Shareholder calls for softening of postal service’s obligations after failed takeover bid by Czech billionaire for owner IDS One of the top investors in Royal Mail’s owner has said it is vulnerable to “corporate predators”, arguing that a recent takeover bid by a Czech billionaire significantly undervalues the company. Redwheel called for regulators to water down the UK postal service’s legal obligations after Daniel Křetínský’s failed takeover attempt of its parent company International Distributions Services (IDS ..read more

Possible counteroffer by Blackstone could derail agreement with US fund Concord Chorus The troubled owner of music back catalogues ranging from Beyoncé to Neil Young has said that it would accept a takeover offer from Blackstone, after the private equity investor revealed it was considering outbidding a rival rights owner’s deal. Hipgnosis Songs Fund (HSF) put itself up for sale after a turbulent period on the London Stock Exchange, and now faces the prospect of a takeover battle after saying on Sunday it would back Blackstone’s approach over last week’s agreement with Concord Chorus ..read more

Microsoft, Meta and Google are snapping up small players in the burgeoning industry – but the Competition and Markets Authority is demanding fair play “Monopoly,” said Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley’s answer to Darth Vader, “is the condition of every successful business.” This aspiration is widely shared by Gamman, the new acronynm for the Valley’s giants – Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Nvidia. And the arrival of AI has sharpened the appetite of each for attaining that blessed state before the others get there. One symptom of their anxiety is the way they have been throwing unconscio ..read more

International Paper settles all-share deal after tussle with British rival Mondi Business live – latest updates The FTSE 100 UK packaging firm DS Smith is to be taken over by a bigger US rival, International Paper, after the companies agreed a £5.8bn all-share deal. Tennessee-based International Paper, one of the largest paper and pulp companies in the world, moved in late March to gatecrash a £5.14bn all-share deal put forward by its British rival Mondi, based in Weybridge, that month ..read more

US investment firm snaps up UK discount retail chain ‘with huge potential’ for undisclosed sum Poundstretcher has been bought by the US investment firm Fortress, the owner of the Majestic Wine off-licence and Punch pubs group, for an undisclosed sum. The deal for the UK discount retail chain, which includes its 322 shops, of which about 60 trade under the name Bargain Buys, is the latest twist in the history of one of Britain’s first discounters, which has undergone a number of rescue deals ..read more

Traditional affinity between Conservatives and the newspaper has given way to a complex, splintered drama, and the attempted acquisition by Gulf-backed RedBird IMI lies in limbo With the Conservative party trailing Labour by nearly 20 points in the polls, it needs all the help it can get if it is going to have a fighting chance at the next election. So Downing Street strategists privately wonder why the Daily Telegraph – arguably the UK’s most staunchly rightwing paper – is not being more supportive of Rishi Sunak in its coverage ..read more

Media companies to combine publishing and advertising platforms to target gen Z and millennials The Independent will take control of BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK and Ireland with the intention to create “Britain’s biggest publisher network for gen Z and millennial audiences”, the publishers have said. The two media companies will combine their publishing, data and advertising platforms “to allow commercial partners to seamlessly buy across their sites ..read more

US-based International Paper puts in £5.7bn takeover proposal for DS Smith, gatecrashing Mondi offer An international bidding war is brewing for the UK packaging company DS Smith after a US-based paper producer put forward a £5.7bn takeover proposal, gatecrashing a deal it had agreed with the British rival Mondi. DS Smith confirmed it was now in talks with International Paper, which is one of the largest paper and pulp companies in the world, over an all-stock offer, which would trump the £5.14bn deal put forward by Mondi earlier this month ..read more

With the £2.9bn acquisition having big sway over its future, owners should have a say, but democractic governance is blocked Should the members of Nationwide be allowed to vote on their building society’s £2.9bn acquisition of Virgin Money? Well, of course they should. The concept of mutual ownership can be fuzzy around the edges, but a deal that will expand the society’s assets by about a third is precisely the sort of transaction where the members should have the final say. Indeed, you’d hope the Nationwide’s board would see the sense of checking that the owners are up for the adventure. The ..read more

Richard Branson has already indicated he will back takeover that will require the agreement of the group’s shareholders Business live – latest updates Nationwide Building Society is lined up to take over its smaller rival Virgin Money after the pair formally agreed a deal worth £2.9bn. The deal, which will solidify Nationwide’s position as the UK’s second largest mortgage lender, will also trigger the resignation of Virgin Money boss David Duffy, and is likely to lead to job cuts as well as an official “review” of the combined group’s workforce ..read more