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Mergers & Acquisitions - 2002
Hammerson is to acquire RT Group Developments, which includes a portfolio of city centre development opportunities previously owned by Railtrack, for £63m.
31-Dec-2002
Michael Gerson, the removals and storage company with warehouses in north London and Daventry, is undergoing a management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland Corporate Finance.
31-Dec-2002
Whatman is to sell its Whatman HemaSure blood filtration business to Pall Corporation of the US for £3.7m.
24-Dec-2002
Advanced Power Components is to sell its communication components manufacturing business to Bel Fuse of the US for an initial £3.5m.
24-Dec-2002
SMG is planning to sell its SMG Publishing division, which includes three newspapers, 11 magazines and an online advertising business, to Gannett UK for £216m.
24-Dec-2002
Bizspace has acquired Classdon, the operator of four flexible workspace centres in London Colney, Hove, Burgess Hill and Didcot, for £4.3m.
24-Dec-2002
Ulster Television has acquired Lite FM, the Irish radio station operating from Dublin, for £9m.
24-Dec-2002
Bunzl has acquired Thomas McLaughlin, the Irish distributor of catering equipment with annual sales of £14m, in order to expand its outsourcing services business.
24-Dec-2002
Molins has acquired the smoke constituent analytical business of LGC for £1m, and will rename the business Arista Laboratories Europe and occupy LGC's laboratories in Teddington while a new site is established.
24-Dec-2002
British Energy has sold its 82% stake in Bruce Power of Canada to a consortium led by Cameco Corporation for £309m.
24-Dec-2002
Anite Group is to sell its loss-making German IT consulting subsidiary, which employs 130 staff, to a management team for a nominal sum.
23-Dec-2002
Tribal Group has acquired Kingsway Advertising for up to £14m and Action Medical for up to £9m, in order to become one of the country's largest suppliers of recruitment advertising services to the NHS.
23-Dec-2002
Alfred McAlpine has acquired the trade and assets of Inframan, the Cardiff-based infrastructure management company, for £5.2m.
23-Dec-2002
Intelliplus has acquired the internet division of Directional Solutions for £0.4m, in order to expand its web hosting and internet access business.
23-Dec-2002
Lyle & Scott is to merge with Clan Douglas, creating a combined knitwear manufacturing company with 300 staff under the name of Hawick Knitwear.
23-Dec-2002
Eurotunnel has acquired Abbey National March Leasing, the aircraft leasing company, for £345m.
23-Dec-2002
Graphite Capital is to support a £25m management buy-out at Tom Smith, the manufacturer of Christmas crackers.
23-Dec-2002
EQ Group has acquired Quaestor Research & Marketing Strategists of Leeds for £2m.
20-Dec-2002
Eleco is to acquire Consultec, the Swedish supplier of design and estimating software to the construction industry, for £3.8m.
20-Dec-2002
Dixon Motors is to sell its Car Clinics business to BikeNet, the Aim-quoted cash shell, for an initial £3m.
20-Dec-2002
Simon Group is to sell its tank storage business to private equity firm Patron Capital for £64m, in order to focus on ports and logistics.
20-Dec-2002
Arriva is to sell seven Ford dealerships to Hartwell Automotive Group, including sites in Chippenham, Swindon, Halifax, Holmfirth, Huddersfield and two in Nottingham.
20-Dec-2002
Ford Retail UK has bought 11 of the 12 Quartic Group dealerships out of receivership, saving more than 600 jobs.
20-Dec-2002
Soya International has bought T Kearns, the Bradford-based soft drinks manufacturer with 20 staff, from the receivers of Lancashire Dairies for undisclosed terms.
20-Dec-2002
Ward Evans Corporate of Leeds has undergone a management buy-out backed by Giles Insurance Brokers, and the two remaining businesses - One Direct Solutions and Ward Evans Financial - are also expected to be sold off.
20-Dec-2002
Vertex Panel Products, the County Durham-based chipboard factory, is planning a management buy-out to secure the future of 180 jobs.
20-Dec-2002
Associated British Foods has sold six flour mills to Archer Daniels Midland for an estimated £70m, including sites in Liverpool, Knottingley, Corby, Tewkesbury, Edinburgh and Castleford.
20-Dec-2002
Udate, the Derby-based internet dating agency with 45 staff, has been acquired by USA Interactive for £96m.
20-Dec-2002
HP Bulmer is to sell its Australian cider operations to Foster's Group for £22m, and has also announced plans to shed a further 200 mainly Hereford-based jobs.
20-Dec-2002
Capita is planning to acquire Aurora, the company established to settle the outstanding business of Independent Insurance, for undisclosed terms.
20-Dec-2002
Marylebone Warwick Balfour is to sell its leisure property fund management business to Capital & Regional Properties for £30m.
20-Dec-2002
Numerica has acquired Munro-Greenhalgh, the Manchester-based independent financial adviser, for £1m.
19-Dec-2002
Gresham Trust is backing the acquisition of Crosse & Blackwell's dried sauce and Snack Stop products by Brand Partnership of Leeds for undisclosed terms.
19-Dec-2002
Compass is to sell its 220 Travelodge hotels and 368 Little Chef restaurants to private equity group Permira for £712m.
19-Dec-2002
Provident Financial has acquired Yes Car Credit, the car finance company with 34,000 low-income customers, from Candover for up to £141m.
19-Dec-2002
A-Plant has acquired Avosdrive from Norwest Holst, in order to expand its tool hire business into London.
19-Dec-2002
Warthog has acquired Zed Two, the Manchester-based computer games developer with 21 staff, for up to £1.5m.
18-Dec-2002
Christie Group has acquired Orridge, the retail stocktaking company, for £0.6m.
18-Dec-2002
The Department of Health is to acquire Life Resources, the US-owned group of 24 blood donor centres, for up to £70m, in order to ensure future supplies of blood plasma.
18-Dec-2002
National Grid Transco has sold its lossmaking 186k telecoms business to Hutchison Whampoa for a nominal sum.
18-Dec-2002
MyTravel has sold its Sunway Travel coach holidays business to a management buy-out backed by 3i for £22m.
18-Dec-2002
Keller has acquired McKinney Drilling, the US-based foundation drilling company, for up to £32m.
18-Dec-2002
Penta Capital is supporting a management buy-in at Out of Town Restaurants, the operator of shopping centre food courts with 1,500 staff.
18-Dec-2002
James Fisher is to acquire Scan Tech, the Norwegian marine services company, for £8.8m, in order to expand its Underwater Engineering Services business in Aberdeen.
17-Dec-2002
Berkeley Berry Birch has acquired Weston Financial Group, the independent financial adviser with 63 consultants and eight branches, for an initial £1.9m.
17-Dec-2002
Dutton Forshaw Group, the operator of 38 car dealerships, has been acquired by Lloyds TSB Asset Finance Division for £49m.
17-Dec-2002
Slimma has acquired the Peter Martin clothing brand from Le Roi for £0.4m.
17-Dec-2002
Arlington Group has acquired Sentinel Business Services Group, the London-based data storage services company operating from a 110,000 sq ft facility in Greenwich.
17-Dec-2002
Burn Stewart Distillers is to be acquired by CL Financial of Trinidad for £49m, and the new group plans to create a global drinks brand from a Scottish headquarters.
17-Dec-2002
Cadbury Schweppes has agreed to acquire Adams, the US chewing gum manufacturer, from Pfizer for £2.7bn.
17-Dec-2002
Associated British Foods has sold its Allied Glass Containers packaging business to a management team backed by Close Brothers Private Equity.
17-Dec-2002
Hytec Information Security, the Oxfordshire-based IT services company, has undergone a management buy-out, securing the future of 25 jobs.
16-Dec-2002
Carmasters and Motor Vehicle Imports are to merge their Bridlington-based car repair businesses under the name of Carmasters, and the new group will have 140 staff.
16-Dec-2002
Pvaxx, the Wiltshire-based developer of a new process to convert waste products into pellets for manufacturing, is to announce a £170m reverse takeover of shell company Worldsec.
16-Dec-2002
Cybit Holdings has acquired Drive-IT Systems, the Swedish vehicle management and car-sharing solutions company.
13-Dec-2002
Frederick Pollard has acquired the UK machine tool assets of Hitachi Seiki of Japan, in a £2.8m rescue deal that saves more than 30 jobs in Surrey.
13-Dec-2002
Diageo is planning to sell its Burger King fast food business to a US private equity consortium headed by Texas Pacific Group for £950m.
13-Dec-2002
Paladin Resources is to acquire a package of North Sea oil and gas assets from BP and Amerada Hess for £97m, partly funded by a £42m share placing, in order to increase production by up to 40%.
13-Dec-2002
Mears Group is to acquire M&T Group, the Southampton-based building maintenance company trading as FWA Southern, for up to £3.5m.
12-Dec-2002
ICI is to sell Nobel Enterprises, the Ayrshire-based manufacturer of industrial coatings with 280 staff, to Inabata of Japan for an estimated £35m.
12-Dec-2002
Advanced Marketing Services has expanded its book distribution business with the acquisition of two London-based companies - Airlift Book Company and HI Marketing.
12-Dec-2002
BP is to sell 494 German petrol stations to PKN Orlen of Poland for £90m, in order to gain regulatory approval for the acquisition of Veba Oil.
12-Dec-2002
RPS Group has acquired Ecoscope Applied Ecologists, the Cambridgeshire-based ecological consultancy with 16 staff, for £2.8m.
11-Dec-2002
Duke Street Capital is to acquire Sporting Index, the sports spread betting company, for £53m.
11-Dec-2002
John Crowley, the road maintenance company with annual turnover of £30m, has been acquired by Volker Wessels Stevin of the Netherlands.
11-Dec-2002
Maxwell Stewart has acquired One Media Communication, the domestic cabling company, for undisclosed terms.
11-Dec-2002
PressTech Controls, the Hemel Hempstead-based controls manufacturer, has been acquired by QuadTech of the US for undisclosed terms.
10-Dec-2002
Centrica is to raise £289m from the sale of the recently-acquired Enbridge water heaters business in Canada to The Consumer's Waterheater Income Fund, and some of the proceeds may be used for further acquisitions in North America.
10-Dec-2002
Wincanton is to acquire the P&O Trans European logistics business, which employs 7,000 people, for £152m.
10-Dec-2002
Delta is to sell its Birmingham-based electrical division, which has 3,400 staff, to Eaton Corporation for £130m.
10-Dec-2002
AuSPeD, the developer of quality monitoring systems, has undergone a reverse takeover by Contemporary Enterprises for an initial £1m.
09-Dec-2002
Televideo has acquired Leeds-based CBF Media in a multi-million pound deal, in order to create a leading regional TV sports production group.
09-Dec-2002
Firth Rixson, the manufacturer of aerospace and automotive components, has accepted a £50m takeover offer from Forgings International, an investment vehicle backed by Carlyle Group.
09-Dec-2002
Crest Nicholson is to sell its Pearce Group construction business to management for £9.2m.
09-Dec-2002
Kidde is to acquire the Norwegian fire protection business of Kongsberg Maritime for £4.8m.
09-Dec-2002
Oasis Healthcare is planning to acquire Dencare, the operator of 36 dental surgeries, for £20m.
06-Dec-2002
Serco has acquired CCM Software Services, the Dublin-based developer of resource allocation systems, for an initial £8.6m.
05-Dec-2002
Smiths Group has sold its Vent-Axia fans and Elkay cables operations to a management team backed by HSBC Private Equity for £125m.
05-Dec-2002
NM Rothschild has sold its asset management business to the Insight Investment division of HBOS for £61m.
05-Dec-2002
Ainscough is to acquire the mobile crane operations of Baldwins out of receivership for an estimated £35m.
05-Dec-2002
Henry Boot is to sell its Henry Boot Management specialist construction business to Hedehjem for £5m.
04-Dec-2002
BPP Holdings has acquired Malpas Flexible Learning, the London-based provider of professional education and HR training, for £5m.
04-Dec-2002
JS Barton has bought BFD Group, the Edinburgh-based food distributor, out of receivership for a nominal sum.
04-Dec-2002
South Lakeland Caravans has acquired Lake District Leisure Pursuits, the operator of three caravan parks in Cumbria, for £16m.
04-Dec-2002
Thomas Potts has sold BP Cook, its Harlow-based screen-printing subsidiary, to a former managing director.
03-Dec-2002
Gyrus has sold its surgical drapes business to Microtek Medical for £2.5m.
03-Dec-2002
Capita Group has acquired Cost Auditing, the London-based provider of legal cost auditing services for the insurance sector, for up to £7.9m.
03-Dec-2002
Vertex has acquired 7C, the call centre operator with 434 staff at sites in Liverpool, Birkenhead, London, Pembroke and India.
03-Dec-2002
Document Express, the Oldham-based office equipment supplier with 40 staff, has undergone a multi-million pound management buy-out.
03-Dec-2002
RM Neilson and Johnstone Binnie-McKenzie have merged to create a combined Glasgow-based quantity surveying business with a staff of 20.
03-Dec-2002
Bullough has sold its Boulter boiler manufacturing business to Buderus Heiztechnik of Germany for £8.5m.
03-Dec-2002
Unilever is to sell Pamol Group, the Malaysian producer of palm oil, to Palmco for £97m.
03-Dec-2002
Babcock International has sold BMH Chronos Richardson, the Nottingham-based weighing and packing group with about 100 staff, to Premier Tech of Canada for a nominal sum.
03-Dec-2002
Holders Technology is to acquire the PCB materials business of Cimatec of Germany for £0.7m.
02-Dec-2002
Hanson has paid £48m for five acquisitions, including Marshalls Flooring of Nottinghamshire, Small Lots bagged building materials of Kettering, the Red Bank soft mud brick factory in Leicestershire and aggregate operations in Spain.
02-Dec-2002
RMR is to acquire Talent Group, the independent TV production company, in a £1.3m reverse takeover.
02-Dec-2002
Lancashire Dairies has sold its flavoured milk division out of receivership to a management team for £3.2m, creating a new company called Pure Milk with 66 staff.
02-Dec-2002
Durlacher has sold its ShareCast online research service to Digital Look, in order to focus on stockbroking.
02-Dec-2002
Central Press Features, the Bristol-based provider of editorial content to newspapers, has been sold by Northcliffe Newspapers to the Press Association for undisclosed terms.
02-Dec-2002
Ford has sold its Hertz Lease car fleet management business to Societe Generale of France for undisclosed terms.
02-Dec-2002
Medical Solutions is to sell its pharmaceuticals division to Ecolab of the US for £16m and its Cellpath business to Clinicare Products for £1.6m.
29-Nov-2002
Isoft has acquired Revive, the supplier of e-booking systems to the NHS, for an initial £1m.
29-Nov-2002
Vantis has acquired the non-audit business of London-based Crompton & Sherling for up to £0.6m.
29-Nov-2002
Invensys has sold Fasco Motors to Tecumseh Products of the US for £266m, as part of a strategy to focus on product management and energy management.
29-Nov-2002
Computacenter has acquired GE CompuNet, the German IT services company, for an initial £36m.
29-Nov-2002
Xpertise is in negotiations to acquire the Power Education IT training business of Lynx.
28-Nov-2002
Kier has acquired Partnerships First from Belan, in order to create a new social housing division called Kier Partnership Homes with four offices in Dorking, Bristol, Aldridge and Southampton.
28-Nov-2002
WPP has acquired Media Club, the Italian independent media agency with 86 staff.
28-Nov-2002
Connor Group has acquired Surtech Interconnection, the Basingstoke-based electronics manufacturing company, for undisclosed terms.
28-Nov-2002
Aegon UK is to acquire a 60% stake in Positive Solutions, the Newcastle-based financial adviser with 10 business centres, for undisclosed terms.
28-Nov-2002
Spring Grove is to acquire Robert Hawkins, the building maintenance company, from Fairholme Estates for £0.9m.
28-Nov-2002
Scott Wilson has acquired KPL, the construction consultant with 150 staff at offices in Derby and Ashford.
27-Nov-2002
Pubmaster is to acquire Heritage Pub Company, the operator of 55 pubs in the East Midlands, for £19m, taking its total estate to about 3,200.
26-Nov-2002
Bousfield, the supplier of printing equipment, has been acquired by Openshaw of Todmorden, creating a combined group with about 500 staff.
26-Nov-2002
Sky Capital is to acquire Everett Financial, the London-based private client stockbroker, for £1.6m.
26-Nov-2002
Northgate Information Solutions has acquired Prolog, the provider of HR and payroll outsourcing services with 110 staff at offices in Sheffield and Bath, for £4.5m.
26-Nov-2002
Unilever has agreed to sell Iberia Foods, its US food and cleaning products distribution business, to the Brooklyn Bottling Group for undisclosed terms.
25-Nov-2002
AEA Technology is to sell Forensic Alliance, the provider of forensic services to police forces, to a management buy-out backed by Close Brothers Growth Capital for about £5m.
25-Nov-2002
Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Securitas subsidiary in Germany to Baloise of Switzerland for up to £58m.
25-Nov-2002
S Black has acquired Universe Ingredients, the food ingredients supplier, and will merge the two businesses at its Hertford head office.
25-Nov-2002
Associated Co-operative Creameries has acquired the Southern Co-op's retail milk business, which includes a dairy in Portsmouth and three distribution sites.
25-Nov-2002
Millfield is planning to expand its financial advisory business with the acquisition of Sureline of Hertford and Contemporary Life of London.
22-Nov-2002
Synigence has acquired HMG Worldwide, the provider of clinical and patient information to pharmaceutical companies, for £3.5m.
22-Nov-2002
Itouch has acquired m4 Group, the provider of mobile phone distribution services, for an initial £1.6m.
22-Nov-2002
GUS has acquired Homebase, the chain of 300 DIY stores, from Permira for £900m, and expects to make annual cost savings of £20m within three years.
22-Nov-2002
Canvas Holidays, the Dunfermline-based camping and mobile home tour operator, is to undergo a £25m management buy-out backed by 3i.
21-Nov-2002
Brandon Hire has acquired Loadtite, the lifting gear business with 40 staff at depots in Avonmouth, Cardiff, Hayes and Barking, from the receivers of Baldwins Industrial Services.
21-Nov-2002
Northern Precision Engineering has acquired Stevens Rowsell, the Hastings-based metal engineering company, for undisclosed terms.
21-Nov-2002
Lind Automotive Group has expanded its East Anglian car dealership business with the acquisition of the Osborne Group, which includes Osborne Garages and Neep BMW in Colchester.
21-Nov-2002
Bodycote International has announced the £8m acquisition of two Italian businesses - materials testing company Centro Triveneto Ricerche and heat treatment company Gamma.
21-Nov-2002
Gordons Cranswick is to merge with Sugden Spencer of Bradford, creating a combined Yorkshire-based law firm with more than 200 staff.
20-Nov-2002
William Sinclair Holdings has sold its SAHC pet products business to management for £6.2m, including 130 staff at sites in Gainsborough and Wickenby.
20-Nov-2002
Montgomery Litho has bought Hunter & Foulis, the Haddington-based printing company, out of receivership, saving 40 of the 70 jobs.
19-Nov-2002
Ultraframe has sold its Ultraspan commercial glazed enclosure operation to a management team for £0.2m.
19-Nov-2002
Lastminute.com has acquired eXhilaration, the provider of adventure experiences to both individual and corporate customers, for an initial £1m.
19-Nov-2002
World Travel Holdings is to acquire Select Line Holidays and Select Travel International in an all-share deal, in order to expand its LeisureHunt travel promotion business.
19-Nov-2002
Dataform has acquired Print Directive of Dudley for undisclosed terms, increasing its workforce to 115.
19-Nov-2002
Edinburgh Woollen Mill, the chain of 285 knitwear stores with 3,400 staff, is to undergo a £67m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland.
19-Nov-2002
Peel Holdings is to acquire Clydeport, the Glasgow-based port operator, for £184m, which will result in Clydeport's management taking over the running of the Manchester Ship Canal.
19-Nov-2002
Logica has acquired Great Lakes Technologies, the US automotive IT solutions company with 220 staff, for £14m.
18-Nov-2002
Montgomery Transport has acquired Dukes Transport, the Portadown-based road haulage company with 460 staff, for undisclosed terms.
18-Nov-2002
Lion Foods, the Runcorn-based company with 185 staff, has been bought out of administration by a management team.
18-Nov-2002
P&O is forming a joint venture with CMA-CGM to acquire an 80% stake in Egis Ports, the French container terminal operator, for about £35m.
18-Nov-2002
Sainsbury has acquired collapsed US retailer Ames, and about 12 of the 18 New England sites will be converted to its Shaw's format.
