Today UK Times
Company-authored announcements published in notice format.
Paramount Skydance settled a lawsuit led by California with a dozen US states, removing one of the final hurdles to its $110bn (£82.8bn) merger with Warner Bros Discovery. The agreement includes a quota of at least 30 films a year, US production percentages, an editorial independence board for CBS News and CNN, and a $17.5m payment into the Writers Guild of America health fund.
Amazon was granted warrants to buy up to about 1.69 million Generac shares worth roughly $340 million, tied to an up-to-$8 billion deal for backup power generators for its data centres; Generac shares jumped more than 40 per cent.
Clearlake Capital, the majority owner of Chelsea Football Club since 2022, has acquired the remaining stakes held by chairman Todd Boehly and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, taking full control of the club. According to a report by the Financial Times cited by CNBC, Boehly and Walter will receive a combined £950 million (about $1.27 billion), valuing the club at £5 billion. Boehly is stepping down as chairman, while Chelsea said there will be no changes to day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy.
The ChatGPT maker reported six further cases of unexpected model behaviour and unveiled a framework to track and publicly disclose such incidents.
At its Dreamforce event the software vendor forecast fiscal 2030 revenue of over $63 billion, above analysts' estimates, as it leans into AI partnerships and buybacks.
The e-commerce group said it is suspending work with the operator of a cargo jet involved in a fatal crash in Miami, while supporting the ongoing investigation.
The company said its threat intelligence report identified and disrupted misuse of its technology, including cases that could support biological weapons development.
Britain's biggest private hospital operator will be taken private in a £1.03bn deal at 250p per share led by Toscafund Asset Management, ending a year-long strategic review of the FTSE 250 company.
Volkswagen has approved plans to shed 100,000 jobs — about 15% of its more than 650,000-strong workforce — as it faces fierce competition from Chinese rivals, falling sales in China and hefty US tariffs. After the latest round of talks the carmaker announced a further 50,000 cuts and agreed a staggered end to current production at four German plants between 2031 and 2034, while halving its model line in what is described as the largest restructuring ever carried out in the global automotive industry.
Electronic Arts was taken private on 5 August 2026 in a $55 billion deal led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund with Affinity Partners, the investment firm of Jared Kushner. The transaction is believed to be the largest leveraged buyout ever, with PIF contributing $36 billion and borrowing $20 billion from JPMorgan. CEO Andrew Wilson retains his position.
China's largest wafer foundry SMIC won securities regulator approval to issue 547.2 million A-shares for the remaining 49 per cent stake in its Beijing unit SMNC, valuing the stake at 40.6 billion yuan (US$5.97 billion). Upon completion, SMNC becomes a wholly owned subsidiary in what could be the largest merger and restructuring deal on Shanghai's STAR Market.
Takeda Pharmaceutical announced in March 2026 that it will cut 400 jobs in its US operations as part of a broader restructuring ahead of a June 2026 leadership change, when Julie Kim becomes the company's first female CEO. The overhaul includes $230 million investment in new production facilities at a Los Angeles plant and a refocus on blood products and priority therapeutic areas.
Kraft Heinz announced on 11 February 2026 that it is pausing work on its previously planned split into two separately traded companies, reversing the September 2025 breakup announcement. New CEO Steve Cahillane, who joined in January, said many issues are 'fixable and within our control' and pledged a $600 million investment in marketing, sales and R&D to revive the US business. Berkshire Hathaway's Greg Abel expressed support for the decision.
BP appointed Woodside Energy chief Meg O'Neill as its first female and first externally recruited chief executive; Murray Auchincloss steps down after less than two years as the company refocuses on oil and gas.
The Silicon Valley chipmaker reached a market value above $5tn, exceeding the GDP of India, Japan and the United Kingdom, just three months after becoming the first company to break through $4tn. The milestone follows $500bn in disclosed chip orders, new partnerships with Uber and Nokia, and a $100bn investment in OpenAI.
GSK, Britain's second-biggest pharmaceutical company, announced on 29 September 2025 that chief executive Dame Emma Walmsley would step down after eight years in the role. Chief commercial officer Luke Miels was named as her successor, inheriting a company that has been refocused on specialty medicines and vaccines under Walmsley's leadership.
Kraft Heinz announced a tax-free spin-off into two independent, publicly traded companies — Global Taste Elevation Co and North American Grocery Co — with completion expected in the second half of 2026.
Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese parent of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, is considering spending roughly 2 trillion yen ($13.6 billion) over the next several years on an overseas expansion that would include a new foray into Europe and a debut in South America, Nikkei Asia reported on 28 August 2025. The plan was outlined by Stephen Hayes Dacus, who became CEO of the group in May, in an interview with Nikkei.
Intel reported second-quarter 2025 revenue of $12.86 billion, above the $11.92 billion analysts expected, as new chief executive Lip-Bu Tan announced sweeping cuts to chip-factory construction, cancelled planned fabs in Germany and Poland, and said the company has completed the majority of its planned 15% workforce reduction, aiming to end the year with about 75,000 employees.
Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its approximately $47 billion takeover bid for Japan's Seven & i Holdings on 17 July 2025, citing a 'lack of engagement' from the target's board. The collapse of the year-long pursuit was seen as a litmus test for foreign M&A in corporate Japan and sent signals to activist investors about the limits of cross-border dealmaking.
