Merger news seemed to be everywhere this morning.
The Ladbrokes PLC merger with Coral looks set to go ahead after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the marriage could go ahead once the pair had between them offloaded around 400 betting shops.
The Vivendi SA takeover of Mediaset SpA’s pay TV unit, however, will not be proceeding after Vivendi said it only wanted 20% of the unit, rather than full control.
There will not be a demerger of BT Group PLC’s (LON:BT.A) Openreach unit, either, after the industry watchdog Ofcom said the telecoms giant merely had to start running the unit as a semi-autonomous unit.
It is not quite on the same grand scale as the other deals mentioned above, but information management software specialist Idox PLC (LON:IDOX) has acquired Open Objects Software for £5.2mln.
Open Objects provides digital services for the public sector specialising in social care and health, and the acquisition supports Idox’s strategy of expanding its delivery of digital services across all areas of local government.
The acquisition of SABMiller by Anheuser-Busch InBev is still going ahead, but the Belgian group will have to stump up more cash, thanks to the collapse in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote.
On the subject of Brexit, property developer Capital & Counties Properties PLC (LON:CAPC) has cut the value of its Earls Court estate by 14%, reflecting the decline in London property values (from “completely ridiculous” to “quite ridiculous”) since the Brexit vote.
“Whilst the last quarter has been characterised by uncertainty in the London market as a whole, the value of this estate will increasingly be realised in the years ahead,” the property developer claimed.
No such worries for student accommodation developer and manager Unite Group PLC (LON:UTG), which has seen the sort of inactivity on the share price following its interims that would impress a first year Uni attendee.
Earnings per share rose 15% to 16.3p from 14.2p the year before, but the market – also somewhat like many a student – could not be bothered either way, it seems.
Moving on from the subject of students into the totally unrelated world of alcohol consumption, and Fevertree Drinks PLC (LON:FEVR).
Not that Fevertree makes alcoholic drinks, but its fizzy concoctions are often drunk in conjunction with alcohol.
Indian tonic water has been commercially produced since the middle of the 19th century, so you’d think the market for mixers would be relatively mature but there is no denying that Fevertree has shaken up the sector in the same way that Magners cider shook up the cider market a decade or so ago.
Of course, that may not be a comparison Fevertree would appreciate, given how quickly the established names in the cider business adapted to the Magners challenge with “me too” products and big marketing budgets, but for now, Fevertree certainly has gingered up the mixers trade.