18-Nov-2002
Centrica has announced the £304m acquisition of Dynegy Storage and Dynegy Onshore Processing, the owner of the Rough offshore gas storage facility in the North Sea and onshore processing facilities at Easington, Yorkshire.
15-Nov-2002
Creston is to acquire EMO Group, the marketing communications company with 57 staff in Swindon and Bristol, for up to £5.7m.
15-Nov-2002
William Baird is to sell Lowe Alpine, its Kendal-based outdoor sportswear business, to Aspen for £13m.
15-Nov-2002
Meggitt has sold Wayfarer Transit Systems of Poole and Systech Solutions of Croydon to a management buy-out for £15m.
15-Nov-2002
Campus Media is to acquire The Get Real Marketing Company, the brand communication company that focuses on students, for up to £1.2m.
15-Nov-2002
NTP has acquired TTC Training of Woking from ABTA, to create a combined workforce training business with 280 staff.
15-Nov-2002
Siemens has sold its electronics manufacturing facility in Nottingham to a management buy-out operating under the name of SMS Electronics for undisclosed terms, and all 200 staff will be retained.
15-Nov-2002
HSBC is to acquire Household International, the US consumer finance company, for £8.6bn.
15-Nov-2002
Prudential is to sell its German life insurance business to Canada Life for £82m.
15-Nov-2002
Park Group has acquired Cheshire Securities, the Stockport-based credit services company, for £1.2m, taking its network of branches to 29.
14-Nov-2002
Skipton Building Society has acquired a majority stake in Private Health Partnership, the Otley-based private health insurance broker, for £3.4m.
14-Nov-2002
Alsford Timber has acquired Flint Timber, the Sussex-based timber merchant, for undisclosed terms.
14-Nov-2002
Penna Consulting has acquired Nethouse Trading and its subsidiary The Resourcing Centre for about £0.5m, in order to expand its recruitment outsourcing business.
13-Nov-2002
Lincat has acquired Britannia Kitchen Ventilation, the Warwickshire-based manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation canopies, for up to £1.4m.
13-Nov-2002
Magnet Harlequin, the Uxbridge-based printing company, has undergone a management buy-out.
12-Nov-2002
Secure Trust Banking is to acquire Old Mutual Securities, the provider of institutional stockbroking and corporate finance services, for up to £12m.
12-Nov-2002
Arla Foods has acquired HT Webb, the speciality cheese supplier, for undisclosed terms.
12-Nov-2002
Fenmarc, the Cambridgeshire-based vegetable processing company with 500 staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by 3i.
11-Nov-2002
Aggregate Industries has announced the £12m acquisition of five businesses - GFX Hartigan in the Midlands, Border Stone of Powys, Central Coated Stone of Nottinghamshire, Francis Flower and a 50% stake in Sewells Reservoir Construction of Essex.
08-Nov-2002
SIG has acquired Kesteven Roofing Centre, the roofing distributor with 3 branches in Yorkshire and Humberside.
08-Nov-2002
Boston Matthews has acquired Munchy, the manufacturer of extrusion equipment, and production is being relocated from Wallingford to the Boston Matthews site in Worcester.
08-Nov-2002
First Great Western is to merge with Thames Trains and Wessex Trains, creating a new Greater Western rail franchise, as part of the Strategic Rail Authority's plan to have a single operator at each major London station.
08-Nov-2002
John Laing has sold its Holloway White Allom building restoration division to a management team for £5m.
07-Nov-2002
Arrow Group, the Hull-based industrial doors group, has undergone a £5m management buy-out backed by Northern Venture Managers.
07-Nov-2002
Travelcare has acquired 13 Holiday City outlets, taking its total number of branches to 370.
07-Nov-2002
Corus is to acquire Precoat International, the steel pressings company with 250 staff at two Welsh plants in Cardiff and Cross Keys, for £7.2m.
07-Nov-2002
Carphone Warehouse has acquired Opal Telecom, the Warrington-based provider of fixed-line telecom services, for £65m.
07-Nov-2002
Center Parcs, the chain of four holiday villages, is being acquired by Sun Capital Partners in a £465m sale and leaseback deal.
06-Nov-2002
Oasis Healthcare has acquired Ora Dental Group, the operator of ten dental surgeries in London and the south-east, for up to £5m.
06-Nov-2002
Logica and CMG have announced plans for a £510m merger to create a combined IT services business named LogicaCMG, which will lead to the loss of about 1,400 jobs.
06-Nov-2002
Range Cooker, the supplier of upmarket kitchens, has accepted a £22m takeover offer from Britannia Living and Graphite Capital Management.
06-Nov-2002
Building Design Partnership has announced plans to merge with Whicheloe Macfarlane, the architecture and design company with 80 staff at offices in Bristol and Southampton.
06-Nov-2002
RMC Aggregates has acquired FB Gibbons & Sons, the operator of a sand and gravel pit near Peterborough, for undisclosed terms.
06-Nov-2002
Meggitt has acquired Lodge, the supplier of aerospace sensors and transducers with 100 staff at sites in Basingstoke and Rugby, from Smiths Group for £33m.
06-Nov-2002
Dunn-Line has acquired Durham Travel Services for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 70 jobs, in order to expand its coach business further north.
06-Nov-2002
Specsavers has acquired Leicester-based hearing aid chain HearCare for about £2m, which is expected to lead to the creation of 400 jobs and 100 new private hearing aid centres across the country over the next four years.
05-Nov-2002
Clear Channel has sold its Score Outdoor advertising display business, which has 40 staff, to a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
05-Nov-2002
Opsys, the developer of mobile phone screens, has been acquired by Cambridge Display Technology for undisclosed terms.
05-Nov-2002
Ten Alps Communications has acquired Brook Lapping Productions, the producer of TV documentaries, for £2.4m.
05-Nov-2002
MFI has acquired Sofa Workshop for £12m, and the Sofa Workshop products will be introduced into all 192 MFI furniture stores by the end of 2003.
05-Nov-2002
Centrica has sold British Gas LPG, its liquefied petroleum gas business with 400 staff and 23 depots, to DCC of Ireland for £41m.
05-Nov-2002
Viridian has sold its 50% stake in Nevada tele.com, the provider of telecoms and internet services throughout Ireland, to joint venture partner Energis for a nominal sum.
04-Nov-2002
Headlam Group has acquired Wolff Contract Carpet Mills of County Durham, and the business will be relocated to Headlam's floorcoverings distribution centre in Tamworth.
04-Nov-2002
World Travel Holdings has agreed to acquire the whole of the share capital of LeisureHunt.com, the online hotel booking agency.
01-Nov-2002
Gaming Corporation is to sell its Space 7 software development business to one of its directors for a nominal sum, in order to focus on gaming.
01-Nov-2002
Cranswick has acquired North Wales Foods, the sandwich supplier with net assets of £1m.
31-Oct-2002
SZ Gears, the Risca-based gear-cutting equipment company with 16 staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by Finance Wales.
31-Oct-2002
Crantock Bakery, the Newquay-based bakery with 77 staff, has undergone a £6m management buy-out backed by Northern Venture Managers.
31-Oct-2002
Palgrave Brown, the Chorley-based timber supplier with 800 staff and 17 sites nationwide, has undergone a £30m management buy-out backed by Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity.
31-Oct-2002
Tesco is to acquire T&S Stores, the owner of more than 1,000 convenience stores and newsagents, for £520m, and will re-brand 450 outlets with the Express format.
31-Oct-2002
Regent Inns has sold 17 unbranded pubs to Porter Black Holdings for £4.3m.
31-Oct-2002
Old Monk's administrators have agreed to sell seven pubs to the Barracuda Group for £7.8m, and are now looking to sell the remaining 17 sites.
31-Oct-2002
Field & Lawn Marquees has acquired Black & Edgington, the supplier of marquees and temporary structures, from the Arena events organising group for £0.5m.
30-Oct-2002
Jeffreys Haulage, the Derbyshire-based transport company with 80 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
30-Oct-2002
Amvescap is to acquire Whitehall Asset Management, the private wealth manager, from the Industrial Bank of Japan for undisclosed terms.
30-Oct-2002
Fieldens is to acquire CamAxys, the Cambridgeshire-based supplier of health and safety management systems, for £1.5m.
30-Oct-2002
CB Print Finishers of Newcastle has been bought out of administration by a management buy-out, and will now be called Hay Binders.
29-Oct-2002
Quantica has acquired Selection Training, the Manchester-based provider of work-based training, for an initial £0.2m.
29-Oct-2002
Hansard Group has acquired Alan Bailey Studios, the public relations company trading as ABS Communications.
29-Oct-2002
Headlam Group has bought GAAS Flooring of Watford and GAAS Flooring Distributors of Cambridge out of administration, and will relocate the operations to its distribution centre in Bedford.
29-Oct-2002
MY Holdings has acquired Gallagher Printers of Waterford, in order to expand its healthcare cartons business in Ireland.
29-Oct-2002
Howard Basford, the vehicle repair company, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
29-Oct-2002
Co-operative Group has acquired the Alldays chain of 600 convenience stores for £131m, and will soon announce plans for a major refurbishment programme.
29-Oct-2002
Aga Foodservice has acquired Bongard, the French bakery equipment manufacturer, from 3i for £34m.
29-Oct-2002
Pennon has acquired Parkwood Holdings, the Sheffield-based landfill, recycling and liquid waste treatment company, for £21m.
28-Oct-2002
Phoenix Equity Partners is backing the acquisition of cosmetic surgery operator Transform by Covenant Healthcare for an estimated £20m.
28-Oct-2002
Lee Longlands is to acquire Vineys, the Abingdon-based furniture retailer, for £2m.
28-Oct-2002
Presswork Partnerships of Wolverhampton has been acquired by the Pressings & Fabrications division of Congleton-based UPF Group for undisclosed terms, saving 130 jobs.
25-Oct-2002
Taylor Ward Taylor, the Exeter-based manufacturer of gifts and home accessories, has acquired R&C Imports, the Manchester-based giftware import and distribution company.
24-Oct-2002
WR Refrigeration, the Leicester-based air-conditioning and refrigeration company with 500 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
24-Oct-2002
Sport Entertainment & Media is to acquire the boxing and events promotion business of Golden Gloves for £2.5m.
24-Oct-2002
Corus is to sell its downstream aluminium operations to Pechiney of France for £540m, including sites in China, Germany, Canada and Belgium.
24-Oct-2002
Watson Dallas, the Perth-based door manufacturer, has been bought out of receivership by IG Doors of Cwmbran, saving 59 jobs.
24-Oct-2002
Hiscox is to acquire Eldon Capital, the fund manager that focuses on investment in the financial sector.
23-Oct-2002
Dunlopillo, the manufacturer of pillows and beds, is to sell its consumer products business to Hilding Anders of Sweden for £12m, and up to 80 jobs will be transferred from Harrogate to Oldham.
23-Oct-2002
Ryland has sold its Fiat-Alfa Romeo dealerships in Oldbury and Stourbridge to Arnold Clark Automobiles for £1.3m.
23-Oct-2002
Howell Communications is to merge with the Petersen Partnership to create a new South Wales-based public relations and marketing company with 28 staff called Howell Petersen.
22-Oct-2002
Man Group has acquired GNI, the London-based futures broker with more than 500 staff, from Old Mutual for £100m.
22-Oct-2002
TXU is to sell its UK power operations to Eon, the German owner of PowerGen, for £1.62bn, which will involve the transfer of three coal-fired power stations and a London-based combined heat and power scheme.
22-Oct-2002
BPB has acquired control of Gyproc Benelux, the supplier of plasterboard to the Dutch and Belgian markets, in a £52m deal, and will sell Gyproc's German and Polish operations to Lafarge for £33m.
22-Oct-2002
BOC has acquired Environmental Management Corporation, the US water services company, for £32m.
22-Oct-2002
AEA Technology is to acquire The Engineering Link, the Derby-based train services company with about 200 staff, for £10m.
22-Oct-2002
Egerton Estates, the Cheshire-based luxury homes builder, has been acquired by David McLean Homes for £20m.
21-Oct-2002
John Wood Group has acquired the generator repair division of Sheffield-based Rotary Electrical for up to £1.4m.
21-Oct-2002
IBIS Business Consultants has acquired Computer Solutions, the Leeds-based software company, for undisclosed terms.
21-Oct-2002
S Daniels, the supplier of soups and juices, has accepted a £23m takeover bid from Singapore Food Industries.
21-Oct-2002
United Drug has acquired the UK business of Ventiv Health for £4.8m, in order to expand its Ashfield Healthcare contract pharmaceutical sales outsourcing division.
18-Oct-2002
Elior, the French contract catering company, is to acquire Digby Trout, the operator of restaurants at a number of London venues.
18-Oct-2002
Cattles has acquired the motor finance loan portfolio of Associates Capital for £56m and the Dial4aloan consumer credit business for £15m, funded by a £80m share placing.
18-Oct-2002
SIG has acquired Clydesdale Roofing Supplies, the roofing distributor with nine branches in the north of England, for £2m, taking its network to 105 sites.
18-Oct-2002
BP is to sell its network of 70 service stations and other inland fuels businesses in Cyprus to Hellenic Petroleum of Greece for undisclosed terms.
17-Oct-2002
Biotrace International has acquired Fred Baker Scientific, the Runcorn-based supplier of culture media to the pharmaceutical industry, for £1.5m.
17-Oct-2002
Neal Soils has expanded its land reclamation business with the acquisition of two Cardiff-based companies - Cardiff Demolition and Acorn Environmental - and expects to create 50 new jobs to take the total to 180.
17-Oct-2002
Guinness Peat, the fund management group, has agreed to a reverse takeover by Brunel Holdings, which will involve Brunel demerging its existing engineering operations.
17-Oct-2002
John Laing is to sell its housebuilding division to George Wimpey for £297m, as part of a strategy to focus on private finance initiative projects.
17-Oct-2002
Sygen International has acquired Super Shrimp, the Mexican shrimp breeder, for £2.9m.
17-Oct-2002
Halma is to acquire BEA, the Belgian supplier of automatic door sensors, for £46m.
17-Oct-2002
Crown Sports, the golf and health club operator, has received a £15m takeover offer from a newly-formed company called Bennelong.
17-Oct-2002
Pims Holdings has acquired Jensen Press, the Yeovil-based litho printer, for undisclosed terms.
15-Oct-2002
Buccleuch Printers of Hawick has acquired the former McQueen's printing business at Langlee in Galashiels for undisclosed terms.
15-Oct-2002
Lattice Group has sold its TLG vehicle and plant leasing business to Asset Investment Capital for £95m.
15-Oct-2002
Acal has sold Cisco Distribution, the Dutch supplier of networking products, to Ingram Micro for £1.1m.
15-Oct-2002
Fieldens is to sell its tyre, wheel and all terrain vehicle business to a newly-formed company called Newco (ATV Tyre & Wheel) for up to £0.4m.
15-Oct-2002
Datamonitor has acquired certain assets of Computerwire Group, the provider of technology-related information, out of receivership for an initial £0.6m.
15-Oct-2002
Rexam is to acquire Nienburger Glas, the German glass container manufacturer with 1,270 staff, from Interbrew for £68m.
15-Oct-2002
Balfour Beatty has acquired UK-based distribution cable service provider Walgrave Contracting Services and US-based electronic access systems supplier Security International for £8m.
15-Oct-2002
Optical Express has bought Health Clinic, the Newcastle-based owner of Eye Clinic, out of administration for £10m.
15-Oct-2002
Arriva has put its network of 33 car dealerships up for sale, with an estimated value of £55m.
15-Oct-2002
Gamestation, the computer games retailer with 64 stores, has been acquired by Blockbuster UK for undisclosed terms.
15-Oct-2002
UK Land is to raise £2.2m from the sale of Beadgem Properties, its joint venture property business, to Dovedale.
14-Oct-2002
Carbo has acquired Ekamant UK, the distributor of coated abrasives, and will relocate the business from Birkenhead to the Carbo site at Trafford Park, Manchester.
14-Oct-2002
MP Manipulated Tubes, the Aston-based manufacturer of automotive tubes with 55 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
14-Oct-2002
Ryecroft Glenton and Rainbow Gillespie are to merge to form a combined Newcastle-based accountancy practice with 90 staff and 18 partners.
14-Oct-2002
Robinson, the Chesterfield-based manufacturer of healthcare products, has undergone a £22m management buy-out backed by venture capital group 3i.
14-Oct-2002
Petrofac has bought the Scottish operations of Petroleum Geo Services from its Norwegian parent for £32m, which should secure the future of 2,000 staff in Scotland.
14-Oct-2002
Dipford Group has acquired Redwoods, the business transfer agency with ten regional offices, in a £1.3m deal, and now plans to develop a national network of agents for the sale and purchase of smaller businesses.
14-Oct-2002
CIT Publications, the Exeter-based supplier of market information, has been acquired by PriMetrica of the US.
14-Oct-2002
Granada and Carlton are planning a £2.7bn merger, which would create a combined commercial broadcasting business with 8,000 staff.
14-Oct-2002
Elementis is to acquire the US-based chromium operations of Occidental Chemical Corporation for £30m.
11-Oct-2002
Carclo has sold Francis W Birkett & Sons, the non-ferrous castings business, to Westley Group for £2.4m.
10-Oct-2002
Dixons is to acquire UniEuro, the Italian electrical retailer with 88 stores, in a £231m deal.
10-Oct-2002
Park Row has sold its Global Risk Management Services division to Fimalac of France for undisclosed terms, in order to focus on its core financial advisory business.
09-Oct-2002
Air Music & Media is to acquire Hollywood DVD, the home entertainment and music company, for an initial £1.5m.
09-Oct-2002
Tenon has acquired HL Bloom, the Glasgow-based provider of taxation and insolvency services with 20 staff, for £0.6m.
09-Oct-2002
Associated British Foods is to acquire the Ovaltine malt drink and ten other brands from Novartis of Switzerland for £171m.
09-Oct-2002
PC Harrington has acquired Hewden Tower Cranes from Hewden Stuart for undisclosed terms, and the business will be relocated from Castleford to Sheffield.
09-Oct-2002
Solaglas has acquired Windowcare UK, the operator of a nationwide door and window repair business.
09-Oct-2002
Initial Packaging is to acquire Mopack Systems of Strabane and Holland & Pickering of Heywood, in a £7m deal that will create a new holding company called One Vizion.
08-Oct-2002
Boxfoldia, the carton manufacturer, is to undergo a management buy-out and relocate to smaller premises in Redditch.
08-Oct-2002
Teleca is to acquire Geoworks, the Macclesfield-based software company, for an initial £1.3m.
08-Oct-2002
Invensys has sold Drive Systems, the Littlehampton-based manufacturer of AC inverters and DC drives, to a management buy-out for £94m.
08-Oct-2002
John Wood Group has acquired Thomason Mechanical and Bender Machine for £29m, in order to expand its oil services business in the US.
08-Oct-2002
James Fisher is to acquire Rumic, the operator of a Glasgow-based submarine rescue response team, for up to £4m.
08-Oct-2002
Tadpole Technology is to sell its hardware division to a consortium funded by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate for £7m, in order to focus on web services software.
08-Oct-2002
Sanctuary has acquired Trinifold, the music management and publishing company, for up to £21m.
08-Oct-2002
Bookham Technology is to acquire the fibre optic component operations of Nortel of Canada, and the £71m deal is expected to result in 840 job losses.
08-Oct-2002
Land Securities has acquired Wordie Bon Accord, the property company with net assets of £13m and a stake in the Bon Accord shopping centre in Aberdeen.
07-Oct-2002
Real Affinity is planning to acquire Fox Kalomaski, the direct marketing and sales promotion company, for £1.2m.
07-Oct-2002
Sports Resource Group is to acquire Marketing Activity, the sports marketing agency, for up to £0.8m.
07-Oct-2002
Mole Valley Farmers has acquired 19 SCATS Country stores across the south of England from Southern Counties Agricultural Trading Society.
07-Oct-2002
Littlewoods, the Liverpool-based catalogue retailer with almost 200 stores and 22,000 staff, is to be acquired by the Barclay Brothers in a £750m deal.
07-Oct-2002
Lancashire Dairies has sold its doorstep milk business to Creamline Dairies and its retail contracts business to Longslow Food Group.
07-Oct-2002
British Polythene has sold its automotive protective films packaging business to TVIP Corby.
04-Oct-2002
Victoria has acquired Munster Carpets, the Irish supplier of contract carpeting, for £0.4m, and will transfer the plant to its site in Kidderminster.
03-Oct-2002
Sportech has sold its Pull Tab lottery business to Gamingking for £0.6m.
03-Oct-2002
Integrated Dental Holdings has acquired a further nine dental practices across the country for £3m, gaining 25 surgeries and more than 50,000 patients.
