Electric Business

US toymaker Hasbro, the company behind My Little Pony and Play-Doh, has acquired Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One for £3.3bn. The deal, which is three times what ITV offered in an aborted takeover attempt three years ago, has sent Entertainment One's share price soaring by 30% in early trading. It is the second multi-billion pound takeover of a UK-listed firm this week, with the recent drop in the pound over no-deal Brexit fears cited as a factor. eOne has made a handful of acquisitions this year, to grow its portfolio of non-scripted shows with a deal for Daisybeck Studios last month and

Life insurance group ReAssure has agreed to acquire Quilter's heritage life and pensions division, Old Mutual Wealth Life Assurance, for £425m. The deal follows an aborted attempt to float ReAssure stocks in June, with its parent company SwissRe pulling it within weeks citing weak investor demand. ReAssure is the UK's sixth largest life insurance group, employing 2,500 people across sites in Telford, Hitchin, London and Norwich. The deal will sees its assets under management grow by £12bn to £81bn and add a further 200,000 policies to its portfolio of 4.3 million.

Manchester digital agency I-COM has marked its 15th anniversary with the establishment of an employee ownership trust. The move sees the company's owners transfer a majority stake in the firm to staff, to share in its profits as long as they remain staff.

Leeds-based build-to-rent specialist LIV Group has been acquired by US real estate, investment and management firm Cortland. LIV Group employs c. 120 people and operates 14 communities across the UK and Ireland, totalling 2,000 BTR apartments. It has around 7,000 more units due for completion by the end of 2021. Based in Atlanta, Cortland has announced plans to invest approximately £4bn in the UK BTR market in order to build a portfolio of around 10,000 homes.

Acquisitive healthcare communications firm Fishawack has made a fourth acquisition in 12 months with a deal for 2e Creative, based in Indiana. 2e is described as a 'launch and growth agency' and counts Fortune 50 companies from the pharma, medtech and research biotech sectors among its clients. LDC-backed Fishawack reported £47.1m turnover for the financial year ended 31 March 2018.

Leeds-based business advisory and accountancy firm Winburn Glass Norfolk and Murray Harcourt have agreed to merge. It will be incorporated into the Murray Harcourt brand.

Flooring group Victoria has announced that it is in talks to acquire Spanish ceramics manufacturer Ibero Porcelánico. In July, Victoria refinanced through an offer of £300m in secured notes, aiming to fix its debt until 2024 in support of operational flexibility and its long-term growth plans. The move saw shares drop 35% in two days, wiping £260m of the Kidderminster firm's market value. It has since revealed growth in underlying earnings and revenues up 35% to £574m in its accounts for the year ended 30 March 2019. Victoria has made decisive strides into mainland Europe in recent years, with

CK Asset Holdings, the property investment firm owned by Hong Kong billionaire Victor Li, has struck a multi-billion pound deal for Greene King, the UK's biggest listed pubs and brewery group. Taking advantage of the weak pound, CK Assets has offered 850p per share for the 220-year-old business, valuing it at £4.6bn minus debt. CK Assets has said it is relaxed by the economic prospects for the UK ahead of its scheduled departure from the EU, choosing instead to take a long-term view of British consumer spending. Faced with changing consumer trends, such as young people drinking less and

Power Installations has undergone an MBO, with backing from EV SME Loans. A team of 11 in Nantwich, Power Installations provides specialist cable jointing services to electricity distribution networks.

Aptean has offered £90.1m for UK retail and manufacturing software developer Sanderson Group. Controlled by TA Associates and Vista Equity Partners, Aptean is a US enterprise solutions firm and has offered a premium of 9.8% on Sanderson’s last closing price. The deal will provide Aptean with an entry point to the UK and the rest of Europe.