Acquisitions Monthly articles from November 2008

Acquisitions Monthly archives from November 2008

Nominate your M&A deals and your firm for awards.(AWARDS PROCESS)
November 1, 2008... Acquisitions Monthly magazine encourages firms to make submissions for the 2009 Acquisition Monthly Awards for M&A and buyout work completed during 2008. The winners will be influenced primarily by the range of submissions, our own...

UK: The UK Treasury agreed to acquire a 58.05% interest, or 22.901bn new ordinary shares, in Edinburgh-based Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC for 655p (US$1.14) per share, or a total of 15bn [pounds sterling] (US$26.117bn), through a capital increase.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... UK: The UK Treasury agreed to acquire a 58.05% interest, or 22.901bn new ordinary shares, in Edinburgh-based Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC for 655p (US$1.14) per share, or a total of 15bn [pounds sterling] (US$26.117bn), through a capital...

US: Wells Fargo & Co (WF) of San Francisco, California, agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Wachovia Corp of Charlotte, North Carolina (WC), a commercial and retail bank, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$15.112bn. WF offered 0.1991 common shares per WC share.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... US: Wells Fargo & Co (WF) of San Francisco, California, agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Wachovia Corp of Charlotte, North Carolina (WC), a commercial and retail bank, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$15.112bn. WF...

Netherlands: The Dutch government agreed to acquire lbn Tier 1 preferred shares, convertible into a 33% stake, in ING Groep NV, an Amsterdam-based provider of financial services, for 10.00 [euro] (US$13.41) in cash per share, or a total value of 10bn [euro] (US$13.41bn).(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... NETHERLANDS: The Dutch government agreed to acquire lbn Tier 1 preferred shares, convertible into a 33% stake, in ING Groep NV, an Amsterdam-based provider of financial services, for 10.00 [euro] (US$13.41) in cash per share, or a total value...

Announced deals worldwide: target region transaction volume year-to-date.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... ANNOUNCED DEALS WORLDWIDE: TARGET REGION TRANSACTION VOLUME YEAR-TO-DATE Americas US$1,123,670.74m 46.4% Europe US$860,951.11m 35.6% Central Asia/Asia-Pacific US$334,709.04m 13.8% Japan US$57,288.83m ...

Announced deals worldwide: target industry transaction volume year-to-date.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... ANNOUNCED DEALS WORLDWIDE: TARGET INDUSTRY TRANSACTION VOLUME YEAR-TO-DATE Financials US$559,639.44 23.1% Energy and power US$390,518.46 16.1% Materials US$267,562.92 11.1% Industrials...

Belgium: BNP Paribas SA (BNP) of France agreed to acquire a 75% interest, or 1.764bn ordinary shares, in Brussels-based Fortis Bank SA/NV from the Government of Belgium.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... BELGIUM: BNP Paribas SA (BNP) of France agreed to acquire a 75% interest, or 1.764bn ordinary shares, in Brussels-based Fortis Bank SA/NV from the Government of Belgium. Concurrently, BNP agreed to raise its interest to 67% from 51%, by...

US: Eli Lilly & Co (EL) launched a challenging tender offer to acquire all the outstanding common stock of ImClone Systems Inc (IS), a biotechnology company, for US$70 in cash per share, or a total value of US$6.497bn.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... US: Eli Lilly & Co (EL) launched a challenging tender offer to acquire all the outstanding common stock of ImClone Systems Inc (IS), a biotechnology company, for US$70 in cash per share, or a total value of US$6.497bn. The offer was conditioned...

Slovak Republic: State owned National Property Fund of the Slovak Republic said it planned to acquire the 49% it did not already own in Slovensky Plynarensky Prumysl AS.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... SLOVAK REPUBLIC: State owned National Property Fund of the Slovak Republic said it planned to acquire the 49% it did not already own in Slovensky Plynarensky Prumysl AS, a Bratislava-based provider of gas transmission services, from E ON...

US: PNC Financial Services Group Inc definitively agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of National City Corp, a bank holding company, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$5.617bn. PNC offered US$384m in cash and 0.0392 common shares per NCC share.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... US: PNC Financial Services Group Inc definitively agreed to acquire all the outstanding common stock of National City Corp, a bank holding company, in a stock-swap transaction valued at US$5.617bn. PNC offered US$384m in cash and 0.0392 common...

Switzerland: The Swiss Confederation said it planned to acquire an undisclosed number of mandatory notes, convertible into 9.3%, or 272.726m ordinary shares, in UBS, a Zurich-based provider of investment banking services, for SFr6bn (US$5.285bn) in a privately negotiated transaction.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... SWITZERLAND: The Swiss Confederation said it planned to acquire an undisclosed number of mandatory notes, convertible into 9.3%, or 272.726m ordinary shares, in UBS, a Zurich-based provider of investment banking services, for SFr6bn...