03-Oct-2002
Chime has acquired Mansfield Lang Direct, the media buying company, for an initial £0.5m, in order to expand its Pure Media division.
03-Oct-2002
Cardpoint has acquired ATM Express, the cash machine operator trading as Green Machine, for £1.3m.
03-Oct-2002
Oasis Healthcare has acquired two dental practices in Brigg and Trowbridge for £0.6m, taking its total estate to 75 sites.
03-Oct-2002
IMI is to sell its remaining Kirkby-based copper tube business to KM Europa Metal of Germany for £13m.
03-Oct-2002
Travis Perkins has acquired Commercial Ceiling Factors, the Reading-based supplier of ceilings and partitions with 20 distribution centres, for £46m.
03-Oct-2002
Northgate has acquired Target Vehicle Rental, the Banbury-based light commercial vehicle hire business, for £3.4m.
02-Oct-2002
Smiths Group has acquired Heimann Systems, the German manufacturer of x-ray detection systems, from Rheinmetall for £235m.
02-Oct-2002
Senior has sold four expansion joint businesses to KE-Burgmann for £4.3m, and the proceeds will reduce borrowings.
02-Oct-2002
Dean & Bowes, the Huntingdon-based contractor with 85 staff, has been acquired by Propencity for undisclosed terms.
02-Oct-2002
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired Commonwealth Bancorp of Pennsylvania for £290m, in order to expand its US-based Citizens division.
01-Oct-2002
Uniq is to sell its St Ivel Spreads business, which includes a factory in Knowsley, to Dairy Crest for £86m.
01-Oct-2002
Mentmore has acquired Aardvark Self Storage, the privately-held operator of nine self storage centres, for £30m.
01-Oct-2002
Scottish & Southern Energy is to acquire nine salt caverns at Hornsea in Yorkshire, which are used to store natural gas, from Dynegy for £130m.
01-Oct-2002
MyTravel has sold its Eurosites camping and mobile home business to Holidaybreak for £30m.
01-Oct-2002
Wyndeham Press has sold Riverside Packaging Printers, the Newbury-based packaging company with 50 staff, to Northern Packaging Distributors.
01-Oct-2002
Avery Dennison has sold three labelling converting plants in High Wycombe, Germany and the Netherlands to a group of former managers operating under the name of Sentega.
01-Oct-2002
Minorplanet Systems is to acquire Transport Electrical & Security, the installer of vehicle fleet tracking systems, for £0.2m.
01-Oct-2002
TripleArc has acquired the ControlP software and technology business of Documedia Solutions for about £0.2m.
01-Oct-2002
Tribal Group has acquired Atlas Media, the Yorkshire-based public relations firm, for up to £5.8m.
30-Sep-2002
Zipcom is to acquire Transigent, the data service provider with 3,500 business customers, in a £10m deal.
30-Sep-2002
Hyder Consulting, the engineering design consultancy, is to undergo a reverse takeover by Firth Holdings in a £15m deal.
30-Sep-2002
Invensys has sold Rexnord, its US power transmission components division, to private equity firm Carlyle Group for £575m.
30-Sep-2002
Compass is paying £80m for a 60% stake in Italian catering company Onama.
30-Sep-2002
Alphyra is to sell ITG Payphones (Ireland) to Smart Telecom for £1.4m, in order to focus on the development of its pan-European electronic transaction strategy.
27-Sep-2002
Clearex Plastics, the County Durham-based injection moulding company, has been bought out of administration by Formould for undisclosed terms, saving 23 jobs.
27-Sep-2002
KooGa, the sports goods company, has been bought out of administration by the Kettner Group for £0.6m.
27-Sep-2002
RODS UK, the Tamworth-based manufacturer of automotive oils with ten staff and annual turnover of £1.6m, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
26-Sep-2002
Online Travel Corporation has acquired All-Hotels, the Edinburgh-based online hotel booking company with 25 staff, for £1.4m.
26-Sep-2002
GWR is to acquire the remaining 50% of London News Radio and will then sell the whole business on to Chrysalis for £23m.
26-Sep-2002
Old Monk has sold nine London-based pubs to Puzzle Pub Company for £3.5m, in order to reduce debt.
25-Sep-2002
Greene King is to sell 37 pubs to Punch Taverns for £6.8m, enabling Punch to strengthen its business in the south-east.
25-Sep-2002
Hovat has acquired Wydata, the Tilbury-based barcode, stationery and digital printer, in a £5m deal.
24-Sep-2002
Johnson Matthey is to buy Synetix, the Billingham-based catalyst manufacturer with 800 staff in several countries, from ICI for £260m.
23-Sep-2002
SCA of Sweden has acquired two UK tissue manufacturers from Benedetti International for £9.4m - Birmingham-based Pendigo and Leeds-based KSS - and is now looking to consolidate its non-household operations at a new mill in Oakenholt, Flintshire.
23-Sep-2002
Bridgeport Machines, the Leicester-based engineering company, has been acquired by American Capital Strategies for £11m, as its former US parent has gone bankrupt.
23-Sep-2002
Akzo Nobel has sold Rosemont Pharmaceuticals, the Leeds-based manufacturer of liquid pharmaceuticals with 120 staff, to Biotechnology General of the US for £64m.
23-Sep-2002
Jessops, the camera retailer, is being bought by Amro Capital from Bridgepoint Capital for £116m, and plans to open 26 stores over the next two years.
23-Sep-2002
Cytomyx is to acquire Cambridge BioScience, the reseller of life science products and services, for an initial £1m.
20-Sep-2002
Misys has acquired Eagleye Solutions, the supplier of compliance software to the asset management industry, for up to £15m.
20-Sep-2002
CSS Stellar has acquired JR Financial Services of London, in order to establish a new business supplying specialist financial services to high net worth individuals.
19-Sep-2002
Granada Learning has acquired The Skills Factory, the Lancashire-based educational software company, for £1.6m.
19-Sep-2002
Alexander Forbes is to acquire Schroder Pensions Group, the provider of pension administration services, for up to £22m, in partnership with Lane Clark & Peacock.
18-Sep-2002
Wesleyan is to acquire the financial services business of the British Medical Association, which provides financial advice and insurance to doctors, for undisclosed terms.
17-Sep-2002
Horncastle Industries, the East Yorkshire-based manufacturer of modular buildings, has undergone a £13m management buy-out backed by Northern Venture Managers.
17-Sep-2002
Aviva is to sell its general insurance business in Pakistan to New Jubilee Insurance, while its 63% stake in the Commercial Union Life Assurance Company of Pakistan is being sold to the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
17-Sep-2002
Prudential has acquired Good Morning Investment Trust Management of South Korea for £14m.
17-Sep-2002
Bloomsbury has acquired Peter Collin Publishing, the dictionary publisher, for £0.9m.
17-Sep-2002
Shire Pharmaceuticals is to acquire Atlantic Pharmaceutical Services, the US-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer with 100 staff in Maryland, from Niro for £11m.
16-Sep-2002
Cendant is to acquire Galileo Danmark, the Danish distributor of its airline reservation system, from Maersk data for undisclosed terms.
16-Sep-2002
Peterhouse is planning to acquire First Engineering Holdings, the Glasgow-based rail infrastructure provider, for £65m.
13-Sep-2002
Logica has acquired eGlobal Pacific, the Australian SAP consulting firm, for £2.3m.
13-Sep-2002
James Gilbert has been bought out of receivership by cricket bat company Grays of Cambridge.
12-Sep-2002
Alldaypa has acquired GroupTrade, the London-based office supplies company, for undisclosed terms.
12-Sep-2002
Insure-Shop has acquired Ilkeston-based Williams Financial Services, taking the number of its branches in the Midlands to 19.
11-Sep-2002
European Colour is to sell Tor Coatings, the County Durham-based coatings supplier, to a management buy-out for £13m.
11-Sep-2002
Aggregate Industries has acquired aggregate and ready-mixed concrete assets in the US from Wakefield Materials for £43m, in order to expand its East Coast business.
11-Sep-2002
Alfred McAlpine has acquired Eastern Contracting, the electrical services company, for £13m, in order to strengthen its position in the provision of infrastructure services to the utility sector.
11-Sep-2002
Taylor Woodrow has acquired Journey Homes of Phoenix, Arizona, for £29m, in order to expand its housebuilding operations in the US.
11-Sep-2002
Proactive Sports Group has acquired Fox Sports, the Durham-based sports management company, for up to £1.2m.
10-Sep-2002
Microgen is to acquire Wishstream, the provider of hosted e-billing services, for an initial £0.5m.
10-Sep-2002
Kidde has acquired Ajax Group, the Dutch provider of fire protection products and services, for £12m.
10-Sep-2002
Aga Foodservice has bought HC Troldahl, the Newcastle-based provider of refrigeration and air conditioning services, out of administration for £2.3m.
10-Sep-2002
Taylor & Francis has acquired the publishing business and assets of US-based reference book publisher Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers for up to £3.1m.
10-Sep-2002
Carillion has announced the £9m sale of the hoists, accommodation and general plant operations of Maxxiom, its plant hire joint venture with P&O, to Hewden Stuart.
10-Sep-2002
Alchemy Partners is backing plans for a management buy-out of MMS International, the provider of information on fixed income and foreign exchange markets with more than 100 staff, from Standard & Poor's.
10-Sep-2002
Zurich Financial Services is to sell Gresham, its private equity business with 32 staff, to management for undisclosed terms.
09-Sep-2002
Sage has acquired CPASoftware, the US accountancy software supplier, for £9m.
06-Sep-2002
Granada Learning has acquired Leckie & Leckie Publishers, the Fife-based publishing company, for £1.5m.
06-Sep-2002
Teronix Engineering, the manufacturer of automotive components, has been bought out of receivership by Currie & Warner Group, saving 110 jobs.
06-Sep-2002
Intercare has acquired LCO Sante, the French contract pharmaceuticals manufacturer with 179 staff, for £35m.
06-Sep-2002
Sellotape Company, the manufacturer of adhesive tape with 200 staff, has been sold by Verdoso Investments to Henkel of Germany for undisclosed terms.
06-Sep-2002
Headlam has sold four trading companies in its window coverings business to Hunter Douglas for £12m, including Eclipse Blind Systems of Glasgow, OPM of Sweden, Vertika of Glasgow and O'Hanlon's of Powys.
05-Sep-2002
Weardale Steel, the County Durham-based steel company with 90 staff, has been acquired by Eastwood Industries of Birmingham for undisclosed terms.
05-Sep-2002
Holmes Place has received a £202m merger proposal from Cannons, which would create the UK's largest chain of premium health clubs.
05-Sep-2002
Invicta Leisure is to be acquired by Duke Street Capital for £140m, and the business will be combined with Esporta to create a combined group of 18 racquet clubs and 42 fitness clubs.
05-Sep-2002
Vega Group has sold its Dutch IT and process automation business to a management team for £0.4m.
04-Sep-2002
Connaught has sold Connaught Parking Services, its multi-storey car park refurbishment business, to management for £1m.
04-Sep-2002
Exel is to acquire a number of supply chain management and packaging services operations in the US and UK from Power Packaging, including assets valued at £4.6m.
04-Sep-2002
United Drug has acquired IntraVeno Healthcare and IntraPharma, the distributors of critical care, medical and pharmaceutical products to the healthcare sector, for £8m.
04-Sep-2002
Simons Reeve, the Nottingham-based materials handling equipment manufacturer with 75 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
04-Sep-2002
Alphameric has acquired Crown Management Systems, the supplier of back office software, for £6.3m.
03-Sep-2002
Arcadia has completed the sale of a majority stake in four fashion chains - Warehouse, Racing Green, Hawkshead and Principles - to Rubicon Retail for an initial £6.6m.
03-Sep-2002
Torex has acquired Arciris Holdings, the supplier of electronic point of sale and back office systems with 67 staff, for £3.2m.
02-Sep-2002
WPP has acquired Les Ouvriers du Paradis, the French advertising agency with 33 staff, in order to expand its Red Cell communications network.
02-Sep-2002
Unilever has sold Loders Croklaan, its edible oils business with plants in the Netherlands, Canada, Egypt and the US, to IOI Corporation of Malaysia for £139m.
02-Sep-2002
Brown & Jackson is planning to sell four of its five store chains to majority shareholder Tradegro, in order to focus on its Poundstretcher discount stores.
02-Sep-2002
Tikit Group has acquired Granite & Comfrey, the provider of software systems to law firms, for an initial £0.2m.
29-Aug-2002
Knowledge Management Software is being bought out of administration by a newly-formed company called YPCS 125, in a deal worth up to £1.6m.
29-Aug-2002
BOC has acquired the Polish subsidiary of Praxair for £33m, in order to expand its industrial gases business.
29-Aug-2002
Schofield Lothian, the Hertfordshire-based project management consultancy with more than 200 staff, has been acquired by support services specialist Accord.
29-Aug-2002
ITM has acquired Soil Instruments, the Uckfield-based manufacturer of geotechnical instrumentation.
29-Aug-2002
SJP UK, the St Neots-based board and label company, has been bought out of administration by ScandStick of Sweden.
28-Aug-2002
James Townsend & Sons, the Exeter-based label printer with 90 staff, has undergone a management buy-out backed by NMB-Heller.
28-Aug-2002
Payne Strapping has merged with Samuel Strapping Systems to form MJ Maillis UK, a combined manufacturer of steel and plastic strapping with operations in Nottingham, Hinckley, Kilnhurst and Strood.
28-Aug-2002
Hill & Smith has acquired Mallatite, the Manchester-based manufacturer of street lighting with 105 staff, for £5m.
28-Aug-2002
John Wood Group has acquired Industrial Repair Services, the US electrical generator services company, for £5.9m.
28-Aug-2002
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired Stewart Ivory Wealth Management for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its Adam & Co private banking business.
27-Aug-2002
Jefferson Smurfit has acquired the Chelmsford-based stationery business of CA Coutts for £2.2m.
27-Aug-2002
CLF Packaging, the Huntingdon-based corrugated cases firm with 35 staff, has undergone a £1m management buy-out, and has also acquired Essex-based competitor Box-Wise for £0.5m.
27-Aug-2002
Duke Street Capital is to support plans for a £55m management buy-out of Thornbury Nursing Services, the Bristol-based healthcare recruitment firm.
26-Aug-2002
Galen has announced the £10m sale of its Interactive Clinical Technologies business to its founder, who also acquired the main clinical trials operation in May.
26-Aug-2002
Countrywide Assured is to acquire a chain of 104 estate agency branches from Friends Provident for £21m, and has also agreed a £275m 15-year deal to sell Friends Provident life policies through its network.
23-Aug-2002
Superdrug, the chain of 700 health and beauty stores, is to merge with the 280-strong Savers chain, following the £848m acquisition of Superdrug's Dutch parent Kruidvat by Hutchison Whampoa.
23-Aug-2002
Itouch is to acquire Telescope UK, the provider of text-message voting services, for £1.9m.
23-Aug-2002
Gaskell has sold Mid-Wales Yarns, its Powys-based yarn-spinning business, to Fred Lawton & Son for a nominal sum, securing the future of 100 jobs.
22-Aug-2002
GKN has acquired the Wolverhampton-based automotive chassis business of UPF-Thompson out of receivership.
22-Aug-2002
ICM Computer Group has acquired Assurity for £2.7m, in order to expand its IT assurance strategy business into London.
22-Aug-2002
Grantchester, the property group, has agreed to a £168m management buy-out by a newly-formed company called Dundonald Holdings.
22-Aug-2002
CA Blackwell has acquired CLC Construction, the Essex-based road maintenance company with turnover of £10m, for undisclosed terms.
22-Aug-2002
Incepta has acquired PR Force NV, the Belgian public relations consultancy with 35 staff, for £2.9m.
21-Aug-2002
Baltic Exchange has acquired Strategic Software, the supplier of communications and database software to the shipping industry, for about £1m.
21-Aug-2002
Aegon has acquired Momentum Financial Services, the Hampshire-based firm of independent financial advisers with nine offices, for undisclosed terms.
21-Aug-2002
Rok Property Solutions has acquired Llewellyn, the privately-owned construction group with 650 staff at offices in Eastbourne, Brighton, London and Milton Keynes, for £16m.
21-Aug-2002
Wolseley Centers has acquired Brooks Group, the chain of 11 timber merchant branches in the Midlands and north of England.
21-Aug-2002
Whitehead Mann has acquired Summit Leadership Solutions, the US-based provider of senior executive training, for £1.5m.
20-Aug-2002
BWD Securities has acquired Connaught St Michaels, the Luton-based provider of share registration services, as well as CI Registrars and a 50% stake in Melton Registrars, for up to £4.4m.
20-Aug-2002
Online Travel Corporation has acquired Sydney Travel Centre, the Australian travel agency, for £0.3m.
20-Aug-2002
Hyway Printing has been bought out of administration by Montrose Press, with backing from venture capitalist Corval Investments.
20-Aug-2002
Cambrian Training Company, the provider of work-based training services throughout Wales, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms with backing from Finance Wales.
20-Aug-2002
Johnson Radley, the Leeds-based foundry, has been bought out of administration by a management team, securing the future of 30 jobs.
20-Aug-2002
Teco Information Systems, the Manchester-based computer and telecoms hardware supplier, has undergone a £17m management buy-out from Taiwanese parent Teco International.
20-Aug-2002
Marcmoor Computer Systems has been acquired by ROCC Computers of Brighton for undisclosed terms, and the business will be relocated to a new site in Market Harborough.
20-Aug-2002
Ultra Electronics is to acquire CMC Electronics Military Communications of Canada for £22m.
20-Aug-2002
Invensys has sold its industrial sensors division to Honeywell for £267m, as part of an ongoing strategy to reduce debt.
20-Aug-2002
White Young Green has acquired Cuthbert Associates, the Irish mechanical and electrical consultancy, for up to £2.6m.
20-Aug-2002
Carillion is to acquire the management services business of Citex Professional Services for £12m, which will involve the transfer of about 200 staff.
20-Aug-2002
Four Seasons Health Care has announced plans to acquire Omega Worldwide, the operator of 127 care homes, and Principal Healthcare Finance, the owner of 231 care homes.
20-Aug-2002
Newmark Technology is to acquire Grosvenor Technology, the developer of security systems, for up to £6.8m, and has also announced the acquisition of the remaining 49% of Vema of the Netherlands.
19-Aug-2002
Counterline, the Knowsley-based manufacturer of food display units with turnover of £12m, has undergone a management buy-in.
19-Aug-2002
AWG has acquired Power Services, the Bedfordshire-based electrical contractor with 30 staff, in order to expand its Morrison Utility Services division.
19-Aug-2002
CeNes Pharmaceuticals has sold its ion channel technology development business to Xention Discovery, a new Cambridge-based company backed by venture capitalist MVM, for £0.8m.
16-Aug-2002
Sirdar has acquired William Pownall & Sons, the Lancashire-based manufacturer and distributor of wool carpets, for £5m.
16-Aug-2002
Ferraris Group has acquired Hertford Medical International, the Welwyn Garden City-based provider of cardio-diagnostic services to the clinical trials sector with 34 staff, for up to £2.2m.
16-Aug-2002
Acal has acquired ScanOptic, the German distributor of document imaging and management products, for an initial £1.5m.
15-Aug-2002
Hanbury Davies Containers has acquired the Ipswich port haulage operations of DFDS Transport, with the transfer of 105 staff and 80 vehicles.
15-Aug-2002
RB Farquhar has sold its Scottish housebuilding arm to a management buy-out for £5.3m, creating a new company with 30 staff called Deveron Homes.
15-Aug-2002
Zetters has sold its football pools business to Sportech for £1.4m, in order to focus on spread-betting and financial market-making.
15-Aug-2002
Albert Fisher's receivers have sold its seafood processing operations in Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Macrae's, which will involve the transfer of 770 staff.
15-Aug-2002
Aegon of the Netherlands has acquired the independent advisory operations of Advisory & Brokerage Services, the London-based firm with 65 staff.
14-Aug-2002
European Motor Holdings has sold Normand Eurotrucks, its remaining Mercedes-Benz business, to DaimlerChrysler UK Retail for £0.8m.
13-Aug-2002
Rexam has completed the sale of two Danish plastic containers businesses - Rexam Holmia and Rexam Closures & Containers - to Polimoon Holding of Denmark for £7.2m.
13-Aug-2002
WPP has acquired Gambit AS, the Norwegian public relations agency with 22 staff, in order to expand its Hill & Knowlton subsidiary.
13-Aug-2002
Squirrel Storage has acquired the storage and archiving business of London-based Project Group Services for undisclosed terms.
13-Aug-2002
Lookers has acquired Elt Brothers, the Birmingham-based Vauxhall car dealership for £0.9m.
