One day, there won’t be any decent London-listed companies left for private equity funds to buy. The latest attempt at a UK leveraged buyout may be remarkable for its size, but it otherwise conforms to a familiar pattern that’s seeing the market gradually liquidated by cash bids from buyout firms and foreign bidders. Intertek Group Plc on Wednesday said it was minded to accept a proposal from EQT ...
One day, there won’t be any decent London-listed companies left for private equity funds to buy. The latest attempt at a UK leveraged buyout may be remarkable for its size, but it otherwise conforms to a familiar pattern that’s seeing the market gradually liquidated by cash bids from buyout firms and foreign bidders. Intertek Group Plc on Wednesday said it was minded to accept a proposal from EQT AB valuing it at £10.6 billion ($14.3 billion) including net debt. Intertek is a classic UK target. The FTSE 100 company tests goods for compliance with regulatory standards — an attractive niche with durable demand. It also has little to do with the struggling British economy, with the overwhelming majority of sales coming from overseas. The one thing that is British is its lowly valuation. When the Swedish buyout firm first approached, Intertek stock was trading at earnings multiples last seen around 2010 and well below those of US peer UL Solutions Inc. Similar characteristics are found across other recent UK “take-privates,” whether it be Advent International’s agreement to buy aerospace contractor Cobham Ltd. in 2019, TDR Capital’s purchase of portable power generator Aggreko Plc in 2021, EQT’s deal for veterinary specialist Dechra Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in 2023 or KKR & Co.’s acquisition of engineer Spectris Ltd last year. Defending UK firms against such bids has become formulaic. The bidder dangles a tentative offer at a conventional 30% to 40% premium. The board rejects the overture because the company’s starting market value is low and the mooted price falls short of its fundamental worth. Then comes a slightly higher offer and another rejection. The back and forth continues, invariably shifting to the public domain. The board knows the buyout firm needs any deal to be friendly. The premium may move above 50%, in some cases even 100%. It usually ends when leading shareholders start agitating for the board to cave in. Rarely does the target see off the bidder. This we...
Spanish engineering firm TSK Electronica y Electricidad SA ’s shares opened higher after the firm’s owners raised €150 million ($176 million) in an initial public offering, the first sizable main market listing in Spain this year. The family-owned company’s stock opened at €5.28 per share, about 5% above the price set in its IPO. The company priced its IPO at €5.05 per share, at the top of the mar...
Spanish engineering firm TSK Electronica y Electricidad SA ’s shares opened higher after the firm’s owners raised €150 million ($176 million) in an initial public offering, the first sizable main market listing in Spain this year. The family-owned company’s stock opened at €5.28 per share, about 5% above the price set in its IPO. The company priced its IPO at €5.05 per share, at the top of the marketed range. Spain hosted just two IPOs last year, both of which are trading below their offering prices despite a 28% rally in the Ibex 35 index over the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Digi Communications NV said last month it wouldn’t proceed with an IPO of its Spanish unit, citing unstable market conditions. More than 100 investors placed orders for stock in the IPO, with about 30% of them being not receiving any shares, according to a person familiar with the matter. TSK specializes in the design and development of projects in power generation, transmission networks, electrification handling and storage of critical minerals. Based in the northern Spanish city of Gijón, it reported €1 billion of revenue in 2025 with net income of €32 million. Most of the firm’s revenue and order backlog is concentrated in North America, particularly the US, Mexico and Dominican Republic, according to its prospectus. Banco Santander SA and CaixaBank SA arranged the offering. The company trades under the symbol TSK.
Earnings Call Insights: B&G Foods (BGS) Q1 2026 Management View "The first quarter witnessed major progress in our efforts to reshape the B&G Foods portfolio" (President, CEO & Director Kenneth Keller), highlighting that the company "completed the divestiture of the Green Giant U.S. frozen business" and "completed the acquisition of the College Inn and Kitchen Basics broth and stock businesses." K...
