Companies based across the North West have announced a series of mergers and acquisitions over the last week or so.
Businesses including the likes of THG, Timpson and RSK have all been involved as well as the likes of Manchester United, Lookers and CorpAcq.
Below, BusinessLive has rounded up 15 of the biggest deals from across the region we feel you should not miss.
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Kindeva Drug Delivery
Hundreds of jobs have been secured and created after a £33m investment was announced by the government and global firm Kindeva Drug Delivery.
The funding will go towards the manufacturing of a new generation of green, low-carbon, respiratory inhalers.
The investment will create 40 full-time jobs and safeguard 218 existing roles across Kindeva’s sites in Clitheroe and Loughborough.
CorpAcq
An investment business founded by Sale Sharks co-owner Simon Orange is to be acquired and list on the New York Stock Exchange in a deal which values it at around $1.6bn.
Altrincham headquartered CorpAcq's portfolio includes 41 businesses such as Cotton Traders, Aintree Plastics and Metcalfe Plant Hire and is set to receive $592m in additional funding through the move.
The company is to be acquired by Churchill VII, a special purpose investment vehicle set up as a trust account by New York corporate financier Michael Klein.
Lookers
Cinch has backed an attempt to take car dealership chain Lookers private after the offer was increased to more than £500m.
The online car retailer, which holds a stake of about 19.5% in the Altrincham-based group, announced last month that it planned to vote against the proposed deal.
At the time, the offer on the table from Alpha Auto Group, an Ontario-based car dealership chain, valued Lookers at around £465.4m.
However, Alpha Auto Groupincreased its offerto 130p per share last week, which valued Lookers at £504.2m.
Media Chain Group
A company co-founded by Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett has agreed to sell a number of digital assets to the owner of Entertainment Daily, The Daily Mash, The Tab, and The Poke for $800,000.
Manchester-based Media Chain Group will sell the digital assets of 99 Problems, Student Problems and The Life Network Shopping to Digitalbox plc.
Media Chain Group was previously part of the broader Social Chain business established in 2014 by Mr Bartlett and Dominic McGregor.
Manchester United
Manchester United have agreed a deal worth at least £900m with Adidas.
The sportswear giant will be the official kit supplier to the Old Trafford club for a further ten years.
The new deal runs until June 2035 and has a "minimum cash guarantee" of £900m, United said.
Timpson
The investment arm of retailer Timpson Group has partnered with a venture capital group on proposals back "innovative businesses solving global challenges in breakthrough fields".
The Manchester-headquartered group and Future Planet Capital (FPC) want to support companies working on artificial intelligence, climate technologies, engineering biology, quantum computing and semiconductors.
They have submitted a joint proposal to establish a new national university fund under the British Business Bank’s Long-term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS) initiative.
Holiferm
New jobs are to be created after a multi-million pound investment in a biotech research facility was announced.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is to invest £2m in Holiferm, which develops and produces environmentally friendly biosurfactants that are used in a variety of products, including shampoos, surface cleaners, hand cleansers and cosmetics.
The firm's gravity-based separation technology, which was first developed at the University of Manchester, uses fermentation to create the substance in a similar way to how beer is brewed.
THG
THG has completed a deal to take over business newspaper City AM.
In a news article published on its website, the London-based free sheet said the Manchester-headquartered group would "invest in both editorial and technological resources for the newsroom as well as expanding the paper’s lifestyle and sports categories".
It added that there would be "further investment into new areas including sustainability, wellness technology and beauty".
Browns Print
Manchester-based Browns Print, one of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s largest print manufacturers, is set to increase efficiency and production capabilities after securing a £2.42m in asset financing from Lloyds Bank.
Browns Print was looking to invest in a replacement printing press to increase capacity within the business and lower its energy consumption.
By implementing the new technology, the firm now prints more efficiently, uses less energy, and produces less waste than before.
RSK
Entrepreneurs Hub has announced the sale of its client Bateman Skips to RSK Group.
Bateman Skips is one of the South West's biggest recycling and waste management businesses in the Bristol and Bath area.
Entrepreneurs Hub advised the shareholders of Bateman Skips negotiating a successful sale to Cheshire-based RSK Group, a global group of companies delivering sustainable solutions.
Northern Estates Services
Nurture Landscapes Group has purchased Lancashire-based Northern Estates Services.
The acquisition – the group’s ninth in the past 12 months - brings additional delivery capability from Carlisle in the north to Stoke in the south.
Employing 120 people, NESL was founded in 2007 by husband-and-wife team Mark and Kathy Ridehalgh, operating out of a head office farm unit in Blacko, Lancashire, supported by an operational unit in Bradford, Yorkshire.
Challenge-trg
Wigan-based Challenge-trg Group has announced that it has acquired Portman Logistics.
Portman Logistics has over 30 years of experience providing a wide portfolio of clients with container and haulage services, covering all major º£½ÇÊÓƵ ports.
The acquisition will enable Challenge Logistics, the transport division of Challenge-trg Group, to further bolster its transport offering with multi-port container solutions and scale its service offering for general haulage services and logistics.
V7 Recruitment
V7 Recruitment, a Manchester-based specialist recruitment agency, has secured a new, flexible £2.8m asset-based lending facility from Cynergy Business Finance.
Founded in 2017, V7 Recruitment completed a management buyout during 2022 and has plans to expand into the US by 2027.
The business is expected to turnover £14m in FY23, with the goal of achieving £20m in FY24.
Express Solicitors
Express Solicitors has acquired two Manchester personal injury firms, Amelans Solicitors and Jefferies Solicitors.
Managing partner at Express Solicitors James Maxey said: "We are thrilled to have acquired Amelans Solicitors and Jefferies Solicitors, they are both companies we have held in high regard for some time. They have excellent reputations with exacting standards and good lawyers."
The two acquisitions will take the number of Express Solicitors employees to c.650.
Hurst corporate finance duo Lauren Roberts and Danielle Tierney advised the shareholders of Jefferies Solicitors on the sale of its practice to Express Solicitors.
APEM Group
Stockport-headquartered APEM Group has announced the acquisition of NASH Maritime, a specialist shipping, navigation and maritime risk consultancy.
This is APEM’s fifth acquisition in the last two years and bolsters the company’s offering to the global offshore wind and maritime infrastructure sectors.
APEM Group CEO Leah McGimpsey said: "I am delighted to welcome NASH Maritime to the APEM Group.
"NASH Maritime will be a significant addition to the group, bringing maritime expertise, cutting-edge technology solutions and a global footprint, while broadening the markets and clients we serve."