13-Aug-2002
Numerica has acquired Chantrey Vellacott DFK's Thames Valley business recovery practice, which is based in Marlow, for £1.1m.
13-Aug-2002
Forth Ports has acquired Grainfax, the Port of Dundee-based company that specialises in the storage, drying and testing of grain.
13-Aug-2002
Ford has sold its Kwik-Fit chain of 2,500 car repair centres to CVC Capital Partners for £330m.
13-Aug-2002
Inchcape is to acquire the Gowrings Ford dealerships in Wokingham and Bracknell for £3.9m.
13-Aug-2002
Scottish Power is to expand its US energy business with the £118m acquisition of Aquila's Katy gas storage facility and four other storage sites in Texas.
09-Aug-2002
Laird has sold its Fullarton computer assembly operation, which includes sites across Scotland, to Simclar of Dunfermline for £30m.
09-Aug-2002
Pland Stainless has acquired Santric, the washroom equipment firm, and the business is expected to be relocated from Havant to Leeds.
09-Aug-2002
Lister Shearing, the Dursley-based manufacturer of sheep shearing equipment, has been acquired by Wahl of the US for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 45 jobs.
09-Aug-2002
Peterhouse has acquired Hemingford Park, the Huntingdon-based shopfitter with 118 staff, for £0.3m.
08-Aug-2002
Nationwide Site Services, the Mold-based scaffolding company, has been bought out of receivership by a former manager for undisclosed terms.
08-Aug-2002
Wembley has sold its London-based property business to Quintain Estates for £48m, and the proceeds will be invested in its gambling operations.
08-Aug-2002
Smith & Williamson, the accountancy and fund management company, is to merge with stockbroker NCL.
07-Aug-2002
Hartford is to acquire Jamies Bars for £4.8m, creating a combined group with 26 restaurants and bars.
07-Aug-2002
Tribal Group has acquired Yale Data Management Consultants, the provider of IT services, for £9.6m.
07-Aug-2002
Aegis has acquired Sample Surveys, the London-based market research company, for £5.4m.
07-Aug-2002
Centrica has acquired Electricity Direct UK, the supplier of power to 97,000 commercial customers, for £63m.
06-Aug-2002
Charterhouse Development Capital is to acquire Coral Eurobet, which includes 870 betting shops, for £860m.
05-Aug-2002
Alvis is to acquire the Vickers Defence tank manufacturing business from Rolls-Royce for £16m, which will involve the transfer of 1,300 staff at sites in Newcastle, Wolverhampton and South Africa.
05-Aug-2002
Rowan Simmons, the relocation services company, has been acquired by Sirvir of the US for an undisclosed sum thought to be about £7m.
05-Aug-2002
Commodore Group, the operator of ferries to the Channel Islands, has undergone a £150m management buy-out backed by ABN Amro Capital.
05-Aug-2002
Marconi has agreed to sell its Italian defence communications business to Finmeccanica for £390m.
02-Aug-2002
First Choice Holidays is to acquire Porter & Haylett, the owner of the Connoisseur holiday boating business, for £24m.
02-Aug-2002
Taylor Nelson Sofres has acquired Svenska Gallup, the Swedish market research company with 14 staff.
02-Aug-2002
Peterhouse has acquired AMT International, the Bedfordshire-based provider of management training in health and safety, for £1.7m.
02-Aug-2002
South Staffordshire Group has acquired Middleton Maintenance Services, the nationwide supplier of infrastructure maintenance services with 374 staff, for £15m.
02-Aug-2002
Mentmore Abbey has announced that its Iron Mountain Europe records management joint venture has acquired the Data Services business of TDG for £6.5m.
02-Aug-2002
Low & Bonar has sold Spila, its loss-making Italian plastics subsidiary, to Albanova, for a nominal sum.
02-Aug-2002
Associated British Ports is to sell its Amports aviation services business in the US to Macquarie Global Infrastructure Funds for £32m.
02-Aug-2002
Bookham Technology, the optical components company, has sold Measurement Microsystems A-Z, its Canadian research business, to a management buy-out.
02-Aug-2002
Meadowstone has acquired NBS Pennine, the cast stone manufacturer, securing the future of about 200 jobs.
01-Aug-2002
Project Telecom has acquired Ternhill Communications, the Shrewsbury-based mobile communications dealership, for £0.5m.
01-Aug-2002
CSS Stellar has acquired Echo, the Canadian entertainment advertising and marketing agency, for £4.1m.
01-Aug-2002
Multi Group has acquired Westminster Event Hire, the Oxfordshire-based industrial catering equipment hire company, for £0.4m.
31-Jul-2002
Park Group has acquired Cable Cashpoint, the cheque cashing business, and its revolving credit affiliate Cash Reserve, from Dundee-based Robert Cable & Co for £0.7m.
31-Jul-2002
Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Bristol-based group risk protection business to Canada Life for £60m, which will involve the transfer of about 200 staff.
30-Jul-2002
SIG has expanded its insulation and roofing products business with the £5.9m acquisition of four companies, adding 16 new trading locations.
30-Jul-2002
Tornado Virtue has acquired Streamway Netcasting, the online corporate communications company with annual turnover of £0.6m.
30-Jul-2002
Connaught is to acquire GasForce, the Chorley-based commercial gas appliance maintenance company with 390 staff, for £22m.
29-Jul-2002
Graphite Capital has acquired a 62% stake in PIFC, the pensions advisory firm, for £17m, in order to benefit from the expected rise in demand for pensions advice as more companies look for alternatives to final salary-type pension schemes.
29-Jul-2002
Alliance & Leicester has sold its credit card business to MBNA of the US for £225m, but will continue to sell cards in an outsourcing arrangement with MBNA.
29-Jul-2002
Prices Patent Candle Company, the operator of 14 candle shops, has been bought out of administration by Cereria Sgarbi of Italy for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 150 jobs.
29-Jul-2002
Watermark Group is to acquire Update International, the Hong Kong-based supplier of customer service items to airlines, for £2.4m.
29-Jul-2002
Music Choice Europe has acquired Multiradio, the distributor of music channels through digital TV, from Orbus for £0.6m.
29-Jul-2002
Boots is to sell Halfords, the chain of 400 car parts and cycle stores, to CVC Capital Partners for up to £427m, which will involve the transfer of all 9,800 staff and the head office in Redditch.
26-Jul-2002
Diageo has agreed to sell its Burger King fast food business to a consortium that includes Texas Pacific Group, Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners for about £1.4bn.
26-Jul-2002
Amersham is to acquire Motorola Life Science's pre-arrayed slides business for about £13m, in order to expand its biosciences operation.
26-Jul-2002
Prima Computers, the Nottingham-based IT services company with 40 staff, has undergone a management buy-out.
26-Jul-2002
East Surrey Holdings has sold The Classic Water Company, its bottled water supply business with 31 staff in Surrey and Essex, to Culligan International for £3.3m.
25-Jul-2002
Advanced Rendering Technology, the Cambridge-based developer of animation software, has been bought out of administration by one of its co-founders, and the company will now be known as ART VPS.
24-Jul-2002
Greencore has sold Pann Krisp, the Wrexham-based chilled foods manufacturer with 400 staff, to a management buy-in.
24-Jul-2002
Balaclava Pub Company has acquired the Hobgoblin group of pubs, taking its chain to 54.
24-Jul-2002
Spirent is to acquire Caw Networks, the US provider of network testing services, for up to £39m.
23-Jul-2002
Cape is to sell Cape Calsil, the manufacturer of passive fire protection and insulation products, to Promat Glasgow for £9.2m, which will involve the transfer of staff at sites in Glasgow, Caerphilly, Uxbridge, Washington and Wellingborough.
23-Jul-2002
Glanbia is to sell its UK foodservice distribution business to Peter's Food Service for undisclosed terms, which will involve the transfer of 500 staff at a central facility in Tamworth and eight regional depots.
23-Jul-2002
Wheatley Packaging, the flexible packaging printer with 140 staff, has been acquired by Frantschach Group, the Austrian printer.
23-Jul-2002
HgCapital is supporting a management buy-out of Castlebeck Care, the Darlington-based specialist care provider with 358 staff in 10 centres.
23-Jul-2002
Memory Lane Cakes is to undergo a £9.5m reverse takeover by cash shell Megalomedia, creating a new group called Finsbury Foods.
23-Jul-2002
IMI is to sell its copper fittings business to Aalberts Industries of the Netherlands for £65m, in order to focus on fluid controls and beverage dispensing.
23-Jul-2002
Lastminute.com is to acquire Travelprice, the provider of online travel services in France, Italy, Belgium and Spain, for £32m.
23-Jul-2002
Easynet is to acquire most of the German web-hosting assets of Ision Internet and Ision Sales & Services out of administration for £2.2m.
22-Jul-2002
Grand Vacation Club has acquired CBM Group, the Spanish holiday firm with resorts in Majorca and Gran Canaria, for £7.5m.
22-Jul-2002
Auto Credit Trust is planning to acquire Direct Car Finance, the provider of car loans to people with poor credit ratings, for about £10m.
22-Jul-2002
Wolseley has acquired a number of plastic pipe distribution companies from Glynwed Pipe Systems for £23m.
22-Jul-2002
AF Blakemore has acquired John Edwards of Bangor, taking its cash and carry estate to eight.
22-Jul-2002
Scrivens has acquired Melson Wingate, the Dorset-based chain of 40 opticians, creating an enlarged nationwide network with about 100 branches and 1,000 staff.
19-Jul-2002
PDG Helicopters of Inverness has acquired Irish Helicopters for £2m, and is now looking to buy two charter helicopter operations in England.
19-Jul-2002
Pernod Ricard is to sell BWG, the Irish convenience stores group with 233 Spar and Mace stores in Northern Ireland, to a management buy-out for £220m.
19-Jul-2002
Albert Fisher's receivers have sold the group's frozen and chilled recipe dish business to Coldwater Seafood, securing the future of 250 jobs in Redditch.
19-Jul-2002
Spectris is to acquire Philips Analytical, the Dutch-based analytical instruments business of Royal Philips Electronics, for £96m, partly funded by a £40m share placing.
18-Jul-2002
Northgate is to acquire a 40% stake in Fualsa, the Spanish van rental company, for £10m, and has an option to buy the remaining 60% by May 2006.
18-Jul-2002
Corus is to acquire Companhia Sideurgica Nacional, the Brazilian steelmaker, for £2.7bn, which will provide access to cheaper supplies of iron ore.
18-Jul-2002
May Gurney has acquired T Cartledge, the Chelmsford-based lighting contractor, for undisclosed terms.
18-Jul-2002
Morse has acquired SSI Computer Group, the Irish computer supply and services company with 30 staff, for £3m.
17-Jul-2002
DS Smith is to acquire Zewathener, the German bag-in-box packaging group with 80 staff, by buying a 51% stake from SCA Packaging and the remaining 49% from the current management.
17-Jul-2002
Genus has acquired the business and certain assets of Dunwood VS, the Aberdeen-based wholesale veterinary distribution company currently in receivership, for £0.9m.
17-Jul-2002
BBA Group has acquired Air Kaman, the US aircraft servicing company based at Jacksonville International Airport, for £11m.
17-Jul-2002
Zen Research, the developer of computer compact disc technology, is planning to undergo a £13m buy-out.
17-Jul-2002
Country & Metropolitan is to acquire NorthCountry Homes, the regional housebuilder, for up to £14m.
17-Jul-2002
Smiths Group has sold its Fans & Spares distribution business, which includes 18 branches throughout the country, to R&S Cartwright (Manchester) Engineers for £6.5m.
16-Jul-2002
BAe Systems is to sell its Electronic Warfare Passive Expendables Division in the US to Esterline Technologies for $67m.
16-Jul-2002
Hill & Smith has acquired Brifen, the Mansfield-based manufacturer of wire rope safety fences, for £1.4m.
16-Jul-2002
Pennon has expanded its Viridor Waste Management subsidiary with the acquisition of Roseland Plant, the Cornish waste management and plant hire company, for £9.5m.
16-Jul-2002
GUS Home Shopping has sold Family Hampers, the Leeds-based gift and hamper supplier with 110 staff, to management for undisclosed terms.
16-Jul-2002
Botany Bay, the Chorley-based shopping and leisure complex, has been bought out of receivership by newly-formed property company USL Trading, saving 100 jobs.
16-Jul-2002
Kensington Group is to acquire The Mortgage Lender, the Southampton-based mortgage intermediary with 139 staff, for £15m.
16-Jul-2002
Esporta, the health club operator, is to be acquired by private equity firm Duke Street Capital for £145m.
16-Jul-2002
Experian is planning to acquire Business Strategies, the economic consultancy with 40 staff.
16-Jul-2002
Inter-Alliance is planning to acquire HST, the financial services company, for £5.5m.
15-Jul-2002
Marconi has sold its Applied Technologies electronics business to venture capital firm 3i for £57m.
15-Jul-2002
Lawson Software has bought the software assets of Armature out of receivership for £5m, which will involve the transfer of 55 staff.
15-Jul-2002
Le Riche has merged with Ann Street and CI Traders to create a combined Channel Island-based retailing operation with 41 food stores and various other businesses.
15-Jul-2002
Ardana Bioscience has acquired Europeptides, the French pharmaceuticals research company, for up to £18m, and is also in discussions with several US companies about the possibility of marketing their drugs in Europe.
12-Jul-2002
Ricardo has acquired Gemini Transmissions, the Brackley-based motorsport company with 40 staff, for £3.4m.
11-Jul-2002
Chance & Hunt, the Runcorn-based chemicals distribution company with 48 staff, has been acquired by Luxembourg-based holding company Azelis for about £10m.
11-Jul-2002
Rathbones, the Liverpool-based fund management company, has acquired five London-based companies for a total £11m - Alphabay, Artcrown, Cedarpower, Meronbrook and Skychart.
11-Jul-2002
Leaf Technologies, the developer of electronic hearing devices, has been bought out of administration by SenseSonic of Macclesfield for £1m, saving 170 jobs.
11-Jul-2002
P&O Nedlloyd has acquired a majority stake in Gilbert Companies, the US logistics company, for undisclosed terms.
11-Jul-2002
Royal Bank of Scotland is selling 50% of its NatWest Stockbrokers division to TD Waterhouse for about £30m, and the joint venture will then outsource its operations to TDW.
10-Jul-2002
Precoat International is to sell its CSI steel processing subsidiary in Canada to Color Steels Holding Corporation for £6.2m.
10-Jul-2002
BBA Group has acquired three aviation services companies in the US and Canada for a total £23m, and has also announced plans to invest £5m expanding hangar facilities at Luton Airport.
10-Jul-2002
Chemring is to acquire ICS Electronics, the Arundel-based manufacturer of ship and radio coast station systems, for £1.5m.
10-Jul-2002
Lionweld Kennedy, the Middlesbrough-based manufacturer of engineering-based products, has undergone a £7.5m management buy-out from Australian parent Pacifica.
10-Jul-2002
AWG has sold Repairline to Build Assured for undisclosed terms, while its 85% stake in Kaldnes Miljoteknologi of Norway has been sold to Anox AB for £5.7m.
09-Jul-2002
Connaught has acquired Bluu International, the London-based interior design and project management company, for an initial £1m.
09-Jul-2002
Intelliplus has acquired Swwwoosh and its Freecom.net internet service provider subsidiary in the West Midlands for £3.8m.
09-Jul-2002
PipeHawk has acquired Adien, the supplier of subsurface radar surveying systems, for an initial £0.3m.
09-Jul-2002
M&M Sports has acquired Maximum Sports, the operator of sports shops in Swansea, Carmarthen and Merthyr, enabling Maximum to focus on its industrial workwear business.
09-Jul-2002
ICIS Technology, the IT solutions company with 127 staff in Harrogate and Cirencester, has been acquired by Siemens Power Generation for undisclosed terms.
09-Jul-2002
Dunn-Line has acquired Buffalo Travel, the Bedfordshire-based coach company with 35 vehicles and more than 50 staff, for undisclosed terms.
09-Jul-2002
UKbetting has acquired SCG Enterprises, the betting division of Sports.com, for £0.7m.
09-Jul-2002
Aviva is to sell its Spanish general insurance business to Groupama of France for £157m.
09-Jul-2002
Vacher Dod, the publisher of parliamentary directories, is to be acquired by Huveaux for £4.5m.
08-Jul-2002
South Staffordshire Group has acquired Highway Emergency Services, the Norwich-based supplier of emergency repair services to household insurers with 43 depots and 853 staff, for £28m.
08-Jul-2002
Stenoak Associated Services, the infrastructure services group, has gone into administrative receivership, but the surfacing and contracting operations are being acquired by Aggregate Industries.
08-Jul-2002
Speciality Retail Group has bought Racing Green, the clothing retailer, from Rubicon for undisclosed terms.
08-Jul-2002
Tesco is to acquire HIT, the operator of 13 hypermarkets in Poland, for undisclosed terms.
05-Jul-2002
Legal & General is to sell Legal & General Bank and Legal & General Mortgage Services to Northern Rock for £131m, as part of a strategy to focus on long-term savings, protection and general insurance.
05-Jul-2002
Ramco Energy has acquired Northern Exploration of Ireland from Northern Petroleum for £2m.
05-Jul-2002
Macfarlane is to acquire Tom Brands Electrical Services, the Gourock-based provider of supply chain management services, for £2m.
05-Jul-2002
Wolseley has acquired Wasco Group, the Dutch heating equipment and spares distributor, for £38m.
05-Jul-2002
Stanley Leisure is to acquire Tower Casino Group, the operator of five casinos in Reading, Blackpool, Derby and two in Birmingham, from Bell Holdings for £44m, taking its chain to 40.
05-Jul-2002
Numerica is to acquire the non-audit businesses of Southampton-based accountancy firm Burnett Swayne for £6m, in order to create a southern regional hub for its growing business.
05-Jul-2002
DTZ, the international property group, has acquired the new homes business of Birmingham-based agent Robert Powell for £0.7m.
05-Jul-2002
Charles Evans Group, the Liverpool-based shopfitting company with 80 staff, has undergone a multi-million pound management buy-out.
05-Jul-2002
Wimpy, the operator of 300 burger outlets, has undergone a £15m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland.
05-Jul-2002
Blazepoint is to acquire a 33% stake in Montal Group, the IT services company, and has an option to acquire the remaining 67% for £1.5m.
04-Jul-2002
Cains, the Liverpool-based brewer, has been acquired by Stourbridge-based drinks distributor Gardner Shaw for £3.4m.
04-Jul-2002
Telesens KSCL, the Edinburgh-based billing software company, has been bought out of receivership by Convergys of the US, saving up to 230 jobs.
04-Jul-2002
Tolly Cobbold is to merge with Essex-based brewer TD Ridley & Sons, and its Ipswich brewery will be closed and production transferred to the Ridleys brewery at Hartford End, near Chelmsford.
04-Jul-2002
Peacocks has agreed to acquire rival fashion store chain Bon Marche for £51m, and the new group plans to increase the number of shops from 585 to 1,200.
04-Jul-2002
Ryland has reorganised its Mercedes-Benz business by acquiring a dealership in Sunderland from JA62 for £1.8m and a dealership in Carlisle from Eden Bridge Carriage for £1.4m, while its Oxford dealership has been sold to Gerard Mann for £2.7m.
03-Jul-2002
Specialist Computer Holdings has acquired the Unix infrastructure business of Acuma for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its SCC Enterprise Computing division.
03-Jul-2002
Ulster Bank has sold Cunningham Coates, the Belfast-based stockbroking firm with 77 staff, to London-based asset management company NCL for undisclosed terms.
03-Jul-2002
Green Property, the industrial property group with assets in the UK and Ireland, is to undergo a £670m management buy-out.
03-Jul-2002
Legal & General Ventures is to buy the household products division of IWP, which includes the Jeyes toiletries brand, for £87m.
03-Jul-2002
Tricorn Group has acquired Integrated Statistical Solutions, the provider of data capture and analysis services to the utilities industry, for an initial £0.7m.
02-Jul-2002
Travis Perkins has acquired City Plumbing Supplies, the nationwide network of 48 plumbing and heating branches, for £38m.
02-Jul-2002
Premier Farnell has sold D-A Lubricant, the US-based manufacturer of speciality lubricants, to Mecom Acquisition Corporation of Indianapolis.
02-Jul-2002
Claims Direct has raised £2.9m from the sale of three non-trading subsidiaries - Rosie One, Towerfocus and Ropespring.
02-Jul-2002
Trinity Mirror has sold Ethnic Media Group, the publisher of five national Asian and African-Caribbean titles, to a management buy-out for £10m.
02-Jul-2002
Altecnic, the Stafford-based plumbing component supplier with more than 40 staff, has been acquired by Caleffi of Italy for undisclosed terms.
