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Apple acquires award-winning Workflow app

It was announced this week that Apple has purchased DeskConnect, the start-up business behind popular iOS app, Workflow.

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Signal is strong for telecoms M&A

Following President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, he appointed the then-Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai as the Commission’s Chairman. Pai has served as Commissioner since his appointment by President Obama in 2012, however industry experts predict that Pai’s new role as Chairman spells a positive outlook for M&A in the telecoms sector.

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Walmart pushes further into online retail market with new acquisition

It’s no secret that Walmart has grand plans to muscle in on some of Amazon’s online retail market share and it seems the US retail giant has edged closer with the acquisition of ModCloth.

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Pinterest Acquires Crowdsourced Q&A Startup

Pinterest, the photo sharing site, has announced this week its acquisition of Jelly, the Q&A app founded by Biz Stone, cofounder of Twitter, in 2013.

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Central EMS Client Testimonial {video}

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The 2017 Spring Budget

Phillip Hammond of the British Conservative Party has delivered his first budget, outlining the governments plans for both the economy and public finances. We at Benchmark International have put together a summary of all this, highlighting the most important points and explaining just what kind of impact they will have on the average taxpayer.

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Fox approaches its first hurdle in its bid to take over Sky

The announcement in December of last year that Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox was positioned for a full takeover of Sky was hardly one of the most popular deal announcements of 2016, and most certainly the least surprising. The £11.7bn bid has proved to be a contentious one, and Murdoch and co. have now reached one of their first major hurdles in the deal process in the form of competition authorities.

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A whopper of an acquisition: Burger King owner purchases Popeyes

The appetite for M&A in the fast food industry shows no sign of waning following news that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. has been acquired by the owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons.

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Benchmark International Completes the Sale of WellBeing Hygiene, Inc. to the Rochester Midland Corporation

Effective March 1, 2017 Rochester Midland Corporation has agreed to acquire WellBeing Hygiene, Inc. in an asset purchase. Transferring to RMC will be the customers, employees, intellectual property and other assets relating to the business of WellBeing.

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Yahoo! and Verizon update: What’s going on?

When it comes to M&A security breaches can be costly in more ways than one. Yahoo!’s expectations of a smooth transition in the Verizon takeover have been scuppered with the news that the acquiring company was not prepared to offer the full asking price.

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Benchmark International Advises on the Sale of Jack Lilley Limited to the Lind Group Holding Company Limited

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of Jack Lilley Limited to the Lind Group Holding Company Limited.

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Is M&A The Recipe For Bringing The Bite Back To Biscuits?

The UK biscuit industry is crumbling; slowing sales, intense competition and an increase in the price of sugar and wheat have hit the sector hard. Not to mention the pressure from the vast range of new and healthier products that are available. As a result, the UK sweet biscuit market, valued at £1.9bn, is experiencing a flurry of deal making.

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Collapsed Cigna and Anthem Merger Goes To Court

Earlier this month, the health insurance organisation Cigna Corp. announced the termination of its $54bn merger agreement with insurance company Anthem Inc. The deal has taken a further complicated turn, after Cigna announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Anthem seeking a $1.85bn termination fee, plus a staggering $13bn in damages. In an interesting twist, Anthem has launched its own lawsuit against Cigna, claiming the company has sabotaged the merger in its attempts to breach the agreement and collapse the $48bn deal.

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Benchmark International Named as the North West’s No.1 Financial Adviser

Benchmark International is proud to announce that it has placed top of the North West Financial Adviser table for the second consecutive year in Experian’s annual North West and Manchester Corporate Finance Review.

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Dow and DuPont subject to antitrust concerns

The mega-merger between chemicals and seeds producer DuPont and chemical corporation Dow is now expected to close later than anticipated. The $130bn deal has encountered a roadblock as the companies face further regulatory approvals, which means that this is now the second occasion the deal’s completion date has been pushed back.

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Tesco and Booker merger reignites Marmite war

They say that you either love it or hate it, but Marmite has been at the centre of a dispute between one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains and the suppliers of the distinctly British condiment. The feud escalated last year after Tesco refused to agree to Unilever’s price increases, however the dispute was resolved in October and Marmite was back on supermarket shelves. But now, the supermarket giant’s £3.9bn takeover of wholesaler Booker is expected to reignite Tesco’s feud with Unilever as critics argue the deal will create an incredibly dominant player in the sector.

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Split the bill: Airbnb rumoured to be acquiring Tilt

Ealrier this month, The Information reported that Airbnb is in talks to acquire social payments start-up Tilt, a move that would allow the users of the home share service to split the cost of their trips.

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A Whole New World (of streaming): Disney to acquire Netflix?

We’re just over a month into 2017 and already rumours are circulating about a magical mega deal set to take place this year. Despite the lack of evidence to back-up a Disney acquisition of Netflix, there has been much discussion throughout the industry about whether such an acquisition can and will actually happen.

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Benchmark International Advises on the Sale of Signalhome Limited to Lynx Private Equity

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of Signalhome Limited to Lynx Private Equity.

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Benchmark International Advises on the Sale of Malcolm Hughes Land Surveyors to the Ogilvie Group

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of Malcolm Hughes Land Surveyors to the Ogilvie Geomatics, a part of the Ogilvie Group.

