Following a reported significant loss last year, the Co-op Bank has announced its bid for sale, inviting offers to buy all of its shares.
The bank’s so far struggle has bene put down to low interest rates and the unexpected high cost of turning the bank around after a near-collapse in 2013.
The sale of the bank will also have an impact on customers of the Britannia brand, which Co-op Bank merged with back in 2009. Although all customers Are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which provides protection to up to £85,000 of an individual's deposits in the eventuality of the bank failing. However, for now ‘business as usual’ is the word on the street. A full message to its customers can be read here.
A group statement on the Co-op Group website reads: “As a minority investor in The Co-operative Bank, the Co-op Group is supportive of the plan to find the Bank a new home. We will continue to work with the Bank and other investors through the process. We are focused on finding the best outcome for our members, two million of whom are Bank customers, as well as the members of our shared pension scheme which is well funded and supported by the Group. Our goal is to ensure the continued provision of the type of co-operative banking products our members want.”
There is no news so far on a potential buyer, and a full takeover is uncertain on the horizon.
According to the BBC, Dennis Holt, bank chairman, said: "Customers value the Co-operative Bank and our ethical brand is a point of difference that sets us apart in the market.
"While our plan has been impacted by lower for longer interest rates, the costs associated with the sheer scale of the transformation and the legacy issues we faced in 2013, there is considerable potential to build the bank's retail franchise further using the strength of the brand, its reputation for strong customer service and distinctive ethical position."
IBM (NYSE: IBM) Security recently announced it has completed the acquisition of Agile 3 Solutions. The software is used by the C-Suite and senior executives to better visualize, understand and manage risks associated with the protection of sensitive data. IBM Security had previously announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Agile 3 Solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The company, now known as Agile 3 Solutions, an IBM Company, joins the IBM Security business unit and will be part of the IBM Data Security Services portfolio of offerings. The acquisition also builds on the growth of IBM's end-to-end Guardium data security and protection platform, which helps to analyze the risk associated with sensitive data, monitor and protect sensitive data at rest, and in motion.
Agile 3 Solutions marks the 20th security-related company IBM has acquired as part of a series of investments to deepen its expertise as one of the world's largest enterprise security companies. IBM Security has hired approximately 1,900 security experts since 2015, and has invested in innovative new programs to help the industry collaborate to battle cybercrime, including IBM's X-Force Exchange and the IBM Security App Exchange. IBM has also closed the acquisition of Ravy Technologies, a subcontractor to Agile 3.
(Source: IBM Security)
Currency devaluations and stretched information technology (IT) budgets have led Latin American companies to respond by prioritizing cost containment and measures to improve productivity and operational efficiencies. Meanwhile, key contact centre companies in the market have made their move towards increasing their portfolio and adding cloud contact centre solutions.
"On-premise system suppliers will strive to introduce cloud and hybrid-based options to keep pace in an increasingly competitive market," said Customer Contact Senior Industry Analyst Maiara Munhoz.
"For instance, Genesys's purchase of Interactive Intelligence's cloud portfolio and enterprise communications components highlights portfolio expansion and provides the former a competitive edge over Avaya."
Latin American Contact Centre Systems Market, Forecast to 2021, new analysis from Frost & Sullivan's Customer Contact Growth Partnership Service program, examines the scope of business transformation across different industry verticals and analyses how innovative solutions will take over the market. The subscription also explores growth opportunity areas such as social media tools, cloud solutions, omni-channel customer experience, automation via artificial intelligence and virtual agents/advisors.
Key regional insights include:
- The Latin American contact centre systems market attained $240.0 million in revenues in 2015 and is expected to reach $275.5 million in 2021.
- In 2015, Brazil represented almost 50% of the total contact centre systems market.
- Chile, Peru and Colombia will experience higher growth rates over the forecast period.
- By 2021, cloud will comprise more than 30 per cent of the total Latin American contact centre market.
"Omnichannel solutions must aim to provide proactive customer service that is 'informed' by real-time data and predict customer behaviour in order to change offers and provide service in real time," noted Munhoz. "They must also incorporate other data sources for better clarity about the customer, provide real-time guidance capabilities for agents in complex customer support scenarios, and improve agent performance."
Latin American telcos are looking forward to augmenting efficiency and reduce costs. In this context, use of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) technology will see increasing adoption through a range of applications such as speech recognition, speech analytics, biometrics and robotic process automation.
(Source: Frost & Sullivan)
Finance Monthly Magazine is pleased to announce that its 2016 M&A Awards edition has now been published.
Every year Finance Monthly M&A Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of dealmakers, management teams, financiers and professional advisers who, over the 12 months, have demonstrated their deal making excellence when working on some of the most important deal across the globe.
