Mergers & Acquisitions in November 2016

As 2016 nears the end, the UK M&A market appears as active as ever, with 230 deals completed during the month of November, according to online deals database, Zephyr.

The most valuable deal during the month of November involved the acquisition of British betting shop, bingo and casino operator, Gala Coral Group Limited, by its competitor, Ladbrokes plc.  Zephyr notes that Gala Coral was acquired for an estimated value of £2.3 billion, and the merger has resulted in a new name for the acquirer company, Ladbrokes Coral Group plc.

This month also witnessed the announced acquisition of Skyscanner Holdings Ltd, by Chinese tourism group, Ctrip.com International Ltd, for the value of £1.4 billion.  UK-based Skyscanner will continue to remain “very much a British company” post-acquisition, according to Skyscanner’s chief executive, Gareth Williams, and the current management team will continue to be in charge of its operations.

Another notable deal completion during November 2016 was the acquisition of ODEON & UCI Cinemas Holdings Ltd by AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.  ODEON, the largest theatre exhibitor in Europe, was acquired for the value of £972.2 million.  The merger of AMC and ODEON has enabled the company to become the largest film exhibition company globally.