02-Jul-2002
Meggitt has acquired a number of military aerospace product lines, including air data transducers, engine management units and flight data recorders, from BAe Systems for £15m.
02-Jul-2002
Gowrings has sold its Ford dealership in Newbury to City Motor Holdings for £1.4m, and the proceeds will be used to expand its chain of 43 Burger King restaurants.
02-Jul-2002
Arriva has acquired SAB Autoservizi, the Italian bus operator with 1,200 staff, for £44m.
02-Jul-2002
Bunzl has acquired Kenco Sales of Seattle for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its plastic and paper products business in the US.
02-Jul-2002
Greencore is to sell two subsidiaries to Campbell Soup for about £16m, including William Rodgers, the UK pasta and rice company, and Erin Foods, the Irish soups and sauces company.
01-Jul-2002
ARC Risk Management, the provider of security risk management and training to individuals and companies, is being acquired by Perthshire Leisure for £0.5m.
01-Jul-2002
Quantica has acquired James Kimber Education, the London-based provider of publicly funded work-based training for young people, for £0.6m, and will relocate the business to its site in Hounslow.
01-Jul-2002
Centrica has acquired Regional Power Generators, the owner of the Glandford Brigg power station in Lincolnshire, from IVO Energy for £37m.
01-Jul-2002
Novocastra Laboratories, the biotechnology company that started as a spin-off from Newcastle University, has been acquired by Vision Systems of Australia for £35m.
01-Jul-2002
LEPCO, the oil and gas company, is to acquire Sterling Energy in a £9.5m reverse takeover.
01-Jul-2002
Cadbury Schweppes is to acquire the branded chewing gum business of Dandy of Denmark for £201m.
28-Jun-2002
XKO Group has acquired Aran, the enterprise business software company with offices in York, Birmingham and Burnham, for £2.4m.
28-Jun-2002
RPS Group has acquired MCOS, the Irish engineering and environmental consultancy with 350 staff, for £12m.
28-Jun-2002
ImageState has acquired Pictor International, the London-based stock photography company.
28-Jun-2002
BT Group is to acquire the Scoot online directories business for about £8m, in order to re-enter the classified information market following the recent sale of Yell.
28-Jun-2002
Haynes Publishing is to acquire the printed manuals business of Gregory Automotive Publications of Australia from Universal Press for £2.1m.
27-Jun-2002
Medical Solutions has reached agreement with Peterborough Hospital Trust to acquire Peterborough Cellular Pathology Services, in return for an annual licence fee.
27-Jun-2002
General Domestic Appliances, the manufacturer of Hotpoint white goods with 6,000 UK staff, is being acquired by Merloni Elettrodomestici of Italy in a £179m deal that involves the sale of General Electric's 50% stake.
27-Jun-2002
Sportingbet has acquired the Sporting Odds betting business from Sporting Index for £4.5m, partly funded by a £2m share issue.
27-Jun-2002
Albert Fisher's receivers are to sell three chilled foods businesses to Fresh Del Monte Produce of the US for undisclosed terms, saving 1,200 jobs at sites in York, Wisbech and Methwold, Norfolk.
27-Jun-2002
Bunzl has sold its paper distribution business to PaperLinX of Australia for £139m, and the proceeds will be used to reduce debt.
27-Jun-2002
Brake Bros, the catering company, is to be acquired by US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice in a £434m deal.
26-Jun-2002
Thomas Vale has acquired Paul Adams, the Halesowen-based street lighting contractor, for undisclosed terms.
26-Jun-2002
Arriva has acquired a 51% stake in Transportes Sul de Tejo, the Portuguese-based bus operator with 1,300 staff, from the Barraqueiro Group for £23m, and has an option to buy the remaining 49%.
25-Jun-2002
Wolseley has acquired four more building material distributors for £10m - Sumner & Dunbar and Tahoe Truckee Supply of the US, Brock Engineering of Canada and O'Rourke Plumbing Supplies of Northern Ireland.
25-Jun-2002
Elkstone's Beauvale Furnishings business in Ilkeston has been bought out of receivership by a local businessman, saving 250 jobs.
24-Jun-2002
Budgens, the convenience stores operator, is to be acquired by Musgrave of Ireland for £316m, and Musgrave is looking to open up to 20 new stores a year in the UK.
24-Jun-2002
Milk Group is to merge with Zenith Milk to create a new co-operative organisation called Dairy Farmers of Britain, in order to reduce the haulage and administration costs involved with supplying milk to dairies.
24-Jun-2002
Ethel Austin, the discount clothing retailer with 238 outlets, is to undergo a £45m management buy-out backed by Lloyds TSB Development Capital.
21-Jun-2002
Metrodome has sold its Metro Direct and Triton Trading Services mail order video and DVD divisions, as well as its DTK Metrodome record label, to Gotup & Went for £0.1m.
21-Jun-2002
Capita Group has acquired three businesses specialising in absence related cost management services from the Wynchgate Group for £19m, in order to expand its HR Service division.
21-Jun-2002
TRW Aeronautical Systems is to be acquired by Goodrich of the US for about £1bn, resulting in new ownership for plants in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Merseyside, Hemel Hempstead and Belfast.
20-Jun-2002
RiverSoft, the network software company, is to be acquired by Micromuse of the US for £43m.
20-Jun-2002
Wembley is to sell its ticket retailing business to The Way Ahead Group for up to £0.6m, as part of a strategy to dispose of its non-core Events Services division.
20-Jun-2002
Greene King has acquired the Morrells chain of 107 Oxford-based pubs for £67m.
19-Jun-2002
Seeboard, the south-east England electricity supplier, is to be acquired by Electricite de France for £1.39bn, and the business will be merged with London Electricity to create a combined group with more than 10,000 staff.
19-Jun-2002
Phoenix Equity Partners has acquired Abbey Hospitals Group, the owner of six private hospitals, for £25m, creating a new group called Covenant Healthcare.
19-Jun-2002
CarringtonCarr, the Leicester-based independent financial adviser with 270 staff, has been acquired by AWD of Germany for £32m.
19-Jun-2002
Isoft has acquired the healthcare software business of Northgate Information Solutions, which sells electronic patient record systems to NHS trusts, for £33m.
19-Jun-2002
Prudential is to acquire ING's life insurance business in the Philippines, which includes 17 offices and 100 staff.
19-Jun-2002
Signs & Labels has acquired Focal Signs, the Surrey-based sign maker with 74 staff, for undisclosed terms, and most of Focal's manufacturing operation will be relocated to Stockport.
19-Jun-2002
Jefferson Smurfit, the Irish packaging group, is to undergo a £2.4bn management buy-out backed by US private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.
18-Jun-2002
National Express has acquired Stock Transportation, the Canadian school bus operator, for £75m, and is now seeking further bolt-on acquisitions in Canada.
18-Jun-2002
Gartmore has acquired Riverview International, the US fund manager, for undisclosed terms.
18-Jun-2002
Actinic, the developer of e-commerce software, has sold its trading activities to a management team for a nominal sum.
17-Jun-2002
Northern Electric is to sell its chain of more than 30 shops in the North-East and Yorkshire to management, creating a new group called Northern Retail, but 90 of the 440 jobs will be lost.
17-Jun-2002
Georgian Goodacre Carpets has undergone a management buy-out, saving 160 jobs at its carpet factory in Kendal.
17-Jun-2002
Williams Lea has acquired Alistair McIntosh, the West Yorkshire-based print outsourcing company with 200 staff, for undisclosed terms.
17-Jun-2002
Really Useful Theatres has acquired Way Ahead, the Nottingham-based ticketing agency, from Telewest for £13m.
17-Jun-2002
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired Medford Bancorp of the US for £187m, gaining 19 branches in Massachusetts.
14-Jun-2002
Poundland, the chain of 73 discount stores, has undergone a management buy-out for about £50m.
14-Jun-2002
Telecom Plus has acquired Telecommunications Management, the Sussex-based telephony supplier with 29 staff, for £4.9m.
14-Jun-2002
Lastminute.com is to acquire The Destination Holdings Group, the online travel group offering holidays, flights and car hire, for £12m, partly funded by a £8m share placing.
14-Jun-2002
Anite has acquired CME Systems, the Bedfordshire-based provider of forensic and property management products with 16 staff, for about £1m.
14-Jun-2002
Mitie Group has sold a number of Mitie Access scaffolding subsidiaries to a management buy-out team operating under the name of Bow Scaffolding Group, in a £5m deal.
13-Jun-2002
Adria, the hosiery manufacturer with 1,300 staff, has been sold by Charnos to a management buy-out backed by private equity firm Amicus Partners, while the Charnos lingerie business is being sold to Premoda Group.
13-Jun-2002
Andrews Sykes has sold its Cox plant hire business to Paddico, a new company established by Close Brothers, for £9.3m.
13-Jun-2002
Taylor Nelson Sofres has acquired Evaliant Media Resources, the US-based provider of online advertising data with 17 staff.
12-Jun-2002
Wagon is to sell its storage systems business to private equity group Whittan Investments for £60m, in order to focus on the manufacture of large vehicle structures.
12-Jun-2002
Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Isle of Man-based life assurance operations to Friends Provident for £133m, as part of a strategy to focus on general insurance.
12-Jun-2002
Dolphin Telecom, the developer of a radio communications network, has been bought out of administration by Inquam for £25m.
12-Jun-2002
Digital Sport is to acquire Time Management Global, the sports management and representation group, for up to £1.8m.
11-Jun-2002
Beshara Press of Tewkesbury and sister company CentrePoint of Nottingham are to be acquired by Midlands Publishing Holdings.
11-Jun-2002
Avalon Printing Software of Leicester has been acquired by VantagePoint Systems of Canada for about £0.5m, and will become VantagePoint's retail packaging division.
11-Jun-2002
WPP has acquired London-based research consultancy HeadlightVision, the Samcor Communications Company in the US and a 60% stake in Chinese PR company H-Line Worldwide.
11-Jun-2002
Kleeneze is to sell its Tranfood meat processing business to Recordline, in order to raise up to £3m and focus on its direct retail operations.
11-Jun-2002
Horizon Technology is planning to sell its Cisco Training business, which includes 62 staff in the UK, Italy, Denmark and Sweden to Azlan for £7.4m.
11-Jun-2002
ICI is to sell its Security Systems operations to US private equity firm Lincolnshire Management, which will involve the transfer of 135 staff.
11-Jun-2002
Online Travel Corporation has acquired Travelstore.com, Oxford Technology Solutions, Amersham Travel and Equator-net from the Travelstore.com Group for £2.1m.
11-Jun-2002
Vantis, the accountancy and professional advisory group, has acquired the non-audit business of Darlington-based Gregory Mitford & Snowball for an initial £0.2m.
07-Jun-2002
Fiske has acquired Ionian Group, the investment management company, for £1.6m.
07-Jun-2002
Hartest has acquired Qados, the distributor of radiotherapy healthcare and research equipment, for £1.7m.
07-Jun-2002
Expomedia has acquired a 51% stake in International Exhibitions & Conferences of Morocco for up to £0.5m.
07-Jun-2002
Serco has acquired SDC, the healthcare management consultancy, for £2m, in order to increase the range of strategic advice and consultancy services provided to the NHS.
07-Jun-2002
Leeds Group has sold Sharps Fabric Printers to a management buy-out for £0.7m, completing its withdrawal from textile manufacturing.
07-Jun-2002
KPMG Consulting, the IT consultancy operating in the UK and Netherlands, has been acquired by Amsterdam-based Atos Origin for £420m.
07-Jun-2002
Gaskell has sold the Crucial Trading business of Tomkinsons to Headlam Floorcovering Distributors for £1.8m, as part of a strategy to focus on its contract carpet tile and broadloom activities.
06-Jun-2002
Woolworths has announced that its VCI subsidiary has sold the trading assets of its entertainment distribution business, Disc Distribution, to Deluxe Video Services for under £1m.
06-Jun-2002
Centrica has acquired Tyreserve, the supplier of replacement tyres via a nationwide network, for £0.4m.
06-Jun-2002
Field & Lawn Marquees has acquired CBC Marquees of Bristol for about £1.8m.
06-Jun-2002
Babtie Group has acquired Rushbrook Consultants, the fire safety consultant, and will create a new business unit called Babtie Rushbrook at offices in Glasgow.
06-Jun-2002
Marks & Spencer has acquired the View From sports wear clothing label for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its portfolio of in-store brands.
06-Jun-2002
Babcock International has acquired Service Group International, the provider of support services to the Ministry of Defence, from Hg Capital for up to £27m.
06-Jun-2002
BOC is to acquire the UK industrial gases business of Enron for about £10m, including compression facilities at a Teesside power plant.
06-Jun-2002
Keenpac Holdings of Leicester has undergone a management buy-out from Bridgepoint Capital, with Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking providing a £20m debt and equity package.
04-Jun-2002
Teamtalk, the sports radio and internet group, is to be acquired by UKbetting for £14m.
03-Jun-2002
GET Group has sold the forged products business of its Worcester-based Tower Manufacturing subsidiary to Floform of Welshpool for £1.8m.
03-Jun-2002
FKI is to acquire DeWind, the German manufacturer of wind turbines, for £12m.
03-Jun-2002
Ferraris has sold its specialist engineering division, which includes Jenaer Gewindetechnik in Germany, Jena Rotary Technology in the UK and Jena-Tec in the US to Avingtrans for £3m.
03-Jun-2002
CeNes Pharmaceuticals has sold its cognitive testing division to a management team operating under the name of Cambridge Cognition for up to £1m.
03-Jun-2002
Whitbread has sold Pelican and BrightReasons, which together comprise 153 restaurants, to a management buy-in backed by private equity firm ECI for £25m.
03-Jun-2002
Tribal Group has acquired MJP, the planning and property consultancy services company, for £3.2m.
03-Jun-2002
Proteome Sciences is planning to acquire Xzillion Proteomics, the proteomics division of Aventis Research & Technologies, for £12m.
03-Jun-2002
Burtonwood Brewery is to acquire JER, the owner of 94 pubs currently leased by Burtonwood, for £17m, in order to increase its control over the refurbishment of the estate.
03-Jun-2002
Metal Treatments, the Birmingham-based electropaint and powder finishing company with 150 staff, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms, and is now creating 30 new jobs and investing £2m in a new production line.
03-Jun-2002
Keepmere Engineering, the manufacturer of precipitators with 20 staff, has been acquired by US-owned Environmental Elements UK, for undisclosed terms.
03-Jun-2002
Evolution has agreed to merge with Beeson Gregory in a £92m reverse takeover, creating one of the largest independent retail stockbroking groups.
31-May-2002
Pressac is to sell 51% of its Interconnect wiring and circuit board business to management for £4.6m.
31-May-2002
Provident Financial has sold its Colonade Insurance Brokers subsidiary, which includes 88 high street outlets, to Swinton Group for £27m.
31-May-2002
Cable & Wireless has won approval from the Guernsey parliament to acquire Guernsey Telecom for £30m, and will invest £5m in the island's e-business infrastructure.
31-May-2002
IFG Group has acquired Trade Credit Brokers, the Irish independent credit insurance brokerage, for an initial £1m.
30-May-2002
JV Group has merged with Howells Group to create JVH Group, a combined Bridgend-based facilities management and business outsourcing group with 235 staff.
30-May-2002
Joloda International has bought the assets of Transpotech, the Anglesey-based pneumatic roller systems manufacturer, out of receivership, saving about 60 jobs.
30-May-2002
Cleanright Environmental Services has been bought out of receivership by the DBI Group, securing the future of 150 jobs.
30-May-2002
Hanson is to acquire Choctaw, the US concrete pipes company, from Amatek for £92m.
30-May-2002
De La Rue has acquired an 85% stake in Sequoia, the US supplier of voting equipment, from Jefferson Smurfit for £24m.
30-May-2002
Metnor has acquired Keynor, the Newcastle-based commercial and leisure contractor with 60 staff, for undisclosed terms.
30-May-2002
Country & Metropolitan is to undergo a £15m reverse takeover by an unnamed private house builder.
30-May-2002
European Telecom has been bought out of receivership, with the UK distribution business going to Global Telecoms Distribution and the phone repair business to Phone Fix, securing the future of 70 jobs.
29-May-2002
Tribal Group has acquired Nightingale, the healthcare architectural practice with offices in Oxford, London and Brighton and more than 100 staff, for £6.7m.
29-May-2002
Springwood has acquired Victorian Leisure, the Barnsley-based nightclub operator, for £3.2m.
29-May-2002
Solid State Supplies has acquired Steatite, the distributor of electronic components, for £1.4m.
29-May-2002
Glen Dimplex has acquired two distributors of electrical equipment - Brownbrook of Craigavon and Dimco of Dublin, which together employ around 100 people.
29-May-2002
Tornado is to acquire Virtue Broadcasting, the provider of online broadcasting services, for £5m, and will change its name to Tornado Virtue.
29-May-2002
Kewill Systems is selling its enterprise resource planning software business to Exact of the Netherlands for £13m, and the proceeds will be used to acquire e-commerce companies.
29-May-2002
Parkman has acquired Full Circle, the Swindon-based education and training services company, for up to £1.5m.
28-May-2002
WS Atkins is to acquire Hanscomb, the US project management consultancy with 375 staff, for about £20m.
28-May-2002
Bunzl has acquired Lockhart, the Reading-based supplier of catering equipment with annual sales of about £60m, from Sodexho.
28-May-2002
Waddies, the Livingston-based printer, has been acquired by Ormolu Group for undisclosed terms, and will be combined with Ormolu's Pillans & Wilson business in Edinburgh.
28-May-2002
Clarity Group has acquired Gazebo Products, the London-based stationery supplier with 45 staff, for undisclosed terms.
28-May-2002
Mean Fiddler has acquired Ritz 1035, the London-based music radio station, for undisclosed terms.
28-May-2002
Golden Wonder, the snacks manufacturer, is being sold by Bridgepoint Capital to The Snack Factory of Skelmersdale for undisclosed terms, while the Wotsits brand is being sold to Walkers.
28-May-2002
Watermark Group is to acquire Globe Audio, the provider of headsets to the airline and leisure industries, for £0.6m.
27-May-2002
Tomkins has sold Lasco Composites, the manufacturer of fibreglass reinforced panel products, to Crane Co of the US for £30m.
27-May-2002
Ennstone Thistle has acquired an asphalt and contracting operation at Daviot, Inverness, and a quarrying operation at Furnace in Argyll and Orrock in Fife from Tarmac Northern for £0.75m.
27-May-2002
Saville Gordon, the industrial property company, is to undergo a £500m management buy-out.
27-May-2002
Sanctuary is to acquire Air-Edel, the music publisher, for £1.2m.
27-May-2002
Co-operative Group has acquired GT Smith, the West Yorkshire-based chain of 13 stores, and will invest £4.2m converting the sites into its Market Town and Welcome formats.
27-May-2002
Enodis, the kitchen equipment manufacturer, is to sell its Aladdin meal delivery systems business in the US to Ali of Italy for £27m.
24-May-2002
Greencore has sold Grassland Holdings, the Irish agricultural fertilizers company, to Freshgrass Investments for £11m.
24-May-2002
Torday & Carlisle has sold Colin Stewart Minchem and Silgel Packaging to AMCOL International of the US for £9.5m.
24-May-2002
Kunick, the operator of leisure centres and amusement machines, is to undergo a £78m management buy-out.
24-May-2002
Man Group is planning to acquire RMF, the Swiss hedge fund manager, for £570m.
24-May-2002
Powermole of Sittingbourne has been acquired by Zoomlion, the Chinese company that is aiming to become a global force in the manufacture of construction plant.
24-May-2002
Claims Direct has raised £1.6m from the sale of Sailpool, a non-trading subsidiary.
23-May-2002
Cendant has agreed to sell the NCP chain of 535 car parks to Cinven and Royal Bank of Scotland for £820m.
23-May-2002
Ayscough Travel, the operator of 10 travel management centres throughout the country, has been acquired by European Travel Holdings for undisclosed terms.
23-May-2002
Dechra Pharmaceuticals has acquired Anglian Pharma of Lincolnshire for £2.5m, and will merge the business with its Dales pharmaceutical contract manufacturing business in Skipton.
21-May-2002
Scottish Radio Holdings is selling its outdoor advertising business to Clear Channel UK for £33m.
21-May-2002
Innovation Group is to acquire the main software business of InterX for up to £8.3m.
21-May-2002
Peterhouse is to acquire EPS Event, the German events infrastructure company, for £4m.
20-May-2002
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group is to sell its life and general Benelux subsidiaries to Achmea of the Netherlands for £77m.