Top 20 global deals announced in October 2008.(October snapshot: synopses of the largest global M&A deals announced last month)
November 1, 2008... TOP 20 GLOBAL DEALS ANNOUNCED IN OCTOBER 2008 Date ann Target Target advisers 08/10/2008 RBS (UK) Merrill Lynch, UBS Investment Bank ...

Down but not out: Acquisitions Monthly and Merrill Datasite's online roundtable last month saw lack of financing top of the agenda but prospects for M&A not all bleak as some companies still have strong balance sheets.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2008... Well-funded corporates still exist and will look to take advantage of their weaker peers once the turbulence of the last few months has subsided. This was the message to come out of an Acquisitions Monthly webinar held on October 23. ...

Q3 premia surge amid financial crisis. Deal volumes fall but premia values ascend as IT business Mediasurface secures highest premia of the quarter.(MARKET INTELLIGENCE)
November 1, 2008... Despite the drop in the deal volumes, the third quarter of 2008 saw average bid premia experience a definite shift in the opposite direction, shattering the 50% threshold reached in each of the three preceding quarters. Consequently, the...

Chasing dragons: China's economy has reached a cross-roads. The government is attempting to steer it away from export-driven growth towards becoming more reliant on domestic consumption. The outcome of that policy could be key to private equity's returns in China.(LEAD FEATURE: CHINESE PRIVATE EQUITY)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world." Two centuries later, those remarkably prescient words are coming true. For private equity investors, buying into what...

Vive la difference: French advisers need to adapt to fresh financial realities.(COUNTRY REPORT: FOCUS ON FRANCE)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whilst many corporate finance advisers may not look back on the current year with much affection, those flexible enough to adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances are more positive. "2008 has been extremely...

The Lehman lurch: after a spree of bank nationalisations and state capital injections, fears of banking meltdown--rife at the beginning of October--have given way to preparations for a global recession.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SECTOR)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The global financial crisis, which kicked off uncontrollably when US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in the US on September 15, ran wildly into October. The escalation of events saw...

Blowing a gale: Europe is dominated by well-capitalised utilities with a strategic need for renewable energy assets. As a result, M&A in this sector has been on the rise, with deals in the windfarm sector dominating the landscape.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON RENEWABLES)
November 1, 2008... Renewable energy is gaining momentum as a sector. Energised by targets and special tariffs, European companies are at the cutting edge of the renewable energy revolution. The last few years have seen rising volumes of M&A in the space as...

Share crash prompts oil & gas rush: the next six months will see intense competition among Europe's big energy utilities and the oil majors to snap up small to medium-sized oil and gas companies that have become attractive targets thanks to the crash in world stock markets.(SECTOR REPORTS: FOCUS ON UTILITIES)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many smaller oil and gas exploration companies were already struggling to refinance their debt and/or raise fresh capital to fund capex programmes, but they had nevertheless retained high market valuations as oil...

Financial investors primed: mid-market deals look more viable in the wake of the financial turmoil than larger transactions, particularly for established private equity players.(MID-MARKET VIEW)
November 1, 2008... The dramatic changes in the landscape since the beginning of September will undoubtedly affect dealmakers across the spectrum. However, private equity firms targeting smaller mid-market deals, below say US$250m, could benefit from the...

Path Group.(Asset-based lending case studies)
November 1, 2008... "A recent example of a business utilising asset-based lending (ABL) in an acquisition deal is the MBO of electronic equipment specialist, Path Group. Based in Oxfordshire, Path has subsidiary operations in the US, Russia and the Far East. The...

The buyouts of TDG and Glanbla Meats.(Asset-based lending case studies)
November 1, 2008... "Asset-based lending is a powerful financing option for asset-rich businesses--often those associated with the 'old economy'. Since it uses the balance sheet assets as security, rather than the strength of future cashflows, as in acquisition...

Nasmyth Group.(Asset-based lending case studies)
November 1, 2008... "We recently structured a 20m [pounds sterling] asset-based lending (ABL) facility for Nasmyth Group to enable the business to nearly double its turnover to 70m [pounds sterling] over the next 12 months and acquire a total of five companies....

Extraction systems company.(Asset-based lending case studies)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... "Ultimate Finance recently completed a deal with an extraction systems company to provide a confidential invoice discounting facility for up to 175,000 [pounds sterling]. The company was founded in 1997 and provides ventilation and extraction...