Earnings Call Insights: B&G Foods (BGS) Q1 2026 Management View "The first quarter witnessed major progress in our efforts to reshape the B&G Foods portfolio" (President, CEO & Director Kenneth Keller), highlighting that the company "completed the divestiture of the Green Giant U.S. frozen business" and "completed the acquisition of the College Inn and Kitchen Basics broth and stock businesses." Keller said the transactions are intended to "create positive EBITDA and higher margins on our portfolio," including "replacing the low-margin Green Giant U.S. frozen business with a more profitable and stable broth and stock business," and added they were "critical in reducing our pro forma net leverage ratio in Q1 to almost 6x." "Quarter one base business net sales grew plus 2.8% versus last year" (President, CEO & Director Keller). He also said "The Spices & Flavor Solutions business unit grew Q1 net sales plus 9.1% versus last year" and that "Unallocated central overheads were down almost $2 million from last year," adding, "We will continue to remove direct costs associated with the Green Giant business and restructure central costs to reflect divestitures." "In effect, we used the net proceeds from the divestiture of the marginally profitable Green Giant U.S. frozen business to partially fund the acquisition of the more profitable College Inn and Kitchen Basics business" (CFO & Executive VP of Finance Bruce Wacha), while noting that "both transitions are proceeding relatively smoothly." Outlook "The updated guidance range for fiscal year '26 is increased to $1.735 billion to $1.775 billion in net sales and $275 million to $290 million in adjusted EBITDA" (President, CEO & Director Keller), and he said "the current outlook for fiscal year '26 reflects the addition of the College Inn and Kitchen Basics brands" while "the pending divestiture of Green Giant Canada has not been reflected in our guidance." "Quarter one trends were a strong start for the year... but are expec...
A stunning run-up in shares of semiconductor companies has helped drive the U.S. stock rally, but the eye-popping gains are sparking concerns about an overheated market and prompting some investors to prepare for a pullback. The latest wave of artificial-intelligence market enthusiasm is buoying semiconductors broadly, after bellwether Nvidia symbolized the AI trade over most of the bull stock ma...
A stunning run-up in shares of semiconductor companies has helped drive the U.S. stock rally, but the eye-popping gains are sparking concerns about an overheated market and prompting some investors to prepare for a pullback. The latest wave of artificial-intelligence market enthusiasm is buoying semiconductors broadly, after bellwether Nvidia symbolized the AI trade over most of the bull stock market that began in late 2022. "It's sort of a perfect mix - there is enough of a fundamental story, and then the technical story is also quite strong," said Steve Edwards, senior investment strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
Malaysia said on Wednesday it was weighing legal action after Norway blocked the export of missiles ordered for its navy, in a last-minute decision that has dealt a fresh blow to one of the country’s most troubled defence projects. The row centres on the Naval Strike Missile, ordered from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace for Malaysia’s long-delayed littoral combat ship programme. Government spokesm...
Malaysia said on Wednesday it was weighing legal action after Norway blocked the export of missiles ordered for its navy, in a last-minute decision that has dealt a fresh blow to one of the country’s most troubled defence projects. The row centres on the Naval Strike Missile, ordered from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace for Malaysia’s long-delayed littoral combat ship programme. Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had raised the matter with his Norwegian...
Depleted US weapons stockpiles as a result of its war in Iran risk eroding Donald Trump’s bargaining power when he meets Xi Jinping in China this week. Accompanying Trump on the high-stakes trip is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking the first time a Pentagon chief has accompanied a president to Beijing since 1972. The weapons shortages not only raise questions about US preparedness for war in...
Depleted US weapons stockpiles as a result of its war in Iran risk eroding Donald Trump’s bargaining power when he meets Xi Jinping in China this week. Accompanying Trump on the high-stakes trip is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, marking the first time a Pentagon chief has accompanied a president to Beijing since 1972. The weapons shortages not only raise questions about US preparedness for war in the Indo-Pacific, but may give Beijing extra leverage because of its control of the supply of...