Nippon Steel completed its $14.9 billion acquisition of United States Steel Corporation on 18 June 2025, ending an 18-month battle that drew political opposition from both major US parties. The deal includes a 'golden share' for the US government and a commitment to invest $11 billion through 2028 in American steelmaking capacity.
Activist investor Carl Icahn reached an agreement with Caesars Entertainment in March 2025 to expand the board to twelve directors and appoint Jesse Lynn and Ted Papapostolou of Icahn Enterprises. Icahn, who owns 1.15% of the company, said he looks forward to exploring strategic alternatives for Caesars' underappreciated digital business, which generated $1.16 billion in revenue in 2024, up 19.5% year on year.
Google signed a definitive agreement to buy New York-based cloud security startup Wiz for $32 billion in an all-cash deal — its largest acquisition ever, topping the $12.5 billion Motorola purchase of 2012. Wiz, which walked away from a $23 billion offer in 2024, will join Google Cloud; closing is expected in 2026.
The chipmaker named semiconductor veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its fourth permanent chief executive in seven years; shares jumped about 12% after the announcement.
Just Eat Takeaway.com's board unanimously approved a €4.1 billion all-cash takeover by Prosus, the South African internet investor owned by Naspers, on 24 February 2025. The deal values shares at €20.30, a 22% premium to the three-month high but less than a fifth of the 2020 peak above €100. Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi said the purchase offers an 'opportunity to create a European tech champion'.
The boards of Nissan and Honda voted on 13 February 2025 to end merger talks that would have created a $60bn auto group, which would have been the world's fourth-biggest carmaker by vehicle sales. The two Japanese companies said they will continue to cooperate on electric vehicles.
In December 2024 the UK government approved the historic takeover of Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services, by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský, with five-year undertakings covering asset sales, dividends, the £1bn pension surplus and net zero, plus a permanent UK headquarters and tax residence.
The UK regulator cleared the £16.5 billion Vodafone–Three merger, creating the country's largest mobile operator with more than 27 million subscribers, subject to binding commitments including £11 billion of network investment.
Intel announced on 2 December 2024 that CEO Pat Gelsinger would retire effective 1 December, ending a troubled four-year tenure during which the company's stock fell 61% and the board lost confidence in his foundry-first strategy. CFO David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus were named interim co-leaders.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority approved the £2.5bn merger of housebuilders Barratt and Redrow on 4 October 2024, after the companies agreed that homes at two overlapping developments near Whitchurch and Nantwich will be sold by independent agent Savills under a monitored undertaking.
Nike announced on 19 September 2024 that CEO John Donahoe would retire on 13 October, to be replaced by company veteran Elliott Hill, who retired from Nike just four years earlier. Shares rose more than 9% in after-hours trading on the news. Donahoe, who joined the board in 2014 and became CEO in 2020, oversaw a challenging period marked by faltering demand in China, inflation and rising competition from On and Hoka.
Guotai Junan Securities plans to absorb Haitong Securities in a stock swap, creating a state-backed megabrokerage with 1.68 trillion yuan (US$236.9 billion) in total assets that would surpass Citic Securities as China's biggest brokerage, according to a South China Morning Post report of 6 September 2024.
Starbucks replaced chief executive Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle's Brian Niccol in August 2024; shares spiked about 20% as activist investor Elliott pressed for change amid weak US and China demand.
HSBC named chief financial officer Georges Elhedery as its new group chief executive on 17 July 2024, replacing Noel Quinn who announced his departure in April after five years. The Lebanese-born, Mandarin-speaking banker takes over in September as the bank prepares for fresh US-China tensions. Chair Mark Tucker called him the 'outstanding candidate' with a record of 'driving growth, delivering simplification and containing costs'.
The Federal Trade Commission reached a consent agreement with Exxon Mobil that clears the way for its roughly $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, with one notable condition: Pioneer's former chief executive Scott Sheffield will be barred from joining the Exxon board.
Paramount Global removed Bob Bakish as chief executive on 29 April 2024, replacing him with a newly created three-person 'Office of the CEO' comprising George Cheeks (CBS), Chris McCarthy (Paramount Media Networks) and Brian Robbins (Paramount Pictures). The leadership change came amid ongoing merger and sale negotiations and a prolonged decline in the company's stock price.
Boeing announced on 25 March 2024 that president and CEO Dave Calhoun would step down at the end of the year following the January Alaska Airlines 737 Max door-panel blowout. Board chair Larry Kellner will not seek reelection; former Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf was named to lead the board's search for a successor. Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Stan Deal also retired, with Stephanie Pope appointed to lead BCA.
Capital One agreed in February 2024 to acquire Discover Financial Services in a deal valued at $35.3 billion, a combination that Fortune reported would make it the largest card issuer in the United States and give it ownership of a payments network, with closing seen in late 2024 or 2025 subject to regulatory approval.
JPMorgan Chase announced a senior executive reshuffle in January 2024 to 'position the firm for the future', moving Jennifer Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh to jointly run an expanded commercial and investment bank division while Marianne Lake takes sole leadership of consumer and community banking. The changes sharpen the succession picture for CEO Jamie Dimon, who is under contract until at least 2026 and earned a record $36 million in 2023.