Facilities and property management company.(Asset-based lending case studies)
November 1, 2008... "A refinancing deal is about to be completed at one of the largest independent outsourcing companies for facilities and property management in the South East. The company's existing management, having built the business over the last decade,...

Communisis Bath.(Asset-based lending case studies)
November 1, 2008... "In July 2008, Investec Growth & Acquisition Finance provided the management of Communisis Bath with a 13m [pounds sterling] debt facility to fund the management buyout of the business stationery division of Communisis. Based near Bath in...

Japanese lender takes stake in Aberdeen investor.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
November 1, 2008... Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), a subsidiary of Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has followed the recent trend of Asia-based financial institutions taking stakes in alternative asset firms by acquiring a 19.9%...

GlaxoSmithKline enters Egypt.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
November 1, 2008... GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceuticals group, has completed its second big deal as part of a new strategy to expand into emerging markets and move into unpatented medicines. The UK-based company has acquired the Egyptian mature products...

Xchanging makes Indian move.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
November 1, 2008... UK-based business processing company Xchanging has agreed to pay 83m [pounds sterling] (US$150m) for a 75% stake in Bangalore-based rival Cambridge Solutions. Xchanging said it would pay the equivalent of 12 times operating profits for...

Global 'buyers market' predicted for M&A.(MOVING IN THE MID-MARKETS)
November 1, 2008... International M&A professionals predict only a moderate fall in M&A activity during the next six months, despite a flagging economy and lack of funding, according to survey results by IMAP, a network of international independent mergers and...

Class divisions: new report from PwC says private equity firms with strong brands have better chance of survival through synergistic diversification.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS: PRIVATE EQUITY COLUMN)
November 1, 2008... With no credit available and big corporates fighting their own fires on the public markets, buyout firms have nothing to buy, no debt to buy it with and no-one to buy their own portfolios. They are facing a long slog to get their returns by...

Pantheon adapts to pensions industry changes: the UK pensions industry, a long time investor in private equity, has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Private equity needs to adapt to keep the industry involved.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
November 1, 2008... Pantheon, a private equity fund-of-funds, reckons private equity groups should tap into changes in the pension fund industry. The days of defined pensions are steadily coming to an end with almost no new policies of this type issued now....

Regulatory environment unchanged for private equity.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
November 1, 2008... France has emerged as Europe's most welcoming place for private equity and venture capital firms, as competition for private equity funds hots up across the Continent. An EVCA study published at the beginning of October found that France...

Are the halcyon days of private equity over?(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
November 1, 2008... With debt financing tight, private equity houses will have to focus on the operational performances of the companies they have bought in the past few years. They can no longer rely solely on refinancing and Ebitda bolt-on growth strategies...

Actis buys into education and hotels.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
November 1, 2008... UK private equity firm Actis has led a consortium investing US$103m in Ambow Education Co Ltd, a Chinese educational services provider that targets middle school students. The US$103m investment led by Actis, the latest round of private...

Abenex secures debt for restaurant deal: former ABN AMRO Capital France buys 300 strong restaurant chain from Colony Capital.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
November 1, 2008... Abenex Capital has acquired Buffalo Grill, a French restaurant chain, from previous financial backers Colony Capital for an undisclosed sum, as France's buyout market feels the strain. "There have been fewer than ten transactions this year...

BPE buys Aerocan from NI Partners.(BEHIND THE BUYOUTS)
November 1, 2008... Barclays Private Equity (BPE) has acquired Lille, France-headquartered Aerocan, an aluminium aerosol can manufacturer, as the flight to solid, anti-cyclical businesses intensifies. "Everyone now has downside risk as the foremost thing on...

Alliance Medical.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Alliance Medical has closed and funded the 372m [pounds sterling] senior debt package supporting its Dubai International Capital-backed buyout. Mandated lead arranger and bookrunners are Bank of Scotland and Dresdner Kleinwort. In addition...

Bartec.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Bookrunner Commerzbank has launched general syndication of the 205m [euro] acquisition facilities backing Capvis's buyout of Bartec in a secondary deal from Allianz Capital Partners. Banks are invited to join on tickets of 17.5m [euro]...

Bodycote Testing.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Early-bird banks are now in on the 225m [pounds sterling] debt package supporting Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's buyout of Bodycote Testing. Mandated lead arrangers and book-runners are Barclays Capital, RBS, BNP Paribas and RBC. A wider...

Converteam.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Bookrunners HSBC, Natixis, RBS and SG have added a further five banks to the group backing 900m [euro] of facilities supporting the buyout of French engineering group Converteam by LBO France. Despite the horrific market, AIB, Bank of...

