Download PDF Introduction Data is now often considered one of the most profitable resources in today’s digital economy, with many of the world’s biggest companies, including Amazon and Meta, benefitting massively from how they collect, analyse and utilise data. Likewise, financial data vendors have been in existence as long as Read more…
Download PDF Introduction In 2005, Blackstone’s [NYSE: BX] private equity fund made a, for its size, relatively modest investment of £102m to acquire Merlin Entertainment, a theme parks company, from the private equity fund Hermes Equity Partners. This was the first step in its strategy of rolling up the attractions Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The historic Brexit referendum of 2016, in which the UK voted to leave the European Union, initiated a complex web of political and economic forces that have reshaped the nation’s financial landscape. Nearly four years elapsed between the pivotal referendum in June 2016, where 51.89% of the Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The cybersecurity market has undergone major changes over the past decades. With the increased digitalization of companies, the importance of data has become critical. “Data is the new gold” wrote Sandro Shubladze (Forbes author) in March 2023, referring to the growing importance that data has in the Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Wm Morrisons, the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, is pushing ahead with their plan to sell its fuel forecourts business to Motor Fuel Group (MFG), the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK, for up to £2.5bn. Both firms are controlled and owned by Read more…
Download PDF Introduction & Background In a time marked by significant shifts in infrastructure demand driven by the energy transition and the development of new technologies, project finance has emerged as a pivotal financing mechanism. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the stricter regulation on banks and their lending requirements has Read more…
Download PDF The Sovereign Wealth Fund’s first love – Sports, Media and Entertainment In October 2021, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed a £305m takeover of Newcastle United by acquiring an 80% stake from British retail tycoon Mike Ashley. According to research conducted by SPORT+MARKT, the Premier League, England’s Read more…
Download PDF Introduction February 26th 2007 marked one of the peaks of the pre-financial crisis exuberance: KKR [NYSE: KKR] and TPG [NASDAQ: TPG], together with a number of banks including Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS] and Lehman Brothers, announced the acquisition of the Texas power company TXU for an astounding $44.3bn Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Investment in defence tech start-up companies has surged over the past years as geopolitical tensions across the globe keep escalating. US venture capital firms raised their investments in defence start-ups from less than $16bn in 2019 to $33bn in 2022. The first five months of 2023 alone Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Lackluster equity capital markets are showing signs of recovery, after almost two years of low activity. The downturn was initially caused by rising uncertainty as high inflation, rising interest rates and a gloomy economic outlook that encouraged investors to ditch growth stocks and turn to safer, more Read more…
Download PDF Introduction A new and ambitious proposal launched by U.S. regulators has taken the commercial banking industry by storm, with mixed reactions from bank executives, analysts and politicians. Fed Chair Jerome Powell came out in support of the proposal but admitted that regulators have a difficult task ahead of Read more…
Download PDF China’s current economic downturn Over the past decades, China’s economic trajectory has signaled its resilience and strategic prowess. It went from farming to manufacturing and became a leader in technology and infrastructure. Symbols of modern progress were quickly incorporated into the cityscapes’ once-grand historical settings. However, the recent Read more…
Download PDF Introduction Internationally, Bed Bath & Beyond is probably best known for its prominent role in the 2021 meme stock craze. Inside the US, however, the firm and its specialty homeware shops were a central part of popular culture. The company’s April 23rd bankruptcy capped off a tumultuous couple Read more…
Download PDF Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Before delving into commercial real estate (CRE), which will be the focus of this article, it is useful to provide an overview of the Real Estate Market. The Real Estate sector is expected to reach a size of $613.6tn in 2023, with the Read more…
Download PDF Introduction The potential $23bn hostile takeover of Teck Resources (NYSE: TECK) by the commodities behemoth, Glencore (LON: GLEN), would mark a significant moment in the industry. The Canadian family-controlled company has long been a prized asset eyed by the biggest industry players; however, its organisational structure was thought Read more…