Latest news with #Takeover
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Flutter secures 100% ownership of FanDuel in deal worth £1.3bn
Betting Takeover Flutter takes full control of FanDuel in £1.3bn deal, strengthening its US market position. THE owner of Paddy Power, Flutter Entertainment, has taken full ownership of US betting and gaming giant FanDuel, in a deal worth £1.3billion. The London-listed firm said it acquired the remaining 5% stake in FanDuel from US casino operator Boyd Gaming, giving it 100% control of the business. 1 Flutter first invested in FanDuel in 2018, as US states began to relax restrictions on sports betting. Since then, FanDuel has grown to become one of the dominant players in the American betting market. The transaction values FanDuel at approximately £22.9bn. Flutter also confirmed that the agreement includes an extension of FanDuel's strategic partnership with Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming. Peter Jackson, chief executive of Flutter, said: 'Our acquisition of FanDuel in 2018 is one of the most transformational events in our group's history, with its natural competitive advantages combined with access to Flutter Edge capabilities driving impressive growth to become the well-established and clear leader in US online sports betting and iGaming. 'I am really pleased to drive future value for our shareholders by increasing our ownership of FanDuel to 100%. 'Boyd have been fantastic partners for FanDuel, and we are delighted to be extending our important strategic partnership through to 2038.' Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
Reuters
14-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US bank M&A hopes revive under Trump regulators
NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - Takeover speculation in Northern Trust (NTRS.O), opens new tab has revived industry hopes of deals among large U.S. and regional banks, propelling exploratory conversations that could lead to consolidation, according to financial executives and analysts. Talk of potential mergers and acquisitions among Wall Street banks and large regional lenders has increased in recent weeks in a major shift under the Trump administration after regulators under the Biden administration opposed or blocked big deals, according to three senior financial executives who declined to name specific talks or be identified, citing confidential discussions. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve proposed changes to how it evaluates large banks, making it easier for firms to maintain a "well managed" rating by requiring deficiencies across multiple categories before being downgraded. The move could be a boon to bigger bank dealmaking, as firms not considered "well managed" are barred from any acquisitions. "What we've seen from a regulatory standpoint is a lot more clarity and ... a return to a more permissive environment," particularly for mergers, said James Stevens, a law partner who advises financial institutions at Troutman Pepper Locke. Regulators' moves to streamline deal approvals "certainly opened the doors more towards those bigger banks talking about getting together," he said. The sources said that bank executives in recent weeks have become newly emboldened to consider ambitious plans to buy business units, or even entire companies. That increased interest came after BNY (BK.N), opens new tab approached Northern Trust (NTRS.O), opens new tab to express interest in a merger, the Wall Street Journal reported last month, although the target has said it wants to remain independent. Meanwhile regulators approved Capital One's (COF.N), opens new tab $35.3 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services in April. BNY will report earnings on Tuesday alongside JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The companies will likely be quizzed about their appetite for M&A during analyst calls. BNY and Northern Trust declined to comment. Dealmakers expect bank M&A activity to climb in the second half of the year. Activity has been broadly flat this year, with 57 deals struck in the first five months of 2025, compared with 56 a year earlier, and was concentrated mostly among smaller lenders, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Major banks seeking selective, or bolt-on acquisitions that add operations such as wealth management, fintech or crypto, will find it easier to get approval from regulators, one of the executives said. But larger mergers involving entire banks that serve similar geographies are more likely to face government scrutiny, including from antitrust authorities, the executive said. Regional lenders are more likely to get the green light for transactions, said Tom Michaud, CEO of investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "There is a clear case for gaining scale, and people are realizing this administration gives them the best chance of getting a large deal approved," Michaud said. "So it's better to do it sooner than later," he said, expecting regional lenders to strike deals more quickly than banking giants. The other three industry executives concurred that deals by so-called super regional banks were most feasible. They cited PNC Financial Services (PNC.N), opens new tab, U.S. Bancorp (USB.N), opens new tab and Truist Financial (TFC.N), opens new tab as potential participants. Truist and U.S. Bancorp declined to comment. PNC CEO Bill Demchak said in June that he expected consolidation in retail banking to boost industry profits. Meanwhile, Gunjan Kedia, who became U.S. Bancorp CEO this year, said in February that it was focused on organic growth and ruled out M&A "for now." For the six biggest U.S. lenders deemed by regulators as global systemically important banks, or GSIBs, there are bigger hurdles. JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab and Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab, the first and second-largest lenders in the U.S., each hold more than 10% of the nation's deposits and are capped from buying companies that store them. Still, JPMorgan purchased several fintech firms and BofA bought loan portfolios in recent years. Wells Fargo (WFC.N), opens new tab has only recently got out from under key regulatory punishments, while Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab is still under regulators' orders to fix widespread deficiencies in risk management. That leaves Morgan Stanley (MS.N), opens new tab and Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab as the largest lenders that could pursue the most traditional M&A deals, the three industry executives said. All the six large banks declined comment. The Federal Reserve's new Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman, is expected to facilitate deals because of her support for lighter regulation, the three industry executives said. Regulators are generally going to be open to large institutions expanding, but the approval process will remain extensive, said Katie Cox, a consultant CoxFedLaw who previously served as an M&A expert at the Fed. Participants need to show they meet financial and compliance ratings and hold public consultations, Cox said. The process takes at least a year and could probably be sped up to nine months, she added. Regulators would also weigh how combining banks would affect financial stability, and "that's going to be the problem for the G-SIBs -- if the acquisition of any target is going to exacerbate their current financial stability position in the U.S. markets," she said. "And then there's the competition and antitrust rules." Bankers point to a 2023 example as a cautionary tale of the Biden era's skepticism toward deals. After more than a year of waiting for regulatory approvals, Toronto-Dominion Bank ( opens new tab called off its $13.4 billion takeover of First Horizon (FHN.N), opens new tab, triggering a near 40% fall in the latter bank's shares. Industry executives were still watching BNY, which also has GSIB status, to see whether it will continue to pursue Northern Trust or set its sights elsewhere. The approach is being seen as a test case for the administration's openness to GSIB deals, which could reshape the industry because they involve the biggest and most complex institutions, the three executives said.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-US bank M&A hopes revive under Trump regulators
By Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Takeover speculation in Northern Trust has revived industry hopes of deals among large U.S. and regional banks, propelling exploratory conversations that could lead to consolidation, according to financial executives and analysts. Talk of potential mergers and acquisitions among Wall Street banks and large regional lenders has increased in recent weeks in a major shift under the Trump administration after regulators under the Biden administration opposed or blocked big deals, according to three senior financial executives who declined to name specific talks or be identified, citing confidential discussions. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve proposed changes to how it evaluates large banks, making it easier for firms to maintain a "well managed" rating by requiring deficiencies across multiple categories before being downgraded. The move could be a boon to bigger bank dealmaking, as firms not considered "well managed" are barred from any acquisitions. "What we've seen from a regulatory standpoint is a lot more clarity and ... a return to a more permissive environment," particularly for mergers, said James Stevens, a law partner who advises financial institutions at Troutman Pepper Locke. Regulators' moves to streamline deal approvals "certainly opened the doors more towards those bigger banks talking about getting together," he said. The sources said that bank executives in recent weeks have become newly emboldened to consider ambitious plans to buy business units, or even entire companies. That increased interest came after BNY approached Northern Trust to express interest in a merger, the Wall Street Journal reported last month, although the target has said it wants to remain independent. Meanwhile regulators approved Capital One's $35.3 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services in April. BNY will report earnings on Tuesday alongside JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The companies will likely be quizzed about their appetite for M&A during analyst calls. BNY and Northern Trust declined to comment. M&A CLIMBING Dealmakers expect bank M&A activity to climb in the second half of the year. Activity has been broadly flat this year, with 57 deals struck in the first five months of 2025, compared with 56 a year earlier, and was concentrated mostly among smaller lenders, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Major banks seeking selective, or bolt-on acquisitions that add operations such as wealth management, fintech or crypto, will find it easier to get approval from regulators, one of the executives said. But larger mergers involving entire banks that serve similar geographies are more likely to face government scrutiny, including from antitrust authorities, the executive said. Regional lenders are more likely to get the green light for transactions, said Tom Michaud, CEO of investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "There is a clear case for gaining scale, and people are realizing this administration gives them the best chance of getting a large deal approved," Michaud said. "So it's better to do it sooner than later," he said, expecting regional lenders to strike deals more quickly than banking giants. The other three industry executives concurred that deals by so-called super regional banks were most feasible. They cited PNC Financial Services, U.S. Bancorp and Truist Financial as potential participants. Truist and U.S. Bancorp declined to comment. PNC CEO Bill Demchak said in June that he expected consolidation in retail banking to boost industry profits. Meanwhile, Gunjan Kedia, who became U.S. Bancorp CEO this year, said in February that it was focused on organic growth and ruled out M&A "for now." For the six biggest U.S. lenders deemed by regulators as global systemically important banks, or GSIBs, there are bigger hurdles. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, the first and second-largest lenders in the U.S., each hold more than 10% of the nation's deposits and are capped from buying companies that store them. Still, JPMorgan purchased several fintech firms and BofA bought loan portfolios in recent years. Wells Fargo has only recently got out from under key regulatory punishments, while Citigroup is still under regulators' orders to fix widespread deficiencies in risk management. That leaves Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as the largest lenders that could pursue the most traditional M&A deals, the three industry executives said. All the six large banks declined comment. The Federal Reserve's new Vice Chair for Supervision, Michelle Bowman, is expected to facilitate deals because of her support for lighter regulation, the three industry executives said. Regulators are generally going to be open to large institutions expanding, but the approval process will remain extensive, said Katie Cox, a consultant CoxFedLaw who previously served as an M&A expert at the Fed. Participants need to show they meet financial and compliance ratings and hold public consultations, Cox said. The process takes at least a year and could probably be sped up to nine months, she added. Regulators would also weigh how combining banks would affect financial stability, and "that's going to be the problem for the G-SIBs -- if the acquisition of any target is going to exacerbate their current financial stability position in the U.S. markets," she said. "And then there's the competition and antitrust rules." Bankers point to a 2023 example as a cautionary tale of the Biden era's skepticism toward deals. After more than a year of waiting for regulatory approvals, Toronto-Dominion Bank called off its $13.4 billion takeover of First Horizon , triggering a near 40% fall in the latter bank's shares. Industry executives were still watching BNY, which also has GSIB status, to see whether it will continue to pursue Northern Trust or set its sights elsewhere. The approach is being seen as a test case for the administration's openness to GSIB deals, which could reshape the industry because they involve the biggest and most complex institutions, the three executives said. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Morecambe say takeover given clearance by EFL
Morecambe have said a takeover by Panjab Warriors has been given clearance to continue by the English Football club have been up for sale since 2022 with a protracted takeover overshadowing their previous three Shrimps were relegated from the EFL to the National League last term having finished bottom of League Two, amid financial issues challenging the club off the field."This is more than a business venture; it's a commitment to the fans, the town, and the future of Morecambe FC," said Gurpreet Singh,, external head of communications for Panjab Warriors."Our aim is to build upon the club's rich heritage, ensuring stability and fostering unity across all parts of the community."Panjab Warriors would like to extend their thanks to the club and its Board of Directors for their co-operation in obtaining EFL approval, and also to the EFL for their patience and support in getting to this stage". Morecambe's board previously said that "positive progress" had been made towards selling the club in an update given in April after their relegation was will play National League football for the first time since 2007 after a season to forget, which included having to scramble a side together last summer after a transfer embargo was lifted, while transfers were blocked mid-season until funds to see out the season were spent virtually the whole 2024-25 season in the bottom two and four successive defeats at the tail end of the campaign confirmed a second relegation in three after their relegation, boss Derek Adams said the club still did not have a plan for the coming 2025-26 season as their ownership struggles continued."In the interests of transparency and until final due diligence and contracts are finalised, we are not in a position to say anything further at this stage," Gurpreet added."However, once we are in this position we are looking forward to meeting with supporters and media to update via the appropriate channels."
The Independent
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
US consortium completes Rangers takeover with promise to take club back to the ‘top'
A US consortium, led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, has completed its Takeover of rangers, pledging to restore the club to its peak. The new leadership now owns 51% of rangers after purchasing shares and has committed to investing £20m, primarily in players. Healthcare executive Andrew Cavenagh will become chairman, and Paraag Marathe, chairman of Leeds and president of 49ers Enterprises, will be vice-chairman. The Scottish Football Association approved the deal after rangers addressed dual ownership concerns, as 49ers Enterprises holds a majority stake in Leeds. rangers are set to intensify their search for a new manager, with Davide Ancelotti, the outgoing Real Madrid assistant manager, being a leading candidate.