20-May-2002
Art Pattern, the Leicester-based manufacturer of moulds and patterns, is expected to be bought out of administration by a management team for under £1m, saving 60 jobs.
20-May-2002
McIntosh of Dyce has sold its bakery business to Bell Bakers of Shotts for undisclosed terms, saving 75 jobs.
20-May-2002
Glisten, the Blackburn-based specialist foods company, is planning a flotation on Aim, and will then undergo a £7.5m management buy-in.
20-May-2002
AMP of Australia has sold Cogent, the London-based provider of back office services to investment managers with 1,000 staff, for up to £227m.
20-May-2002
Westbury is to acquire Prowting for £141m, in order to expand its housebuilding activities in the south of England.
20-May-2002
First Choice Holidays is to acquire Exodus Travels, the operator of adventure holidays, for up to £10m.
20-May-2002
Warrens of St Just has acquired the Mayflower bakery in Plymouth, which will involve the transfer of 100 staff.
17-May-2002
EasyJet has agreed to acquire Go for £374m, creating Europe's largest low-cost airline with 63 aircraft, 2,700 staff and 32 European destinations.
17-May-2002
Tomkins has sold its GCI rubber products business to Rutland Trust for £24m, and the proceeds will be used to reduce debt and fund small acquisitions for its automotive engineering business.
17-May-2002
Bank of Ireland has acquired Iridian, the US investment manager, for £121m, which will double the size of its asset management business.
17-May-2002
BOC is to acquire Unique Gas & Petrochemicals of Thailand for £31m, and is now planning to make further bolt-on acquisitions in Asia.
17-May-2002
H Goodwin Castings, the Walsall-based engineering company, has undergone a management buy-out from the receivers of Garton Engineering, saving 50 jobs.
16-May-2002
Carlton Communications has formed a joint venture with Thomson Multimedia to acquire the cinema advertising operations of UGC of France and RTBF of Belgium for £62m.
16-May-2002
South Staffordshire Group has acquired Regency Financial Holdings of Weston-super-Mare, the provider of retail warranty services with 222 staff, for up to £45m.
16-May-2002
Team Telecom has acquired Simoco Radio, the provider of telecom support services, for undisclosed terms, securing 51 jobs in Derby and 17 in Cambridge.
15-May-2002
Clark Scott Harden has acquired Harmer Mortimer, the North Yorkshire estate agency with offices in Northallerton and Thirsk.
15-May-2002
Amersham is to acquire Cimarron Software, the US developer of software for medical researchers, for up to £34m.
15-May-2002
Invensys has sold its CompAir compressed air and gas business to Alchemy Partners for a nominal sum.
15-May-2002
Franklin & Andrews is to merge with Mott MacDonald, creating a combined project management group with 7,000 staff and annual turnover of £400m.
15-May-2002
Capita Group has acquired three human resources businesses with 220 staff from PricewaterhouseCoopers for £14m, including Human Resources Outsourcing, Interim Management and Executive Search & Selection.
14-May-2002
Eleco has acquired Downer Cladding Systems, the supplier of fixing systems for rain screen facade cladding, for £1m.
14-May-2002
Hartlepool Steel Fabrications has been bought out of receivership by Tyne Tube Services of South Shields for undisclosed terms, which will involve saving 80 jobs and creating 70 new jobs.
14-May-2002
BSOFTB has sold its remaining software technology businesses to management for a nominal sum.
14-May-2002
McIntosh of Dyce has sold its Aberdeenshire-based ready meals business out of receivership to a management team for undisclosed terms, saving 50 jobs.
14-May-2002
Communisis is to acquire Centurion, the Rickmansworth-based print management services company with 135 staff, for £42m.
14-May-2002
Gaucho Grill, the restaurant operator, is to be acquired by a new company called Pan European Restaurants for £13m.
14-May-2002
AEA Technology is to sell Hyprotech, the Canadian engineering software business with an office in Harwell, to Aspen Technology for £67m.
13-May-2002
Ensor Holdings has acquired CMS Tools, the supplier of tools to the roofing trade, for £2m.
13-May-2002
Rabbit Catering has sold its Teesside-based chain of Galley Coffee shops to the Ladhar Group of Newcastle for undisclosed terms, which will involve the transfer of 210 jobs.
13-May-2002
Gregory Pennington, the Sale-based debt management firm with 250 staff, has been sold to management for undisclosed terms.
13-May-2002
Brandons has acquired Moorland Poultry of Yorkshire for undisclosed terms, creating a combined turkey business with annual turnover of more than £100m.
13-May-2002
Energy Power Resources is to acquire the renewable energy operations of Kelda for up to £25m, including a wood-fired power station near Selby and a 31% stake in three chicken litter plants.
13-May-2002
EMI has acquired Mute, the independent record label, for an initial £23m.
13-May-2002
Druck, the Leicester-based manufacturer of control systems, is to be acquired by GE Industrial Systems of the US for £229m.
13-May-2002
Punch Pub Company has acquired White Rose Taverns, the Yorkshire-based operator of 46 pubs, for £15m.
13-May-2002
Jumbo International has acquired Supa-Bounce, the Hinckley-based manufacturer of inflatable air structures for the play and leisure sectors, for £0.25m.
10-May-2002
GKN is to acquire Astech, the US manufacturer of titanium components for aircraft, for £22m.
10-May-2002
Torex has acquired Berkeley Computer Systems, the Glasgow-based NHS laboratory systems supplier, for £3.5m.
09-May-2002
Zoo Digital has acquired Digital Worldwide, the computer games distributor, for £1.1m.
09-May-2002
MacLellan Group is to acquire Broadreach, the Hatfield-based cleaning and support services company with over 5,000 employees nationwide, for £17m.
09-May-2002
John Menzies has acquired The Wyng Group, the ground handling and air cargo trucking company with annual turnover of £6.3m.
09-May-2002
Chisholm Bookmakers has acquired North East Racing, the chain of 10 betting shops, for undisclosed terms.
09-May-2002
Cleveland Potash, the Teesside potash mine with 866 staff, has been acquired by Israel Chemicals for £30m.
09-May-2002
T Clarke has acquired Kestrel Electrical, the Midlands-based electrical contractor with 13 staff, for undisclosed terms.
09-May-2002
Galen is to sell its clinical trials business to its founder for £130m, in order to focus on pharmaceuticals production.
09-May-2002
Smiths Group has sold its Colchester-based urology products business and its Sussex-based ostomy products business to Mentor of the US for £7.3m.
08-May-2002
Southern Water is to be acquired by Vivendi Environnement of France for £2.05bn, taking Vivendi's share of the UK water market to 10%.
08-May-2002
Guardian Media Group is planning to acquire the Jazz FM radio station for £41m, following government proposals to relax the laws on media ownership.
08-May-2002
Fitness First has bought the Curzons chain of 12 London health clubs from Whitbread for £6m.
08-May-2002
Brewin Dolphin has acquired Popes, the Stoke-based stockbroker with 52 staff, for up to £8.6m.
08-May-2002
Dixons is to acquire Direct Telephone Services, the Manchester-based provider of mobile phone services under the Genesis Communications brand, for up to £31m.
08-May-2002
Thompson & Morgan, the Ipswich-based horticulture and seeds company, has undergone a £17m management buy-out from US parent International Garden Products.
07-May-2002
UPF's receivers have sold Homer Pressings of Walsall and UPF Congleton of Cheshire to management for undisclosed terms, saving 235 jobs.
07-May-2002
MV Sports has acquired Water Waiter, the Kettering-based water dispensing machine rental company, for £2.2m.
06-May-2002
Go-Ahead has acquired Meteor Parking, the operator of airport car parks and associated bus services at Heathrow, Stansted, Edinburgh and Southampton, for £16m.
06-May-2002
Blacks Leisure has sold its First Sport, AV and Pure Woman sport and fashion retailing operations to John David Sports for £53m.
06-May-2002
Nestle has agreed to sell its UK-based ambient-temperature food operations to Premier International Foods for about £135m.
06-May-2002
EasyJet is in negotiations to acquire Go for about £400m, in order to create Europe's largest low-cost airline.
06-May-2002
Confetti, the online wedding gifts business, has acquired Jerry's Home Stores, the chain of homeware stores, for undisclosed terms.
06-May-2002
Geest has acquired SBLP, the French prepared salads company, for £1.6m, in order to strengthen its position in the north of the country.
03-May-2002
CRH has acquired EHL Group, the German concrete paving company with 32 depots and 1,350 staff, for £93m.
03-May-2002
Management Consulting Group is to acquire Parson Group, the US provider of financial management consultancy services with 13 offices, for £38m.
03-May-2002
Groupe Chez Gerard has sold the Scotts seafood restaurant in London's Mayfair to an unnamed buyer for £2.9m.
03-May-2002
Multi Group has acquired the London-based small tools division of Gilmac Building Services for £0.2m.
02-May-2002
Wyevale Garden Centres has acquired the Auldene garden centre near Leyland for £3.4m, taking its chain to 122.
02-May-2002
Spirent has sold the business and certain assets of Switching Systems International for £6.3m.
02-May-2002
HC Troldahl has sold its kitchen design business to management for undisclosed terms, in order to focus on refrigeration and air conditioning.
02-May-2002
Tate & Lyle has sold its US-based Western Sugar business to Rocky Mountain Sugar Growers Co-operative for £58m.
02-May-2002
Westminster Healthcare, the operator of about 90 nursing homes, has undergone a £267m management buy-out backed by 3i.
02-May-2002
Viridian has sold its Open & Direct financial services business to Alchemy Partners for £111m.
02-May-2002
Wilson Organisation has acquired O'Dell Walton & Partners, the Nottingham-based insurance company, for undisclosed terms, and will relocate the 10 staff to its Waverley Street office.
01-May-2002
Wrekin Construction has acquired Filcom for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its cable contracting business.
01-May-2002
Royal & Sun Alliance has sold its investment division to Friends Ivory & Sime for £240m, which will involve the transfer of 300 staff.
01-May-2002
Headlam has acquired DJ Hann, the regional distributor of floorcoverings, for an initial £0.5m, and will relocate the business to Headlam's distribution centre in Newbury.
30-Apr-2002
Enterprise has acquired Lloyd & Scotter Lighting, the Hull-based provider of street lighting services, for £1.5m.
30-Apr-2002
Smartlogik, the developer of knowledge management software, is to sell its assets to Applied Psychology Research for £1.7m, and APR will take on 36 of the 67 staff.
30-Apr-2002
Nationwide Accident Repair Services, the car repair specialist, has accepted a £24m takeover bid from Guinness Peat.
30-Apr-2002
International Academy, the football holiday company, is to undergo a £7m reverse takeover by Leisure Ventures.
30-Apr-2002
CSS Stellar is to acquire Craigie Taylor International, the Guildford-based sports sponsorship company, for up to £10m.
30-Apr-2002
Charles Stanley is to acquire Robson Cotterell, the Bournemouth-based stockbroker, for up to £9.5m.
29-Apr-2002
Idea Integration, the Brierley Hill-based software developer, has undergone a management buy-out from US parent MPS for undisclosed terms.
29-Apr-2002
Pimpernel has expanded its tablemats business with the acquisition of Cloverleaf Group, and will close Cloverleaf's Swindon factory with the loss of 90 jobs and recruit 30 new staff at its base near Consett.
29-Apr-2002
Mappin & Webb is to acquire Robertsons, the London-based pawnbroker, for about £1m.
29-Apr-2002
Westminster Healthcare is to sell the Priory chain of 29 health clinics to Doughty Hanson for £290m.
29-Apr-2002
Palletways, the logistics company, has undergone a £12m management buy-out backed by 3i.
29-Apr-2002
British European Associated Publishers, the publisher of puzzle magazines, is to undergo a £37m management buy-out from Sanoma Magazine of Finland.
29-Apr-2002
Guardian iT, the computer disaster recovery company, has accepted a £167m takeover bid from SunGard of the US.
26-Apr-2002
QuantaNova, the biotechnology company that has 58 staff and was formerly known as Scotia, has been bought of administration by Biolitec of Germany for undisclosed terms.
26-Apr-2002
Acal is to acquire ATMParts, the Hampshire-based distributor of spare parts for cash dispensers, for £8m.
25-Apr-2002
Aga Foodservice has acquired Belshaw Brothers, the US manufacturer of doughnut equipment, from Enodis for about £16m.
25-Apr-2002
Temprint and Cornwall Lithographic Printers have merged their Redruth-based printing businesses into a newly formed holding company called Pryntya, with combined turnover of £4.8m.
25-Apr-2002
Matalan is to acquire Wolsey, the Leicester-based menswear supplier with annual turnover of £14m, for undisclosed terms.
25-Apr-2002
Zetters is to acquire Financial Spreads, the spread betting company, from Sporting Index for £8.7m, partly funded by a £4.7m share placing.
25-Apr-2002
Pell Frischmann has acquired Morgan Horne, the water and sewage consulting engineer, for undisclosed terms.
25-Apr-2002
Radamec has sold the surface mount assemblies and hybrid microsystems business of Radamec Electronic Systems to Sascal of Hayes for £0.25m.
24-Apr-2002
Delta is to sell Sourdillon, the manufacturer of gas burners in France, Mexico and the US, to Burner Systems International for £18m.
24-Apr-2002
Associated British Foods is to acquire the Mazola corn products business in the US and 18 other brands from Unilever for £248m.
24-Apr-2002
Automatic Handling Europe has acquired SHS Handling Systems, the manufacturer of integrated corrugating and materials handling solutions, and will relocate its Northwich operation to the SHS factory at Ellesmere Port.
23-Apr-2002
Densitron Technologies has bought Ferrograph, the Tyneside-based manufacturer of public information display systems, out of receivership for £0.3m.
23-Apr-2002
T Clarke has acquired WE Manin, the Sittingbourne-based electrical contractor with 60 staff, for £1.6m.
23-Apr-2002
National Grid and Lattice are planning a £15bn merger to create a combined gas and electricity group called National Grid Transco.
23-Apr-2002
Dixon Motors has accepted a £110m takeover bid from Royal Bank of Scotland, which will enable the car dealership to exploit synergies with the Lombard asset finance division of RBS.
23-Apr-2002
NWF Group has acquired the Dukeries Garden Centre in Worksop for £2.4m, and now operates six Country Stores and three Garden Centres.
22-Apr-2002
Medical Solutions has sold Thackray Instruments and Thackray Practice Plus to Williams Medical Supplies of South Wales for £0.7m.
22-Apr-2002
Britmag, the Hartlepool-based magnesium works, has been bought out of administration by a management team under the name of CJC Chemical for undisclosed terms, saving 44 jobs.
22-Apr-2002
Gieves & Hawkes, the menswear retailer, has accepted a £7.9m takeover bid from USI of Hong Kong.
22-Apr-2002
Lexis Public Relations, the London-based PR company, has undergone a management buy-out for about £5m.
19-Apr-2002
Anite has acquired Micro Surveys Property Systems of Kingston-upon-Thames for up to £8m, in order to provide mobile working applications to the public sector.
19-Apr-2002
Glow Communications is to acquire the customer base of Future Integrated Telephony out of administration for up to £0.5m.
19-Apr-2002
WPP is to acquire Irish Marketing Surveys, which has 130 staff in Dublin and Belfast, in order to expand its Millward Brown communications research business.
19-Apr-2002
McLeod Russel has acquired two Danish air filter companies - Industrifilter and Synsafe Danmark - for up to £0.5m.
19-Apr-2002
Greene King has acquired Dalgety Taverns, the Fife-based chain of eight pubs, for undisclosed terms, and will convert the sites into the Hungry Horse format.
19-Apr-2002
Brooke Industrial's receivers have sold the Brooke Cutting Tools business to a management buy-out, saving 90 jobs in Hellaby, Yorkshire.
19-Apr-2002
Wolseley is to acquire Clayton Acquisition, the US distributor of storm-drainage materials, for £77m, in order to gain a foothold in the Florida market.
19-Apr-2002
Lloyds TSB is to buy two contract fleet hire businesses, which lease 73,000 cars to large companies, from Abbey National for £46m.
19-Apr-2002
RPS Group has acquired Indepth Surveys of Bristol for up to £3m and JR Stansfield & Associates of Warrington for £0.5m, in order to expand its water services and risk management divisions.
18-Apr-2002
Lex Service has sold its Lex Autocentres network of 96 vehicle servicing sites to Nationwide Autocentres for £4m.
17-Apr-2002
Frederick Cooper is to sell its Cooper Coil Coating subsidiary in the US to a newly-registered Florida-based company for £2.1m.
17-Apr-2002
Mean Fiddler is to acquire Finlaw 279, the operator of dance clubs in Nottingham, Glasgow and Coatbridge, for £2m.
16-Apr-2002
United Engineering Forgings has sold its Kidderminster-based automotive connecting rods business out of administration to Smethwick Drop Forge, saving 70 jobs.
16-Apr-2002
Mitchells Practical Campers of Wakefield has been acquired by CCCoutdoors of Sheffield, creating a combined camping business with turnover of £6m and about 50 staff.
16-Apr-2002
Tote has acquired the Manny Bernstein chain of 30 betting shops in the Midlands and North East, taking its chain to almost 400.
16-Apr-2002
John Laing has sold its property development business to a joint venture of Kier Group and Bank of Scotland for £40m, as part of a £120m disposal programme to reduce debt.
16-Apr-2002
Parity has acquired the IT training division of Sx3 for up to £0.2m, in order to expand its presence in Northern Ireland.
15-Apr-2002
Taylor Nelson Sofres has acquired Elrick & Lavidge, the US marketing research company with annual turnover of $23m.
15-Apr-2002
Birchin International is to acquire Park Row financial advisers in a £13m reverse takeover, and the new group will raise £3m in a share placing.
15-Apr-2002
Enterprise Inns is to acquire 1,860 pubs from Laurel for £875m, in order to expand its estate in the south of England.
15-Apr-2002
Capita Group has acquired City Financial Group, the provider of unit trust administration services, for up to £4.6m.
15-Apr-2002
Compass is to acquire Gruppo Events, the provider of catering services at Somerset House in London, for up to £6.6m.
15-Apr-2002
Thomas Potts is to acquire Fairway Logistics, the Slough-based print management company with 78 staff.
11-Apr-2002
Richard Burbidge has acquired Atkinson Marketing, the Ormskirk-based timber company with 70 staff and annual turnover of £9m, for undisclosed terms.
11-Apr-2002
Rotax International, the Sheffield-based scalpel and surgical blade manufacturer, has undergone a £1m management buy-out from Maersk Medical of Denmark, securing 90 jobs.
11-Apr-2002
Deloitte & Touche has reached agreement to acquire the UK arm of Andersen, which will involve the transfer of 383 partners and 5,000 staff.
11-Apr-2002
IFG Group is to expand its financial services business through the acquisition of IPS Pensions, the Bristol-based provider of actuarial and pension services, for up to £15m.
11-Apr-2002
Pennon has acquired Richardson, the St Helens-based glass reclamation company with a nationwide network of depots, for £12m, in order to expand its Viridor Waste subsidiary.
10-Apr-2002
Capcon Holdings has acquired Vincent Sherman, the insurance fraud investigation business with 43 staff, for up to £0.5m.
10-Apr-2002
PHS Group has acquired Teacrate, the crate rental company with 106 staff at depots in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Edinburgh, for £15m.
10-Apr-2002
Dechra Pharmaceuticals is to acquire North Western Laboratories of Lancashire and its Cambridge Specialist Laboratory Services subsidiary for £2.8m, in order to expand its veterinary pharmaceuticals business.
10-Apr-2002
Aortech is to acquire the critical care operations of Becton Dickinson of the US, which manufactures monitoring devices and catheters and includes a factory in Singapore, for £36m.
10-Apr-2002
Project Telecom has acquired TW Telecom, the Manchester-based mobile telecoms company with 15,000 customers, for undisclosed terms.
10-Apr-2002
United Drug has acquired New Splint, the Hampshire-based supplier of medical devices, for £7m.
09-Apr-2002
Ulster Television is to acquire Treaty Radio, the Irish radio broadcaster, for £10m.
09-Apr-2002
Warthog has acquired 42-Bit, the Swedish computer games developer, for £0.4m.
09-Apr-2002
Lastminute.com has acquired TravelSelect.com, the London-based online travel company, for £12m.
09-Apr-2002
BOC Edwards is to sell its US glass coating business to Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik of Germany, which will involve the transfer of about 70 staff.
08-Apr-2002
Rexam is to sell its Image Products coated films and papers business to Sun Capital of the US for £42m.
08-Apr-2002
BP Chemicals is to sell its Performance Films packaging business, including plants in Barnsley and Poland with more than 400 staff, to Parkside Flexibles of West Yorkshire for undisclosed terms.