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Pharma companies set for another big year for M&A

Political and economic uncertainty caused pharma M&A to slacken off in 2016, seeing deal values in the sector falling to $273.7bn from $392.4bn the previous year. While 2016 was far from catastrophic for pharma M&A it failed to reach the all-time highs achieved from the mega-deals in 2015, and the collapse of the $160bn mega-deal between Pfizer and Allergan was just one of the year’s setbacks for the sector.

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The Common Source Client Testimonial {video}

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Computer RX Client Testimonial {video}

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The Mark - Vol.XIV Issue II

Please take a read of our latest edition of THE MARK, Benchmark International's in-house publication which provides readers with a thorough insight into key events within the M&A industry.

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SoundCloud destined for a 2017 acquisition?

It’s no secret that music streaming website SoundCloud is hurtling towards a period of financial difficulty. Last March the company followed in the footsteps of the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with the launch of SoundCloud Go, a premium music service that costs users $9.99 per month. Although it has since seen an increase in users, SoundCloud Go did little to alleviate the $52 billion loss the company reported for 2015, meaning it is likely to run out of cash by the end of this year.

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EU Regulators ‘Dislike’ Facebook And WhatsApp Merger

In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp in a deal worth $19bn. However, more than two years later, the social media giant has been accused of providing EU regulators with misleading information during its takeover of the mobile messaging service.

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Conarc Client Testimonial {video}

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Benchmark International Negotiates Sale of Gasco Affiliates, LLC to Tech Air, a CI Capital Partners Company

Benchmark International has successfully negotiated the sale of Gasco Affiliates, LLC to Tech Air, a Connecticut-based distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases and related equipment and supplies. Tech Air is owned by CI Capital Partners and Tech Air management.

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A New Year sale for Kate Spade

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that US-based handbag and apparel designer Kate Spade is considering a potential takeover bid. The news comes just a couple of months after a US hedge fund, Caerus Investors, urged the fashion house to consider a sale in light of the falling price of its stock when compared to its peer group.

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M&A for R+D: what all businesses can learn from consumer goods companies

Recent industry analysis has highlighted a number of complex and significant trends within the consumer goods sector. In a sector powered by names such as Nestlé, Pepsi and Unilever, research shows that R+D budgets are diminishing as a share of revenues, particularly in comparison with highly innovative sectors such as technology. This trend is coupled with the progress made by smaller, newer brands which are eating into the market share in a range of sectors.

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Is Verizon set for a data breach discount from Yahoo?

In this digital age, cyber security is a growing global issue, and a costly one at that. No one perhaps knows this better than Yahoo, who this week admitted that it had been victim to a second giant data breach following the recently disclosed 2014 attack that had already damaged the tech giant’s reputation.

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Fox and Sky agree to a full Murdoch takeover

Sky has reached an agreement on the terms of a full takeover from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The deal has been met with controversy since rumours first began circulating, however both parties have now agreed that Fox will pay £11.7bn for the 61 per cent stake in Sky that it does not already own, valuing the FTSE 100 company at £19bn. The acquisition will combine Fox’s film and television influence with Sky’s European distribution powers.

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M&A and U.K. start-ups: where next for the beginners?

The U.K has a vibrant start-up culture, with an estimated 600,000 new companies set up in 2015. A whole host of factors have powered this part of the economy. Many U.K. industries are world leaders, for example the recruitment sector, while the E.U. freedom of movement drew on human capital from across the continent. The development of new challengers in different industries and sectors plays a key role in stimulating M&A activity, with buyers attracted for reasons from exciting IP to up-and-coming talent. Established companies may find it difficult to truly innovate in-house, so M&A may also give the opportunity to roll-out acquired new products or services in support of their existing operations.

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A Happy Deal: McDonald’s China set to sell for up to $3bn

In a deal that could fetch up to $3bn, McDonald’s China is set to be purchased by Citic Group Corp, the Chinese conglomerate, coupled with a US-based private equity group Carlyle.

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The Biggest M&A Deals of 2016

Despite economic and political uncertainty across the globe in 2016, the year remained one of the most active for M&A deals. According to data collected by Dealogic, the value of the average deal in 2016 was $104.2m which, despite being slightly down on 2015’s average of $115.4m, was significantly greater than the average deals made between 2000 and 2014 at $77.1m. Here, we take a look at the biggest transactions that contributed to a successful year of deal making in 2016.

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Good news for Oil & Gas M&A in the U.K.?

Siccar Point Energy, an exploration and pipelining company based in Aberdeen and backed by private-equity, have pulled off a significant deal to acquire OMV’s North Sea interests. The $1bn deal is estimated to be the largest for the offshore energy industry in the UK, following the severe drop in crude prices. This is the second significant deal of the year that the highly acquisitive firm has made in the North Sea.

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Benchmark International Advises on the Sale of Cleaning Equipment Supplies to ICE

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of Cleaning Equipment Supplies to ICE.

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The role of HR in deal making

Within M&A there will always be a winner and, ideally, the deal will be a resounding success for both parties. However, more often than not there will be someone who loses out, and the road towards successful M&A is not always straightforward.

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Record 2016 for M&A against all odds

Despite major political disruption from events such as Britain leaving the EU and the election of a new president of the United States, 2016 is gearing up to be the biggest year for M&A deal announcements since 2007.

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Benchmark International Advises on the Sale of E.Braude Limited to Heatrod Elements

Benchmark International is pleased to announce the sale of E.Braude Limited to Heatrod Elements.

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