Finance Monthly’s research department has spent the past several months carefully researching and identifying some of the most respected individuals and firms from all over the world. The process, compromising of an online vote and personal nominations, culminated in Finance Monthly’s research team collating the totals to compile a definitive list of industry leaders. All of our M&A Awards winners show an insight into the market that proves why the demand for expert dealmakers continues to increase year upon year.
Editor-in-chief, Mark Palmer commented: “The M&A process is a tried and tested formula for the growth and prosperity of a company, and yet, it is a very complex field to navigate. We are extremely proud that all of the individuals and organisations that are listed within Finance Monthly’s 2016 M&A Awards have excelled in helping companies overcome the complications that can arise during these transactions and have contributed to achieving excellent results.”
Finance Monthly would like to thank all contributors and participants in the 2016 M&A Awards. Congratulations to our winners and finalists.
To view the awards publication please visit: http://mandaawards.finance-monthly.com/
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UK companies are attracting strong interest from overseas buyers with M&A deal values reaching $39.7 billion (€37 billion) for the first quarter, the highest figure since 2008, according to analysis from Deloitte. This is up 63% on the fourth quarter of 2014, when inbound deal values stood at $24.4 billion (€22.7 billion). The rise is driven by a surge in acquisitions from North American and Asian companies.
Iain Macmillan, Head of M&A at Deloitte, commented: “Foreign buyers continue to find UK assets attractive and are confident about the economic recovery. This is underlined by recent deals in the telecommunications and manufacturing sectors, amongst others. In addition, the US dollar has risen by 14% against sterling since last July, substantially boosting US corporate spending power here.”
However, in the first quarter of 2015 outbound UK deal values more than halved compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, while domestic deal making values were also down.
Macmillan added: “This confidence from abroad contrasts with attitudes at home, where UK businesses seem willing to sell but not necessarily to acquire. Outbound UK deal values are down, while domestic deal making values were also subdued. It seems the uncertainties surrounding UK elections may have had a temporary impact on the pick-up in deal momentum.”
Financing conditions remain overwhelmingly positive for large corporates. Deloitte’s CFO survey reports that the cost of credit has hit a seven-year low, while availability of credit remains close to a seven-year high in the first quarter of 2015. In addition, 61% of the UK’s CFOs believe now is a good time to issue equity.
Chris Nicholls, Head of equity capital markets at Deloitte added: “Both equity and debt markets remain highly supportive of M&A transactions, large and small. Rising equity markets have seen record amounts of acquisition-linked financing and market appetite for underwriting major transactions. This combination means corporates looking to fund M&A in many sectors ‘have never had it so good’."
Inbound acquisitions into Europe are growing at the fastest pace in a decade, and six out of the top ten deals announced in 2015 were from non-European acquirers. Globally, $644.9 billion (€600 billion) worth of deals have been announced in first quarter of 2015, surpassing the US $563.4 billion (€525 billion) announced in first quarter of last year.
Megadeals valued over $5 billion (€4.7 billion) are up this quarter compared with Q1 last year, with 18 deals this year compared to 14 last year, accounting for 4% of all deals, according to the latest M&A Insights report by Allen & Overy.
The $3-5 billion (€2.8-4.7 billion) range accounted for 12% of deals, with TMT deals leading by value, accounting for $91 billion (€86 billion), followed by Life Sciences with an aggregate deal value of $76 billion (€71 billion), closely followed by consumer deals, which reached $72 billion (€68 billion) in total value.
Most deal activity occurred in the US and Asia Pacific, each responsible for 32% of deals, followed by Western Europe (24% of deals); political instability in CIS and CEE continue to depress deal making in that region. MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa were quiet in equal measure.
While global deal activity, according to the report which analyses deals valued at $100 million (€94 million) or more, is down this quarter (31% by volume and 49% by value) compared with the same period last year, the latter part of Q1 was accented with a number of major transformative deals. These figures indicate that the best is yet to come in terms of significant strategic deals, said Allen & Overy.
The combination of plentiful cash reserves and the availability of debt financing at historically low rates is creating the ideal climate for corporates to make their move on strategic deals that have been in the pipeline for some time.
“Following the financial crisis, it took quite a while for the caution to lift amongst corporates,” said Jeremy Parr, Corporate partner at Allen & Overy.
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“There are strategic players who've been thinking about deals for a very long time, waiting for the right moment to strike, and those deals are beginning to come to fruition,” he added.
Global M&A value in the power and renewables sector has reached the highest level seen in the current decade – up 70% year-on-year - and any further upward movement would begin to move sector deal value back towards the heady levels last seen before the credit crunch, according to PwC and Strategy’s latest annual Power and Renewables Deals report.