05-Apr-2002
Spence Bryson, the Portadown-based handkerchief factory with 27 staff, has been bought out of receivership by a management team.
05-Apr-2002
Gillman & Soame, the Oxford-based photographic company, has been bought out of receivership by a management team, saving 80 jobs.
05-Apr-2002
Alliance UniChem has acquired Holtung, the Norwegian pharmaceuticals wholesaler, for about £4m.
04-Apr-2002
Clifford Thames Printing of Chelmsford has been bought out of receivership by a management team and is being renamed Montrose Press.
03-Apr-2002
Bridge Direct, the Nottingham-based print management company with annual turnover of £9m, has been bought out of receivership by local rival PPL.
03-Apr-2002
Shell is to acquire Enterprise Oil, the exploration company operating in the North Sea, Norway and the Gulf of Mexico, for £3.5bn, and up to 400 jobs will be lost at Enterprise's offices in London and Aberdeen.
03-Apr-2002
Simoco Digital has sold its terminals business out of administration to Kelso Place Asset Management, which will involve the transfer of 76 Cambridge-based staff and a change of name to Sepura.
02-Apr-2002
TeCmail has acquired Inchbrook, the printing company, for undisclosed terms, taking its annual turnover to more than £40m.
02-Apr-2002
Advanced Medical Solutions is to acquire MedLogic, the Plymouth-based manufacturer of medical grade adhesives for the wound closure market, for £2.5m, and has also announced a £4m rights issue.
29-Mar-2002
Le Riche has acquired Channel Rentals, Channel Publications and Trade Advisory Business Service from ComProp for £1.7m, in order to expand its electronics retailing and publishing business in the Channel Islands.
29-Mar-2002
Semple Cochrane has sold its Aberdeen-based marine electrical business to management for £0.1m.
29-Mar-2002
Amberley is to sell DS Companies, the manufacturer of water-based coatings, press room chemicals and adhesives in Germany and Sweden, to Fuji Hunt for £13m, thereby completing the disposal of all trading subsidiaries.
29-Mar-2002
Smith & Nephew has sold its Rehabilitation business to AbilityOne of the US for £87m, creating a leading supplier of rehabilitation products to hospitals with operations in Kirkby, France and the US.
29-Mar-2002
Thales has sold its Somerset-based fisheries vessel monitoring systems business to a management buy-out under the name of BlueFinger.
28-Mar-2002
Javelin Systems Europe and Jade Communications have undergone a management buy-out from US parent Aspeon, creating a combined retail technology business with about 80 staff in the North West.
28-Mar-2002
Microcomputing, the Washington-based IT solutions company, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
28-Mar-2002
Serco Railtest has acquired the Glasgow-based rail grinding subsidiary of Schweerbau, in order to help deliver its contract with Railtrack.
28-Mar-2002
Artisan is to sell Speymill Contracts, the provider of property refurbishment services, to Wigmore Group for £4m.
27-Mar-2002
Arcolectric is to acquire Otehall Switches, the Haywards Heath-based manufacturer of micro switches, and related company Otehall Tooling for a total £1.7m.
27-Mar-2002
Shell is to acquire Pennzoil-Quaker State, the US lubricants company, for £1.2bn.
27-Mar-2002
Wessex Water, the water company owned by failed US energy trader Enron, is to be acquired by YTL Corp of Malaysia for £1.24bn.
26-Mar-2002
Cadbury Schweppes is to acquire Nantucket Allserve, the US soft drinks company with annual sales of £42m, for undisclosed terms.
26-Mar-2002
CD Bramall is set to acquire Quicks, the Ford car dealer, for £40m.
26-Mar-2002
Innovation Group has acquired Midas IT Services, the Kent-based provider of IT hosting services to the insurance industry, for £4m.
26-Mar-2002
De La Rue is to acquire the banking automation business of Papelaco, the Portugal-based manufacturer of self-service banking technology, for £16m.
26-Mar-2002
Anite has acquired Ideal Technology Services, the Manchester-based provider of software and consultancy services to local authorities, for £5m.
26-Mar-2002
Synergy Healthcare is planning to acquire the Hays Clinical Support Services division of Hays Commercial Services, which provides instrument decontamination and sterilisation services to hospitals, for £11m.
26-Mar-2002
Amberley is to sell its Metacol colourant and pigment operations to ColorMatrix Europe and British Vita for £2.2m.
25-Mar-2002
I-documentsystems is to acquire The Planning Exchange, the Glasgow-based supplier of information services to local authorities, for about £1m.
25-Mar-2002
Coppice Alupack, the Bridgend-based manufacturer of aluminium and board containers for the food industry with annual turnover of £18m, has undergone a management buy-out.
25-Mar-2002
Burton's Foods has acquired Biscuit Makers, the Irish manufacturer of Kelly's cookies.
25-Mar-2002
Alchemy Partners is supporting the £24m management buy-out of two staff recruitment companies - Right4Staff of Portsmouth and Draefern of Chesterfield - from AHL Services of the US.
25-Mar-2002
Innogy, the electricity supplier, has agreed to a £3.1bn takeover offer from RWE of Germany.
22-Mar-2002
Invensys is to sell its flow control business to Flowserve of the US for £376m, in order to focus on factory automation and energy management.
22-Mar-2002
Halyard has acquired Sabre Fabrications, the Poole-based manufacturer of marine exhaust components, for undisclosed terms.
22-Mar-2002
Parkdean has acquired the Ruda Holiday Park near Ilfracombe in Devon for an undisclosed sum thought to be about £12m, taking its chain of holiday parks to 12.
21-Mar-2002
Jessgrove of Bradford has merged with London-based UK Linings to create a combined £20m textiles business with 60 staff at offices in Bradford, Leeds, London and Austria.
21-Mar-2002
Enterprise Inns is acquiring 4,000 Unique and Voyager pubs from Nomura in a £2bn leveraged buy-out, as part of a consortium with Cinven, Legal & General Ventures and Princes Gate Investors.
21-Mar-2002
Hydrex, the construction equipment supplier, has undergone a £15m management buy-out funded by Bridgepoint Capital, and is now looking to expand into the North and Scotland.
21-Mar-2002
Aga Foodservice is to acquire Domain Home Fashions, the US supplier of home furnishings, for £18m, in order to expand sales of its cookers in East Coast retail markets.
20-Mar-2002
GUS is to acquire ConsumerInfo.com, the US supplier of online credit reports, from Homestore.com for £86m, in order to expand its Experian North America business.
20-Mar-2002
Balfour Beatty has acquired Kentons, the Yorkshire-based utility services contractor, for £28m.
20-Mar-2002
Hunting has acquired Roforge, the French manufacturer of industrial valves, for £4.2m.
20-Mar-2002
SSL International has sold 21 over-the-counter pharmaceutical brands to Thornton & Ross for £13m, including some manufacturing equipment currently located at SSL's Guernsey and Peterlee sites.
20-Mar-2002
ESM has been bought out of receivership by International Rectifier of the US for £57m, which will lead to an investment of £88m at the Newport-based semiconductor plant and secure the future of 260 jobs.
20-Mar-2002
Youngs Bluecrest, the Grimsby-based fish processing company, is to be sold by Legal & General Ventures to a management buy-out for £137m.
20-Mar-2002
Capita Group has acquired Resource Management, the London-based provider of social workers, for £7.1m.
19-Mar-2002
Diageo is to sell its Glen Ellen wine business in the US to Franzia Winery for £58m.
19-Mar-2002
Aga Foodservice is to sell its Leisure and Flavel cooker brands to BEKO UK for up to £5.4m.
18-Mar-2002
Lighthouse Group is to acquire BWA, the Exeter-based network of almost 200 independent financial advisers, in a £2.1m deal.
18-Mar-2002
Eley Metrology has acquired Crown Windley, the Ripley-based manufacturer of measuring equipment, for undisclosed terms.
18-Mar-2002
John Brown and Citrus are to merge their contract publishing businesses to create a combined group called John Brown Citrus, and Citrus will relocate to John Brown's offices in west London.
15-Mar-2002
Fabdec, the Ellesmere-based dairy equipment manufacturer, has undergone a management buy-out from US parent DEC International.
15-Mar-2002
Tomos Watkin, the Llansamlet-based brewery, is undergoing a management buy-out for undisclosed terms.
15-Mar-2002
Numerica has acquired Practice Track, the Bristol-based supplier of marketing services to accountancy firms, for £1m.
14-Mar-2002
Hackman Printers has acquired Caerphilly-based South Western Printers to create a new group called HSW Printers, and the combined workforce is expected to rise from 85 to 100 over the next year.
14-Mar-2002
BPB is to acquire the US wallboard division of James Hardie Industries for £243m, partly funded by a £107m share placing.
14-Mar-2002
Turton Tonks, the Sheffield-based spring maker, has been bought out of receivership by a management team, saving 45 jobs.
13-Mar-2002
Johnston Press has acquired Regional Independent Media, the local newspaper publisher, for £560m, partly funded by a £220m rights issue.
13-Mar-2002
Tibbett & Britten is to acquire Dimalsa, the Mexican logistics business, for an initial £42m, and has also announced the acquisition of a 38% stake in Davids Distribution of Thailand for £3m.
13-Mar-2002
Wembley is to sell its Keith Prowse hospitality business to management for £5.5m, in order to focus on its racetrack and gaming operations.
13-Mar-2002
Rok Property Solutions is to acquire City Estates, the Southampton-based commercial property developer, for £0.8m.
12-Mar-2002
Millfield has acquired Moncur Jackson & Associates, the Newcastle upon Tyne-based employee benefits business, for up to £2.2m.
12-Mar-2002
Ingenta is to acquire Heron, the supplier of online educational course packs created by Stirling, Napier and South Bank Universities, for about £0.3m.
12-Mar-2002
IMI has sold its Eley Hawk cartridges business to Union Explosivosos Espanol of Spain for £1.6m, and is now looking to sell its building products and plastic pipes division to management for up to £300m.
12-Mar-2002
Hawtin has acquired Sport Engineering and Lifestyle Engineering for £0.9m, in order to expand its Powersport fitness equipment manufacturing business.
11-Mar-2002
Hercules Property Services has acquired Gross Fine, the London residential property management company, for up to £13m.
11-Mar-2002
Propan Homes is to acquire Sitemaster, the residential property company with property assets valued at £19m.
11-Mar-2002
Hartest has acquired the instrumentation business of HW Wallace for £0.1m, in order to expand its Sheen Instruments division.
11-Mar-2002
Rutland Trust has sold its interests in Coppice Group, the Bridgend-based manufacturer of aluminium foil containers, to a new company called MELH 888 for £4.6m.
11-Mar-2002
Richards has agreed to sell two subsidiaries out of receivership, with the Spence Bryson handkerchief packing operation in Portadown going to a management team and the Yorkshire-based High Quality Contracts floorcoverings subsidiary going to Claremont Fabrics.
11-Mar-2002
Walker Hamill, the recruitment consultant, is to undergo a management buy-out from the receivers of Marlborough International.
11-Mar-2002
JJB Sports is to acquire TJ Hughes, the chain of 36 discount department stores, for £42m.
11-Mar-2002
Scottish Power has announced plans to sell Southern Water to a newly-created investment vehicle called First Aqua for £2.05bn, which is expected to lead to a follow-on sale to Vivendi of France.
11-Mar-2002
Fitness First has acquired an 85% stake in the Just for Ladies chain of fitness clubs.
11-Mar-2002
Buko, the Glenrothes-based supermarket trolley maker, has been bought out of receivership by a management team backed by Bank of Scotland.
11-Mar-2002
Imperial Tobacco is to acquire Reemtsma, the German cigarette manufacturer, for £3.5bn.
08-Mar-2002
Middlesex Holdings is to acquire Petrol Express, the petrol retailing company with 47 forecourts, and has also announced plans to sell its Russian steel trading business.
08-Mar-2002
Shiloh is to acquire Care & Mobility, the Essex-based supplier of mobility aids, for £1.6m.
07-Mar-2002
Compass is to acquire Bon Appetit Management, the US foodservice company based in California, for £114m.
07-Mar-2002
Numerica is to acquire the non-audit business of Leicester-based Pole Arnold in a £4.2m deal.
07-Mar-2002
Guiton Group, the publisher of newspapers in the Channel Islands, has sold its commercial printing business to J Howitt & Son for £1.1m.
07-Mar-2002
Aggregate Industries has acquired Essex-based Bradwell Aggregates and Chester-based Littler Readymix.
07-Mar-2002
French has sold its curtain styling business to Hallco 707 for £0.3m.
06-Mar-2002
Coutts Consulting is to be acquired by Right Management Consultants, the US recruitment firm, for £74m.
06-Mar-2002
Brake Bros has acquired two French regional catering wholesalers - Bianchi Gers and PSM Jarny - for £14m.
05-Mar-2002
George Wimpey has sold Alfred McAlpine Homes Cumbria to Centaur Homes for £16m.
05-Mar-2002
Cybit has acquired certain assets of Fleetstar Information Systems, the vehicle fleet management system, from Trafficmaster for £1.5m.
04-Mar-2002
Retail Decisions has acquired Paymentplus, the US supplier of payment card fraud prevention services, for £1.6m.
04-Mar-2002
Tribal Group has acquired Secta Group, the healthcare consultancy with 60 staff at offices in Southampton, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Wakefield, for £8.6m.
04-Mar-2002
Ryland has sold its DAF/LDV operations in Preston and Edinburgh to Lawrence Vehicles for £4.2m.
04-Mar-2002
Stadium has sold its Stadium Plastics injection moulding business to management for about £7m.
04-Mar-2002
National Schoolwear Centres, the chain of 26 school wear stores, is to undergo a £0.8m management buy-out, and about 12 new outlets will open each year.
04-Mar-2002
TXU has acquired the UK electricity and gas supply operations of Amerada Hess for £117m, gaining 400,000 more domestic customers.
04-Mar-2002
Alfred McAlpine has acquired Stiell, the facilities management company with 1,200 staff at offices in Glasgow, Manchester, London and Belfast, for £85m.
04-Mar-2002
Ardagh is to acquire the Italian glass packaging operations of Consumers Packaging of Canada for £1.8m, and has also announced the closure of its Ringsend, Dublin, glass container plant.
01-Mar-2002
ControlP is to acquire the London operation of Colourflow out of receivership, in order to expand its Documedia Solutions printing business.
01-Mar-2002
Just Group's administrators have sold a number of businesses, with the international co-edition book publishing division going to The Quarto Group, the children's magazine division to Toontastic Publishing and the children's educational publishing division to Ashgarden.
01-Mar-2002
KBC Advanced Technologies has acquired Linnhoff March International of Manchester in a £2.8m deal, in order to expand its energy efficiency and clean fuels service to the hydrocarbon processing industry.
28-Feb-2002
BC Partners has acquired Galbani, the Italian cheese and salami company, from Danone for £610m, and may now seek further acquisitions in the European cheese market.
28-Feb-2002
Allied Domecq has bought the Malibu rum brand from Diageo for £560m, and has also acquired Mumm Cuvee Napa, the US sparkling wine company, for £27m.
28-Feb-2002
Synstar is selling its Swiss computer maintenance business to Itris, which will involve the transfer of 41 staff.
27-Feb-2002
PizzaExpress has acquired the Kettners restaurant in Soho, London, for £2m, and has also announced the acquisition of five Gourmet Pizza and Riviera restaurants, also for £2m.
26-Feb-2002
Linpac has sold its Cwmbran-based welded products division, which manufactures aerosols used to store glues and solvent, to management for £0.5m, securing 20 jobs.
26-Feb-2002
Quiltex has acquired Early's, the Witney-based blanket manufacturer, and is shedding 12 sales and administration jobs in order to leave a workforce of 70.
26-Feb-2002
Norman Hay has acquired PMD Engineering from the PMD Group, and will relocate some of the business from Coventry to its Plasticraft division at the Cannock Process Engineering Centre.
25-Feb-2002
Strathmore Hotels has undergone a £2.5m management buy-out, and the chain of six hotels is now seeking acquisitions in conference locations such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, York and Chester.
25-Feb-2002
Centrica is in negotiations to acquire NewPower, the US energy trader, for £87m, in order to gain a further 650,000 North American customers.
25-Feb-2002
United Industries has sold its components and systems division to OSL Group for £6.2m, in order to focus on technical plastics.
22-Feb-2002
Freeway Software, the Wigan-based developer of payroll software, has been acquired by IRIS for an estimated £8m.
22-Feb-2002
Cadbury Schweppes has acquired a 51% stake in Kent Gida, the Turkish sugar confectionery company, for £90m.
22-Feb-2002
Lookers has acquired 452 (Birmingham) from Vauxhall Motor and the Rystar Aston and Selly Oak Vauxhall outlets from Ryland Group for a total £2m.
21-Feb-2002
Range Cylinders, the Wakefield-based manufacturer of hot water cylinders with 112 staff, has been sold by the Baxi Group to RCM for undisclosed terms.
21-Feb-2002
Spirent has sold its aerospace components business to Curtiss-Wright of the US for £42m, in order to reduce debt and focus on its network technology operations.
21-Feb-2002
Tate & Lyle is looking to sell its North American molasses operations, including United Molasses, UM North America and United Storage.
21-Feb-2002
VIP-Heinke, the Huntingdon-based manufacturer of rubber and plastic seals with 200 staff, has been acquired by a consortium including Close Brothers Private Equity and the management team of Grove Industries.
20-Feb-2002
Hanson is to sell HBcE, its European brick manufacturing business, to Wienerberger for £39m.
20-Feb-2002
Taylor Woodrow has sold the UK tower crane hire business of Taywood Plant to Kier Plant for £2.4m, in order to focus on housing, property, construction and engineering.
19-Feb-2002
Gresham Trust has sold John Hampden Press, the manufacturer of branded retailer packaging with 125 staff, to management for £2.6m, and the business is being renamed John Hampden Packaging.
19-Feb-2002
Jubb has acquired Barclay Stuart Plastics, the Luton-based manufacturer of bottles and caps, and the two businesses will be combined onto its Leicester site.
19-Feb-2002
Gamma Global, the distributor of computer equipment with 40 staff at sales offices in Manchester, Birmingham, London and Italy, has been sold to management for undisclosed terms.
19-Feb-2002
McDonald's has sold 26 of its Aroma coffee bars to Caffe Nero for about £3.5m, taking the Caffe Nero chain to more than 100.
19-Feb-2002
Simon is to acquire Forthline, the operator of container services between Grangemouth and Rotterdam, from Forth Ports for £0.3m, and the business will be combined with its Seawheel European network.
18-Feb-2002
Stadium Group has sold its Consumer Products Division, which distributes branded automotive and furniture products, to management for £1m.
18-Feb-2002
BFD Group has acquired Crowson's & Sons, the cheese supplier, gaining access to warehouse space in Cheltenham and catering customers in London.
18-Feb-2002
Oystertec is to acquire Europower, the manufacturer of fluid and gas hoses, for £12m, funded by a £10m share placing.
15-Feb-2002
John Menzies Aviation Group is to acquire Fr8, the Dutch cargo handling company with 440 staff at Schiphol and Rotterdam airports, for £4.8m.
15-Feb-2002
Scottish & Newcastle is to acquire Hartwall, the Finnish beer and soft drinks company, for £1.2bn, gaining a 50% stake in Russia's leading brewer Baltic Beverages Holdings.
15-Feb-2002
Smith & Nephew is to acquire Oratec Interventions, the US developer of radio frequency technology for minimally invasive surgery, for £220m.
15-Feb-2002
Compass has acquired the Castle Independent school meals business, which includes 2,500 staff across the country, from Castle View for undisclosed terms.
15-Feb-2002
Manheim Auctions has acquired Tyne Tees Motor Auctions and will relocate the business to its 15-acre site in Washington.
15-Feb-2002
Michelin's ATS subsidiary has sold WSTyremasters to Stapleton's Tyre Services for undisclosed terms, which will involve the transfer of six tyre distribution centres.
15-Feb-2002
International Moving Company has acquired T&S Transport of Edinburgh, creating a national network of removals branches with 123 staff, and is now seeking further acquisitions in North London and the north-east of England.
15-Feb-2002
Lowdham Leisure has acquired the Countrywide caravan dealership in Huddersfield from Hull-based Adam Dale Industries for undisclosed terms.
15-Feb-2002
Johnston Carmichael has acquired the Aberdeen accountancy practice of HLB Kidsons for undisclosed terms.
15-Feb-2002
Lawrence is to acquire Ringpress Publishing, the pet books publisher, for up to £3.4m, and the enlarged publishing division may be sold off at a later date in order to focus on animal health care and feed additives.
14-Feb-2002
Molins is to acquire Arista Laboratories, the US analytical company with a smoke testing facility in Virginia, for up to £3m.
