Latest news with #BraveBison
Sky News
08-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Brave Bison strikes latest deal with £20m move on Centaur Media arm
A London-listed marketing specialist backed by Rupert Murdoch and Lord Ashcroft is extending its acquisition spree with a near-£20m swoop on a division of Centaur Media. Sky News has learnt that Brave Bison was on Thursday evening finalising a deal to buy MiniMBA, an e-learning and training business serving marketing and technology professionals, founded by Professor Mark Ritson. The deal, which is expected to be funded from a combination of bank debt, cash and a small equity raise backed by existing Brave Bison shareholders, may be announced as early as Friday morning. It will effectively fire the starting gun on a break-up of Centaur, which also owns The Lawyer and which received an aborted takeover approach last year from Waterland, a private equity firm. MiniMBA, which counts Amex, Carlsberg, Google, Nestle and Tesco among its clients, has trained more than 50,000 people since its inception in 2016. The division recorded about £11m in revenue last year, and is profitable. The acquisition of MiniMBA will create a new division for Brave Bison, which also specialises in fan engagement, social media and influencer marketing. Professor Ritson is expected to inject cash into the deal and will become one of Brave Bison's top-ten shareholders, according to sources. The deal will come just weeks after Mr Murdoch's News Corporation took a stake in Brave Bison by combining their influencer marketing divisions. Brave Bison, which is run by brothers Oli and Theo Green, has sealed a string of transactions this year, and counts Lord Ashcroft and the prominent entrepreneur Luke Johnson among its leading shareholders. Previous deals included the purchase of Engage Digital, a key digital partner to sporting properties including the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup. The Green brothers took over the Brave Bison in 2020, and have overseen a sharp strategic realignment and improvement in its performance. Last year, it bought the podcaster and entrepreneur Steven Bartlett's social media and influencer agency, SocialChain. In total, the company has struck seven takeover deals since the Greens assumed control. At Thursday's stock market close, Brave Bison had a market capitalisation of about £33m.
The Independent
10-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
London stocks jump as tariff pause boosts European trading
Donald Trump's decision to pause and reduce his tariff plans for dozens on nations was warmly welcomed by Europe's key financial markets. In London, stocks shot higher after the US president said he would push back the introduction of a 10% tariff by 90 days. Commodity firms and retailers with exposure to the US and Asia, such as JD Sports, made strong gains as they welcomed the change in policy. However, grocery firms were weaker as analysts were left unimpressed by Tesco forecasting lower profits. The FTSE 100 finished up by 3.04%, or 233.77 points, to close at 7,913.25. Nevertheless, Wall Street stocks plunged after the start of trading as the prospect of an all-out trade war between the US and China intensified further. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 were both more than 4% lower when London markets closed after US inflation also fell by more-than-expected to 2.4% in March. In mainland Europe, the main indexes still closed firmly higher amid positivity surrounding a reduction in tariffs for EU nations, although they were down from intraday highs. The Cac 40 ended 3.83% higher for the day and the Dax index was up 4.67%. Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at Avatrade, said: 'The market's surge following President Trump's 90-day tariff pause is striking – but not entirely surprising. 'After weeks of rising tension, investors welcomed any sign of relief. 'That said, this looks more like a classic relief rally than a long-term turning point.' Meanwhile, the pound was up 0.97% at 1.294 US dollars and was down 1.23% at 1.155 euros – its lowest level since December 2023 – when London's markets closed. In company news, Tesco closed in the red after the UK's largest supermarket group indicated the growing UK grocery price war would hit its profits. It said said it expects to make as much as £400 million less in profit next year as a result of what boss Ken Murphy called 'a very competitive market', amid aggressive price reductions at rival Asda. Shares in Tesco were down 6.1% at 314.6p, with major competitor Sainsbury's also lower for the day. Elsewhere, manufacturer TT Electronics tumbled in value after it warned that US tariffs will knock its profits and risks impacting its ability to keep operating. It came as the Woking-based manufacturer of electronics also announced the sudden departure of its boss Peter France. Shares dived by 9.9% to 75p as a result. Digital marketing firm Brave Bison climbed during the session after striking a deal to buy an influencer marketing business from Rupert Murdoch's News UK for up to £7.6 million. Shares rose by 13% to 2.6p after announcing the deal, which will also see Mr Murdoch's firm take shares in Brave Bison. The price of oil dropped further on the back of increased concerns about global economic growth and the potential impact of this on energy demand. A barrel of Brent crude oil was down by 3.8% to 62.99 dollars (£48.67) as markets were closing in London. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were 3i Group, up 279p to 3,879p, Barclays, up 18.6p to 260.25p, Intermediate Capital, up 114p to 1,683p, Anglo American, up 126.4p to 1,891.2p, and Rentokil, up 20.9p to 331.8p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Tesco, down 20.6p to 314.6p, Sainsbury's, down 7p to 228.8p, Aviva, down 3.9p to 496.3p, Reckitt, down 37p to 4,760p, and Croda, down 19p to 2,623p.
Sky News
09-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News
News Corp to take stake in London-listed marketing group Brave Bison
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is in advanced talks to take a stake in a London-listed marketing specialist backed by Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party treasurer. Sky News has learnt that the media tycoon's British subsidiary, News UK, is close to agreeing a deal to combine its influencer marketing division - which is called The Fifth - with Brave Bison, an acquisitive group run by brothers Oli and Theo Green. Sources said the deal could be announced as early as Thursday morning. News UK publishes The Sun and The Times, among other media assets. If completed, the transaction would involve Brave Bison acquiring The Fifth with a combination of cash and shares that would result in News UK becoming one of its largest shareholders. The purchase price is said to be in the region of £8m. The Fifth has worked with the television host and model Maya Jama on a campaign for the energy drink Lucozade, and Amelia Dimoldenberg, the YouTube star. Its other clients include Samsung and Tommee Tippee. The deal will be the third struck by Brave Bison this year, with the previous transactions including the purchase of Engage Digital, a key digital partner to sporting properties including the Men's T20 Cricket World Cup. The Green brothers took over the Brave Bison in 2020, and have overseen a sharp strategic realignment and improvement in its performance. Last year, it bought the podcaster and entrepreneur Steven Bartlett's social media and influencer agency, SocialChain. In total, the company has struck six takeover deals since the Greens assumed control. At Wednesday's stock market close, Brave Bison had a market capitalisation of about £31m.