EMAP.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Bookrunners HSBC, GE, Lloyds TSB and RBS have pulled syndication of facilities backing the buyout of BMAP, after the stalled deal was dealt a fatal blow by the leveraged finance market sell-off. In August, the banks re-cut and relaunched...

Foodvest.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Foodvest allocated its euro and sterling Lion Capital-backed buyout package last week through global coordinator JPMorgan. Lloyds TSB, Rabobank, RBS and SG are all joint bookrunners across the senior and junior debt, and Nordea is joint...

Bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers Credit Mutuel-CIC and Natixis are closing the early bird syndication of the 300m [euro] facilities arranged for Labco SAS.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... Bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers Credit Mutuel-CIC and Natixis are closing the early bird syndication of the 300m [euro] facilities arranged for Labco SAS. Four European banks are set to join the transaction in the early bird stage...

TMF Group.(M&A capital markets round-up)
November 1, 2008... The 445m [euro] debt package supporting Doughty Hanson's secondary buyout of TMF Group has closed and has been funded. Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners are ING and UBS, with Bank of Ireland coming in as mandated lead arranger prior to...

M&A deal data.(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... M&A DEAL DATA This country analysis included acquisitions and buyouts announced between 25 September 2008 and 24 October 2008 Benelux Target Bidder Corio NV-Real Estate Property White...

The challenge and opportunity in 'forced' integrations: while normal mergers and acquisitions are rarely easy--requiring focus, ruthless prioritisation and pragmatic resolution of the myriad people issues--forced integrations create additional and sometimes extreme challenges. Alan Dale and Ahsan Ali of the post deal services team at PricewaterhouseCoopers write.(GUEST COLUMN)
November 1, 2008... "Forced" integrations, due to the credit crunch and global economic slowdown, will be increasing in the marketplace and will offer a different set of challenges to management. Currently prevalent in the financial services sector, as the...

Banks: breaking up is hard to do: the upheaval among Benelux banks will have significant consequences for mergers and acquisitions, and their financing, across the region.(OVERVIEW)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On October 10 last year, Fortis, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Spanish lender Santander declared their 71bn [euro] offer for ABN AMRO unconditional. The board of the Dutch bank had never formally recommended...

Failing to calm investors: last month, BNP Paribas purchased the Belgian and Luxembourg activities of Fortis. Meanwhile, France and Belgium gave Dexia a 6.4bn [euro] (US$8.7bn) lifeline to keep it solvent.(LEGAL)
November 1, 2008... In the Benelux region, as in the rest of Europe and in the US, shareholders that at the end of the day will have lost more than others are likely to initiate legal action and try to safeguard their interests. One of the key legal issues...

ING Wholesale Banking, Corporate Finance.(SPONSOR'S PROFILE: ING WHOLESALE BANKING, CORPORATE FINANCE)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ING Corporate Finance and Equity Capital Markets advises businesses on major corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, secondary offerings, share buy-backs and...

The Dutch utilities market will never be the same again.(SPONSOR'S ARTICLE: ING WHOLESALE BANKING, CORPORATE FINANCE)
November 1, 2008... Rob van Veldhuizen is the director at ING Wholesale Banking Corporate Finance in charge of utilities. Van Veldhuizen, who has focused on the utilities sector for the past 10 year, says his team has never been busier. In fact, the Dutch M&A team...

Benelux recovery expected next year: despite the recent seismic shifts in the region's financial sector, experts are optimistic that M&A activity will pick up in 2009, aided by the financial strength of Dutch companies, M&A of publicly-listed companies and restructuring.(OUTLOOK)
November 1, 2008... Banks and other major financial institutions in the Benelux countries may have to suffer disproportionately more than lenders in other countries across Continental Europe but elsewhere in the economy the region is not expected to be harmed...

Loyens & Loeff.(SPONSOR'S PROFILE)
November 1, 2008... Lloyens & Loeff was formed in 2000 through a merger between Loyens & Volkmaars and a part of Loeff Claeys Verbeke. The traditions of these firms go back to the beginning of the 20th century. Through this merger, Loyens & Loeff became the first...

The changing face of the Dutch private equity market: Harmen Holtrop, an attorney with Loyens & Loeff, looks at how the private equity market is fairing during the credit crunch.(SPONSOR'S ARTICLE: LOYENS & LOEFF)
November 1, 2008... Private equity now seems to be a permanent part of the investment portfolio of many insurance companies, banks and pension funds in the Netherlands and, during 2007, private equity funds obtained commitments for 2.9bn [euro] in new funds. Dutch...

