until the end of the 2024-2025 season — more than two more years from now. Warner Bros. Warner Bros. NBC aired its last NBA games during the 2002 finals, when the Los Angeles Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets. Regular season NBA games across ABC, ESPN and TNT are averaging 1.6 million viewers this season.

☆ KKR can limit the pain of Elliott's telco blitz
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Even so, KKR and Vodafone look insulated from the worst sort of Teutonic deal pain. Still, KKR – which has joined forces with Global Infrastructure Partners and will co-control Vantage with Vodafone – has some protections. Reuters GraphicsFollow @pamela_msg on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSActivist investor Elliott Management disclosed a 5.6% stake in German phone masts company Vantage Towers on Jan. 31. The offer was recommended by Vantage Towers' management and supervisory board. Vantage Towers’ Chief Executive Vivek Badrinath is set to depart due to personal reasons.

☆ Robert Kraft says Jeff Bezos would be a 'great owner' of Washington Commanders as Dan Snyder reportedly awaits higher bids
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told Fox Business that Jeff Bezos would be a "great owner." Bezos repeatedly has been mentioned as a possible buyer of the Washington Commanders. However, Commanders owner Dan Snyder reportedly is waiting for bids to cross the $7 billion mark. Also complicating a potential Bezos bid are reports that Snyder is opposed to selling the team to the man who owns the Washington Post. People close to Bezos have denied New York Post reports claiming that he could potentially sell the Washington Post in order to buy the Commanders.

CTIL is attracting interest from pension funds including Britain's largest, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which has started preliminary work on a potential offer, two of the sources said. Telefonica, Liberty Global and USS declined to comment. A number of telecom towers deals in Europe have seen infrastructure investors compete for a slice of the continent’s largest towers networks partly because of their stable cash yield and long-term contracts. Vodafone (VOD.L) owns 50% of CTIL through its Frankfurt-based subsidiary Vantage Towers (VTWRn.DE), and is not planning to cut its holding, the people said. Telefonica and Liberty Global do not plan to ask Vantage Towers to bid for the holding for competitive reasons, according to the sources.

Shares in EnBW rose 5.5% after the news to end the day at their highest level in five weeks. The savings banks in Baden-Wuerttemberg, where EnBW is based, are part of the final bidding round, their president Peter Schneider said last week. KfW, EnBW and CIP declined to comment. EnBW Chief Financial Officer Thomas Kusterer in November said EnBW hoped to conclude the sales process in early 2023. ($1 = 0.9297 euros)Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Markus Wacket Editing by Miranda Murray and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Potential buyers are leveraging high-profile blowups like Frank and FTX to get better terms. Insiders detail how dealmaking is changing in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Paige Hagy | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

We don't want to look like JPMorgan,'" Jason Mikula, fintech analyst and writer behind Fintech Business Weekly, told Insider. How closely they adhere to it matters greatly in terms of if a deal is on the line," Mandelbaum told Insider. Investors pumped $132 billion globally into fintechs in 2021 and there were more than 900 fintech M&A exits, according to CB Insights. "It's now a buyer's market," Rob Brown, CEO of Lincoln International, a global investment-banking advisory firm, told Insider. One way companies might optimize the due-diligence process without cutting corners is by leaning on machines to help with the heavy lifting.

☆ A Mexico soccer icon entered politics. Prosecutors say narcos followed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Cuernavaca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Regional politicians, officials and military officers gathered in the Morelos state capital of Cuernavaca for breakfast in February 2022 to mark Mexico’s annual Army day. Mexican drug lords have a long tradition of buying off politicians in exchange for government protection of their illicit trade. Attempts to reach two of the alleged drug traffickers in the photo – Figueroa and Irving Solano Vera – were unsuccessful. Prosecutors in April asked the Morelos state congress to impeach Blanco so that he could be stripped of that shield. “He likes me very much because I’m not a politician,” Blanco told Reuters, in reference to the president.

☆ The dealmaking boom meant fast timelines and loose due diligence. But high-profile implosions like FTX and Frank mean would-be sellers can expect more scrutiny, insiders say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Paige Hagy | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinMEXICO CITY, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Citigroup <C.N> Chief Executive Jane Fraser is planning to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a government spokesperson told Reuters on Friday, amid the bank's attempt to finalize the sale of its local unit. A spokesperson for Lopez Obrador, Jesus Ramirez, said he did not have further details on the meeting, and said it was subject to final confirmation. The planned meeting comes as Citi aims to sell its Mexican unit, Banamex, as part of the company's planned withdrawal of its retail services in the country after 20 years, first announced last January. Two bidders, which sources told Reuters were Mexican conglomerate Grupo Mexico and Banca Mifel, are vying for Citi's local unit, Lopez Obrador said in December. Reporting by Kylie Madry and Isabel Woodford; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Cassandra Garrison and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adani’s buy now, pay later fundraise could sting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Jan 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is on a mission to win public acceptance for his eponymous group. The first stage of a $2.4 billion stock sale by his flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) entity has won over anchor investors, including the well-regarded Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. They are picking up roughly $734 million of stock in India’s largest follow-on issue of new shares by a private sector company. But those of other Adani group companies including Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) and some U.S. dollar bonds at Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sold off sharply. For Adani investors, buy now, pay later could take on an awkward new meaning.

☆ Gulf investors bid for India's Adani Enterprises' $2.5 bln FPO - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mubadala Investment Co PJSC and BNP Paribas SA (BNPP.PA) have also bid for shares, the report said, adding that the anchor book was oversubscribed about two times. Adani Enterprises last week set the floor price for India's largest FPO at 3,112 rupees per share with a price cap of 3,276 rupees apiece. While bidding for anchor investors began on Wednesday, bidding for retail investors will commence from Friday, with the offer closing for both sets of investors on Jan. 31. Spokespersons for Adani Enterprises, LIC and SBI Life did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Adani has said it will use 108.69 billion rupees from the FPO to fund green hydrogen projects, airports facilities and greenfield expressways.

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