The report states there is plenty of potential in the global power and renewables M&A pipeline but the latest surge may not be indicative of the long-term trend. A more globally-balanced spread of deals is expected in 2015 with fewer of the US mega-deals that buoyed 2014 totals. But the flow of divestment- and privatisation-driven deals looks strong and so there are plenty of reasons to think any dip in US deal value will be taken up, in part at least, by activity elsewhere.
The report found total worldwide power and renewables deal value rose from $143.3 billion (€126 billion) in 2013 to $243.1 billion (€215 billion) in 2014. It’s the first time the total has broken out of the $100-200 billion (€88-176 billion) range established since the pre-credit crisis year of 2007.
A series of big but one-off restructuring deals in the US gas sector, involving Kinder Morgan and Williams, contributed $92.2 billion (€81.4 billion) to the worldwide M&A total.
2014 proved a record year in terms of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, according to data from Deloitte.
The firm stated that high M&A deal values made an emphatic return in 2014, particularly in the healthcare, TMT and consumer products sectors. In the first three quarters of 2014, companies spent US$2.5 trillion (€2.1 trillion) on M&A activities, making 2014 the best year for deals since 2007.
“The high value of deals will remain in 2015, with a cautious but steady pick-up. In 2015 I would expect to see these sectors continue to perform well, but in addition to more activity in the mining and resources sector, with speciality finance also being one to watch. By geography, the faster pace of recovery in the US over Europe will also deliver more trans-Atlantic interest in the industrial and manufacturing services,” said Paul Lupton, Head of Advisory Corporate Finance for Deloitte.
Consumer product M&A activity also saw increased activity levels in 2014. According to Deloitte, Emperado’s acquisition of Whyte & Mackay and, more recently, Yildiz’s acquisition of United Biscuits signalled the welcome return of overseas buyers making major investments in the European market. Benign credit conditions, large corporate war-chests and increased US buyer interest in Europe also point to an increase in activity levels.
Conor Cahill, Corporate Finance Partner at Deloitte, said that a number of major corporates are now re-aligning their brand portfolios and divesting non-core assets, with Reckitt Benckiser’s divestment of Ribena/Lucozade and Unilever’s disposal of its Ragu and Bertolli businesses as examples of this.
“Looking ahead, despite the easing of general commodity prices, consumer product companies continue to face pricing pressure as the intense competition between discounters and larger retailers persists. The ability to demonstrate innovation and investment will remain critical for branded goods producers to differentiate themselves from their private label counterparts,” said Mr. Cahill.
Latest data released by BDO shows that transactions in the tech sector have cooled somewhat following the record breaking $25 billion (€21 billion) Alibaba IPO in 2014.
The firm forecast that tech IPOs will drop by 14% for the year-end 2014 compared with figures for year-end 2013, but that the future still looks bright for 2015.
BDO stated that tech companies raised $38.9 billion (€32.8 billion) in 2014, the most since the height of the tech bubble when $43 billion (€36.3 billion) was raised in 2000. However, if the Alibaba deal is stripped out, this leaves only $13.9 billion (€11.7 billion).
Julian Frost, Leader of the BDO’s Global Technology team, commented: “The Alibaba Effect hasn’t been as positive as many hoped in sparking new tech deals. Many factors come into play here but it’s clear there’s been a lag in the wake of the mega-flotation as some firms have either held back their deals or preferred to secure new backing to remain private. We are hopeful for a more positive 2015, but while the overall outlook remains unclear, careful consideration is as important as ever.”
2015 should be a more positive year for IPOs as a whole as a number of companies have been delaying their flotations until 2015 in the face of market volatility, claims BDO.
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BDO also stated that a combination of macroeconomic uncertainty and Alibaba-induced caution meant that there were less tech M&As in 2014. With investors’ eyes on how Alibaba would perform, Chinese venture capital fundraising plummeted to $403 million (€340 million) in Q3, a fraction of the $3.78 billion (€3.18 billion) raised in Q2.
As of mid-December, 1,910 deals had been completed, compared to 2,139 in 2013. Although numbers of deals are down, the value of the M&As hit $2.66 billion (€2.24 billion) for the first three quarters of 2014 – a 60% increase on the same period in 2013.
BDO predicts that tech M&As will have a brighter 2015. Individual subsector hot spots have been prominent in driving M&As in Q4 and will continue to do so in Q1 2015. Chief amongst these in the final quarter of the year was FinTech – the tech payments sector is coming to the fore with Apple launching Apple Pay in November.
PHOTO: Alibaba’s corporate campus at Hangzhou, China