Budweiser's last bow: Grupo Modelo, Mexico's number one beer maker behind the Corona brand, will not give InBev, the Brazilian-Belgian brewer of Stella Artois, a clear run when it comes to buying Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch for US$52bn in cash.(BEVERAGES)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Some of Modelo's most prominent Mexican shareholders are taking the King of Beers to court. They feel that neither InBev nor Anheuser-Busch (A-B) properly consulted them on the takeover of America's most iconic and...

Dutch corporates eye strategic chances: after a period of reshaping and being outbid by private equity for assets, corporates in the Netherlands look set to become more acquisitive.(CORPORATES)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Philips and Akzo Nobel are representative of the lean, focused and flexible companies that have emerged after half a decade of substantial corporate restructuring in the Netherlands. Both have recently sought to...

Bright energy prospects in Benelux: energy utilities in Belgium and the Netherlands have become the focus of great interest from the biggest European gas and power companies, as the two countries shape up to become important hubs in the unified market of the future.(UTILITIES)
November 1, 2008... The strength of interest in Benelux utilities was evident in the auction earlier this year of a majority holding in Distrigas, the leading Belgian gas supplier, which also operates in six other countries. The European Commission required Suez...

Albert Frere: the art of the deal: the legendary deal making skills of Belgian entrepreneur Albert Frere have reshaped his native country's corporate landscape. He is now set on emerging markets.(PROFILE)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The sight of global financial markets spiked with fear could be just the sort of event to inspire Albert Frere into making a bold move. According to analysts who study his business empire, he often buys when others...

Private equity still playing: the Benelux countries have largely been the province of smaller private equity deals, but no one is completely immune to the economic crisis.(PRIVATE EQUITY)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With rare exceptions, the Benelux region is traditionally the stomping ground of smaller private equity firms, focused on growth capital and mid-market deals, rather than larger buyout houses that, until last year,...

Introduction: tax matters.
November 1, 2008... With the current twists and turns of the financial crisis and the M&A landscape permanently changed, many could be forgiven for thinking that tax is the last thing they should be worrying about. However, few people realise that tax-related cost...

Continuing turbulence fuels crisis of confidence: the turbulence in global financial markets will inevitably have a big impact on access to the debt markets by corporates and private equity houses, although exactly what the consequences will be in the long term is still difficult to pinpoint.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Neill Thomas, head of KPMG's Debt Advisory practice, acknowledges that it is always difficult when you are going through major events to see them in their longer-term context. He says that, in one sense, the...

Introduction: the emergence of Islamic finance.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An obvious hot question for those in M&A is that given the changing deal landscape, where is the money going to come from in future? Historically, the M&A market has been dominated by private equity funds and trade...

The future of global economic power.
November 1, 2008... The increasing importance of the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China and widespread economic concerns in Europe and the US, suggest that the world may now be beginning a new phase in global economic development. The only certain thing...

Roundtable forum: the educated deal: what should you be aware of when doing a deal in a BRIC country?(Discussion)(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In this issue's Roundtable Forum, Melissa Geiger, a partner in the M&A Tax team in KPMG in the UK, and M&A tax specialists from the BRIC countries, discuss the advantages and potential pitfalls of investing in the...

Generating value through tax: proper consideration of tax when planning the sale of a business can add significant value to the process and make it a much less taxing experience, write Phil Brook, Partner, and Iain Wright, Director, in KPMG's M&A Tax practice.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a 2007 KPMG survey of sellers' experiences * when selling businesses, It was found that only 46% of corporate sellers felt they had maximised value on their last disposal, and even private equity sellers only gave...

The merger directive--continental drift? Since December 15 2007, a UK company has been able to merge with another European Economic Area (EEA) company under cross-border merger regulations. The EEA includes all the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.(but not Switzerland)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although it had been possible previously to effect a cross-border merger through the creation of a European Company (Societas Europaea), new regulations set out for the first time the detailed mechanics for achieving...

HMRC advance agreement unit--what's it all about? Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' Advance Agreement Unit (AAU) was launched in October 2007 and aims to provide certainty to UK and international businesses involved in "significant inward investments or corporate reorganisations on UK tax issues".
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The remit of the AAU is to provide rulings across all ElK taxes that businesses can rely on where there is uncertainty about the application of existing law to a particular transaction. The AAU also has a role in...

About KPMG.
November 1, 2008... At KPMG in the UK we help public and private companies and private equity houses create value and mitigate risk on a transaction. Whether you are buying, selling or refinancing a deal, our dedicated M&A tax team provides specialist tax support...