14-Feb-2002
WH Smith has sold its Helicon online reference publishing business to RM for £0.7m.
14-Feb-2002
Viking Industrial Products, the supplier of adhesives, abrasives and packaging materials, has acquired Industrial & Safety Supplies of Leeds, creating a combined group with turnover of more than £3m.
14-Feb-2002
Cranesafe, the Guildford-based crane equipment supplier, has been acquired by SMIE of France.
14-Feb-2002
David Webster has acquired Parkersell Highway Lighting Services of London for undisclosed terms.
14-Feb-2002
Denco, the Hereford-based air conditioning company, has acquired Amec's mobile services operation, which has 107 staff, for under £1m.
14-Feb-2002
Mitie Powered Access has undergone a £1.9m management buy-out, and its five branches are being rebranded as The Platform Company.
14-Feb-2002
Greenwoods Communications has acquired Telecom Protection Technologies, the manufacturer of hardware and software to protect against electrical surges in telecom equipment with annual turnover of £2.5m.
13-Feb-2002
Midas Metal Finishes has bought the assets of CR Plating, the recently-closed Coventry-based plating company, for undisclosed terms, saving some of the 20 jobs.
13-Feb-2002
Cobbetts, the Manchester law firm, is to merge with Read Hind Stewart of Leeds in May, creating a combined group with 67 partners.
13-Feb-2002
Sytner, the Leicester-based prestige car dealership, is to be acquired by United Auto Group of the US for £95m.
13-Feb-2002
EPL Access, the chain of eight powered access hire branches, has undergone a management buy-out from John Laing.
13-Feb-2002
Johnson Matthey has acquired Avocado Research Chemicals, the Heysham-based manufacturer of organic compounds for research laboratories with 70 staff, for an initial £25m.
12-Feb-2002
Headlam has acquired the trading assets of the UK floor covering distribution business of Rikett AS of Norway for an initial £0.3m.
12-Feb-2002
Scottish Radio Holdings is to acquire the Longford Leader Group, the publisher of regional newspapers in Ireland, for £5.6m.
12-Feb-2002
Tribal Group has acquired FD Learning, the Sheffield-based provider of IT services to the education sector, for £7.4m, and Hipkins, the property services company, for £0.7m.
12-Feb-2002
DCC is to acquire TechnoPharm, the Irish pharmaceuticals distributor, for up to £10m, in order to expand its hospital supplies business.
12-Feb-2002
Service Corporation International of the US has sold UK-based Dignity Caring Funeral Services to a management team backed by HSBC Private Equity for £220m.
12-Feb-2002
KBC Advanced Technologies has acquired Petroleum Economics, the energy economics consultancy, for £2m.
11-Feb-2002
Northern Electric has sold its wind power business to London Electricity for £3.5m, including turbines in Northumberland and County Durham and the right to build a £60m offshore windfarm near Hartlepool.
11-Feb-2002
Microgen has acquired OST, the IT services company, for up to £20m, partly funded by a £4.3m share placing.
11-Feb-2002
Affinitas has acquired the Armed Forces Financial Advisory Service from insurance broker Willis, and is now seeking similar acquisitions.
08-Feb-2002
Smart & Cook has acquired Lanarkshire-based Lewis Wotherspoon in order to expand its Scottish insurance brokerage.
08-Feb-2002
London Scottish Bank has acquired Sterling Direct Finance, the Southend-based secured lending broker, for an initial £5.8m.
08-Feb-2002
Quarto has bought the publishing assets of Marshall Editions, Marshall Developments and Marshall Publishing out of administration for up to £1.2m, gaining a backlist of 300 titles.
08-Feb-2002
Aegis has acquired Market & More, the European market research company with operations in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France, for an initial £3.6m.
08-Feb-2002
Hercules Property Services has acquired DOR Northern, the Macclesfield-based housing association property insurance broker, for up to £4m.
08-Feb-2002
A&J Scott is to create up to 100 jobs over the next two years at its new timber pallet manufacturing plant in North Shields.
08-Feb-2002
Brook Crompton has sold Crompton Controls, the Wakefield-based manufacturer of electric starter motors, to management for undisclosed terms.
07-Feb-2002
Tate & Lyle has sold its sugar refining operations in Namibia and Zimbabwe to CBAQ of Botswana for £3.2m, as part of a strategy to focus on Europe and the US.
07-Feb-2002
Regent Inns has sold 13 unbranded pubs to Broken Foot Inns for an initial £5.6m.
07-Feb-2002
Bradfords Group has acquired the CE Curtis chain of five builders' merchants in the Plymouth area.
07-Feb-2002
BOC has reached agreement to acquire Seiko Instruments' turbo molecular pumps business in Japan for about £70m.
06-Feb-2002
Mouchel has acquired Metro Consulting, the London-based rail engineering company with 140 staff.
06-Feb-2002
Intelek is to acquire Sierra Networks' Satcom division for £3.5m, in order to expand its US-based Paradise Datacom communications technology business.
05-Feb-2002
Taylor Nelson Sofres has acquired the custom research division of Greenfield Online, in order to expand its TNS Intersearch business in the US.
05-Feb-2002
Baltimore Technologies is to sell its Japanese software subsidiary to management for £4.7m.
05-Feb-2002
Taylor Nelson Sofres is to acquire the broadcast monitoring division of BMC News, which has annual turnover of £1.9m, from Xtreme Group.
04-Feb-2002
Amersham Biosciences has acquired two filtration separation companies in the US - AG Technology and InnovaSep Technology - for up to £40m.
04-Feb-2002
AEA Technology has acquired Kinectrics, the Canadian power technology company, from Ontario Power Generation for £5.9m.
04-Feb-2002
Fulmar has acquired Quadracolor, the London-based printing company, for £2m, and has also announced plans to relocate its WE Baxter commercial printing business from Lewes to a vacant site at Mitcham in Surrey.
04-Feb-2002
Severfield-Rowen has acquired Tubemasters, the York-based structural fabricator, for £0.3m.
04-Feb-2002
Aggregate Industries has acquired Kennedy Asphalt from Alfred McAlpine for about £5m, in order to expand its asphalt and contracting services in the North West and West Midlands.
04-Feb-2002
Brandon Hire has acquired RJB Hire, the Kent-based tool hire business with five branches, and has also announced plans to open two new branches in Ashford and Wolverhampton to take its network to 93.
04-Feb-2002
Unidare is to sell its 80% stake in Oerlikon Welding Group, the distributor of welding products, to KoZo and Celtweld for £2.4m.
04-Feb-2002
Caspian Publishing has acquired Dennis & Beyond from Dennis Publishing, which will double the size of its contract publishing business.
01-Feb-2002
Inman & Partners is to merge with Summers of Newcastle upon Tyne to create a combined quantity surveying group with 10 offices and 180 employees.
31-Jan-2002
Teleconomy has acquired Net Profit, the London-based new media analyst and publishing company, and the headquarters for the combined group will be in Lancaster, where the present 80-strong workforce is expected to grow.
31-Jan-2002
Alexander Forbes is to acquire a 60% stake in Lane Clark & Peacock for £28m, in order to expand its consulting actuarial business in the UK.
31-Jan-2002
Ambion Brick is to merge with Chelwood Brick to create a combined brick making business with 11 plants, 700 employees and turnover of £60m.
31-Jan-2002
Smiths Group has sold its John Crane-Lips marine propulsion division to Wartsila of Finland for £215m, and has also announced the £17m acquisition of a US-based epidural kits business from Abbott Laboratories.
31-Jan-2002
Time Computers has bought the Tiny Computers chain of 134 computer stores out of administration, and will rebrand the outlets as The Computer World.
31-Jan-2002
British Vita has acquired Nolato Elastoteknik, the Swedish thermoplastic elastomer compounding company, for £5m.
30-Jan-2002
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired the Italian direct motor insurance division of Royal & Sun Alliance for £12m, as part of a strategy to expand its Direct Line business into continental Europe.
30-Jan-2002
Chemex International is planning a reverse takeover of Independent Media Distribution, the London-based supplier of content to radio stations, and its current business operations will be sold to Deangate Investments.
29-Jan-2002
Intec Telecom Systems is to acquire the operational support systems business of ICL for £2.8m, and the two companies have also announced a worldwide partnering agreement with ICL offering Intec's mediation and billing software to telecoms customers.
29-Jan-2002
Egg is to acquire Zebank, the French online financial business, for £23m, and will invest a further £100m on its expansion into continental Europe over the next three years.
29-Jan-2002
Kingfisher is to sell Time Retail Finance, its Leeds-based financial services operation, to GE Capital for £149m, as part of a strategy to focus on DIY and electrical retailing.
29-Jan-2002
Rowe & Maw, the corporate law firm, has agreed terms for a merger with Mayer Brown & Platt of the US, creating a combined group called Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw with revenues of £480m.
29-Jan-2002
Centrica is to acquire the household heating services division of Enbridge, the Canadian energy distribution group, for £437m.
29-Jan-2002
Unilever has sold Cremanaze, the Kent-based sauces and dressings manufacturer with 30 staff, in order to focus on key brands.
28-Jan-2002
Needler Bluebird has been acquired by Ashbury Confectionery of Corby to create a combined confectionery business with turnover of £25m.
28-Jan-2002
Old Monk is selling four unbranded pub-restaurants to a management buy-out for £1.8m.
28-Jan-2002
Arko Energy has agreed a £15m reverse takeover by Chang Zhou Power Development Company, the operator of a coal-fired power plant in China.
28-Jan-2002
Eurodis Electron, the electronic components distributor, is to sell its Swiss data division to Bechtle for £8.1m.
28-Jan-2002
Jarvis Porter has sold its Leeds-based labels business to CCL Industries for £7m, and has also announced plans to rename itself Grovebirch.
28-Jan-2002
Vodafone has raised £713m from the sale of its stake in the Telematik railway communications network in Germany.
28-Jan-2002
Norman Hay has acquired three Oldbury-based engineering businesses from ERG Environmental Resource Group - Lancy Water Engineering, ERG Process Plant and Ardox Engineering.
28-Jan-2002
MotionPoster is to acquire Metrocom for £5.2m, in order to expand its advertising business into the Far East.
28-Jan-2002
Fabricom Contracting is to acquire Caxios, the Chester-based engineering subsidiary of Enron, out of administration for undisclosed terms, saving 135 jobs.
28-Jan-2002
Hampton Trust is to acquire Broadhall, the Chepstow-based commercial property developer, for £2.2m.
28-Jan-2002
Tandem Group has acquired Ben Sayers, the East Lothian-based golf equipment manufacturer, from The Caledonian Golf Group for £1.1m.
25-Jan-2002
Baltimore Technologies has sold its Content Technologies e-mail security division to Clearswift for £21m.
25-Jan-2002
Claims Direct is to acquire Claimline, the personal injury claims specialist, for £1.5m, and has also announced plans to communicate with more customers by post rather than employing claims managers.
25-Jan-2002
Endsleigh Insurance Services, the operator of 129 insurance shops, is planning a management buy-out from Dutch-based Goudse for undisclosed terms.
24-Jan-2002
Biolife Ventures is planning a reverse takeover of Zimed, the North Wales-based developer of an intravenous drip monitoring device.
23-Jan-2002
McInerney Holdings has acquired Charlton Group, the Lancashire-based construction and property development company, for £8m.
22-Jan-2002
Wealth Management Software has sold its estate agency software business to management for £0.2m.
22-Jan-2002
PII Group, the Cramlington-based provider of pipeline inspection services with 1,000 staff worldwide, has been bought from HgCapital by GE Power Systems of the US for undisclosed terms.
22-Jan-2002
Hovat, the Kent-based food packaging company, has undergone a £3m management buy-out, and the subsequent acquisition of Ascom Addressing of Dartford will create one of the country's leading label printers.
22-Jan-2002
Interserve has sold West's Engineering Design of Darlington to a management buy-out for £3m, securing the future of 150 jobs.
22-Jan-2002
Yell has agreed to acquire McLeod US Publishing, the US directories business, for £414m.
22-Jan-2002
Napier Brown has sold its Express Products pizza manufacturing business in Lymington to management for £0.5m, and the business has been renamed Doughology.
21-Jan-2002
Argonaut Games has acquired Particle Systems, the Sheffield-based computer games developer with 40 staff, for £2.4m.
18-Jan-2002
VFG's film and TV rental equipment business has been bought out of receivership by VFG Holdings, a new company backed by HBOS and ING Barings, in a £9m deal.
18-Jan-2002
Cambridge Antibody Technology is to acquire Drug Royalty Corporation of Canada for £55m.
18-Jan-2002
QuadraNet is to acquire Accronym Holdings, the developer of operational software for health clubs, for £1.5m.
17-Jan-2002
Aggreko has acquired Compressores Esteve, the Spanish generator rental company with net assets of £0.3m.
17-Jan-2002
Pubmaster has acquired Pub.com for £17m, taking its chain of Scottish pubs from 33 to 71, and is now in talks to buy another chain of 20 pubs for £5m.
17-Jan-2002
Smartlogik has bought Insight Technologies, the Surrey-based developer of knowledge capture software, out of administration for £0.3m.
16-Jan-2002
Aegis has acquired two US interactive media agencies for £1.9m - San Francisco-based Lot 21 and Massachusetts-based Vizium.
16-Jan-2002
Biocompatibles has sold its eye care division, which includes 950 staff at sites in Farnborough, Australia, Spain and the US, to Cooper Companies of the US for £68m.
16-Jan-2002
Benlowe Group, which includes the Thomas Lowe staircase business and Bennett Windows, has undergone a £8m management buy-out.
16-Jan-2002
T Clarke has acquired GDI Electrical, the Manchester-based electrical contractor with 30 staff, for £1.6m.
15-Jan-2002
Exel has acquired All Cargo Logistics, the Austrian air freight forwarder operating from three sites in Vienna, Linz and Innsbruck.
15-Jan-2002
Tate & Lyle has sold East African Storage of Kenya to African Bulk Commodities and Tanzania Liquids Storage to Africa Tank Terminals, and the deals include assets worth £1.3m.
15-Jan-2002
IRevolution has sold Fund Management Services, the provider of software and services to the fund management sector, to Linedata Services for £0.7m.
15-Jan-2002
Park Lane Caledonian, the Glasgow-based property firm, has undergone a £10m management buy-out backed by Bank of Scotland.
15-Jan-2002
Bridgepoint Capital is to acquire Toman Group of Germany for £80m and merge the business with its IMO Car Wash operation, creating one of the world's largest car-wash operators with 800 sites in 12 European countries.
14-Jan-2002
Yorkshire Cottage Bakeries has bought Mother Hubbard Cakes, the Hyde-based manufacturer of cake bars, out of administration.
14-Jan-2002
Arrow Therapeutics has acquired Oxford Gene Technology in a deal estimated at £6m.
14-Jan-2002
Gibbs & Dandy has acquired Elliott & Co, the Oxfordshire-based builders merchant, for £2.1m.
11-Jan-2002
William Jacks has sold its Savernake Mercedes-Benz dealership in Newbury to Sytner Group for £1.5m and transferred the Sunningdale Carriage company in Sunningdale to the Greenoaks Maidenhead subsidiary of Sigma Holdings.
11-Jan-2002
Anite is to acquire Lorien Consulting, the Surrey-based IT and customer loyalty consultancy, from Lorien for up to £4.8m.
11-Jan-2002
Scholes Windows and sister firm Scholes Contracts have been bought out of receivership by an unnamed Huddersfield consortium, saving over 100 jobs.
11-Jan-2002
Marconi has sold its Data Systems ink-jet printing business to Danaher Corporation of the US for £277m.
11-Jan-2002
Galen is selling Chemical Synthesis Services, a small-scale drug manufacturing business with 110 staff in Northern Ireland, to its founder for £25m.
11-Jan-2002
Invensys has sold the Integral Horsepower Motor division of Brook Crompton to Lindeteves-Jacoberg of Singapore for £17m.
10-Jan-2002
Centrica has acquired Iomart's broadband telecoms reselling business, which includes two customer service facilities and 40 staff, for £2m.
10-Jan-2002
United Business Media has acquired Cozint, the healthcare research and consulting group, from ZS Associates for £7m.
09-Jan-2002
WPP has acquired the media buying business of Purely Media in Manchester, and the 10 staff will be relocated to its nearby Mediaedge office.
09-Jan-2002
Hanson has acquired Centennial Concrete Pipe & Products of Canada from Lafarge for £41m, in order to strengthen its position in Ontario.
09-Jan-2002
Rotork has acquired Jordan Controls, the US supplier of valve actuators, for £7.2m.
09-Jan-2002
Halcrow has acquired TME Torpy, the former building services subsidiary of Enron, for undisclosed terms.
09-Jan-2002
Norwest Holst has acquired Crispin & Borst, the building contractor with 500 employees, for undisclosed terms, in order to improve its position in London.
09-Jan-2002
Exel has acquired USCL, the US provider of value-added freight consolidation services with net assets of £3.5m.
08-Jan-2002
Future Network has sold its Silver Shark magazine publishing business in Poland to Wydawnictwo H Bauer for £2m.
08-Jan-2002
Blue Edge Software, the developer of statistical software, has been acquired by Business Objects of the US for an estimated £4m.
08-Jan-2002
Screen has acquired Joyce-Loebl, the Gateshead-based developer of the SmartSeat entertainment system for trains and arenas, for £3.2m.
08-Jan-2002
Cedar, the financial software company, is to be acquired by Alchemy Partners for £4.2m, and will also receive a £34m cash injection and debt facility from Bank of Scotland and Alchemy.
08-Jan-2002
Invensys is selling its power storage business, which includes 5,000 employees in nine countries, to EnerSys of the US for £348m.
08-Jan-2002
Sanctuary is to acquire Bravado International, the music licensing company, for an initial £7.8m.
08-Jan-2002
Hunting has acquired Moose Jaw Asphalt, the Canadian producer of asphaltic paving products, for £14m.
08-Jan-2002
Arthur Wood has acquired the Pristine Pottery Company of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, for a small sum, and will transfer the manufacturing operation to its Longport factory.
07-Jan-2002
Viking International, the Glasgow-based tyre distributor, and sister company National Tyre Service of Stockport have undergone an estimated £25m management buy-out from Continental of Germany, and a further 20 branches will be added to the 214-strong NTS network.
07-Jan-2002
Baker Tilly is planning to merge with HLB Kidsons to create a combined accountancy firm with about 300 partners and 2,000 staff.
07-Jan-2002
Palmer & Harvey McLane, the food and cigarette distributor, is planning a £165m management buy-out.
07-Jan-2002
Headlam has acquired the trade, stock and distribution rights of Georgian Carpets, the carpet supplier with annual turnover of £3m, and will relocate the business to its West Midlands distribution centre.
04-Jan-2002
Lookers is selling its SMAC Continental Mercedes-Benz dealership in Southend for about £5m.
04-Jan-2002
Lucent Technologies has sold an 80% stake in the Lucent New ventures Group to UK-based private equity firm Coller Capital for an estimated £66m.
04-Jan-2002
Games Workshop has acquired 85% of Sabertooth Games, the US producer of collectible card games, for £2m.
04-Jan-2002
Ryland is acquiring a Volvo dealership in Liverpool from Drayton Motors for £1.1m and a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Newcastle from Cragside for £1.5m.
04-Jan-2002
Caffyns has acquired Skinners, the Eastbourne-based Volkswagen dealer, for £1.4m.
03-Jan-2002
British Vita has acquired Fabex, the Blackburn-based thermoplastic sheet manufacturer, for £3m, and will relocate the business to its site in Redhill.
03-Jan-2002
Babcock International has sold its cement handling business to Langley Holdings for £0.5m, and is now negotiating the sale of its AKI plasterboard drying equipment business.
03-Jan-2002
Brambles Industries has sold its US equipment rental business to National Equipment Services for £84m, and the proceeds will be used for bolt-on acquisitions and to boost capital spending.
03-Jan-2002
Cookson has sold its plastic moulding operations to four separate buyers for £38m, and the proceeds will be used to reduce debt.
03-Jan-2002
Speedy Hire is planning to buy Jewson's Hire Point network of 20 branches from Saint Gobain for £13m, increasing its chain of hire centres to more than 250.
03-Jan-2002
European Telecom has bought Philips' GSM handset distribution business in France for £0.3m.
03-Jan-2002
Apax Partners is to acquire Azimut, the fund management business of Italian bank Bipop-Carire for £230m.
02-Jan-2002
Brainspark, the internet investment company, has accepted a £5.2m takeover offer from Italian software company AI Software.
02-Jan-2002
PHS Group has acquired The UK Water Group, the supplier of plumbed-in drinking water systems, for £6.4m.
02-Jan-2002