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Mergers & Acquisitions 1999
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996

The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Peacock & Archer, the power steering company, has been acquired by GKN Driveline, thereby securing the future of the remaining 28 jobs. 29-Dec-1999 Carlyle Insurance Brokers has acquired the Cardiff-based Johns Bowen Partnership for undisclosed terms, and will relocate its Cardiff office to form a new headquarters at the St Andrews Crescent premises of Johns Bowen. 29-Dec-1999 Pennant International is acquiring three logistics software and documentation businesses from Solvera for £1m. 23-Dec-1999 Kelsey Industries, the soldering and roofing group, is to be acquired German adhesives manufacturer Henkel for £41m. 23-Dec-1999 Gemini is planning to acquire Eurona, the Swedish biotechnology company, for about £3m, in order to develop its research into the link between genes and diseases. 16-Dec-1999 RC Edmondson has undergone a management buy-out, leading to the creation of EMG Holdings which will operate Ford franchises in Bury St Edmunds, Thetford and Spalding. 14-Dec-1999 National Insurance & Guarantee Corporation, the motor and commercial insurance company, has been acquired by Winterthur of Switzerland for £120m. 13-Dec-1999 InfoSys, the Swindon-based software company with 30 employees, has been acquired by German information management company Teamwork for undisclosed terms. 09-Dec-1999 Cymap, the Bristol-based developer of building services software, has been acquired by Graphisoft of Germany for undisclosed terms. 09-Dec-1999 AC Nielsen has acquired MMS Market Movements, the direct mail monitoring company. 07-Dec-1999 Anchor International is to merge with Powerplay Supersoccer in a £54m deal supported by 3i, and the new group will set up 10 more football centres throughout the country over the next two years. 06-Dec-1999 Primetime Pet Foods has acquired Pascoe's for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its pet food distribution business. 02-Dec-1999 Goodfellow & Egan, the Cambridge-based typesetting company with 50 staff, has been bought by London-based reprographics firm Potts. 02-Dec-1999 Lysaker Travel Management, the Bristol-based business and leisure travel agency, has been acquired by Ian Allen Travel. 01-Dec-1999 Applied Holographics, the supplier of holographic products to the packaging industry, is acquiring Optical Security of the US for £40m. 01-Dec-1999 Worthington is selling 56% of Nottingham Braid and all of its industrial threads division to their management teams for a total £2.2m. 01-Dec-1999 Galaxy Media is to acquire Gaming Internet for £40m in order to transform itself into an internet-based gambling and games business, while its Mike Mansfield Television subsidiary will be sold off. 01-Dec-1999 Evans Concrete, the Derbyshire-based concrete company, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms, and expects to create 10 new jobs. 29-Nov-1999 Benchmark Building Supplies has acquired Bolton-based Crompton Building Supplies, in order to expand its business in the Greater Manchester area. 26-Nov-1999 Test Valley Water has acquired the water business of the Robinson Group, which includes the Eden Valley Mineral Water Company in Cumbria, for about £15m. 24-Nov-1999 Semara Holdings is selling its utility services division to management for up to £37m. 20-Nov-1999 Gordon Ellis & Co has acquired Langham Products, the Somerset-based manufacturer of safety equipment, and will relocate the Langham business to its headquarters in Castle Donington. 20-Nov-1999 Premier Nutrition Products has acquired Vitamealo, the Avonmouth-based animal feed supplement company, from Dalgety for undisclosed terms. 20-Nov-1999 Radio Victory, the Portsmouth-based local radio station, has been bought by the Local Radio Company in a £4m deal. 18-Nov-1999 KCS Management Systems, the developer of personnel software, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms. 17-Nov-1999 Irlandus Circuits, the Craigavon-based electronics company, has undergone a management buy-out from its US parent company SMTEK International for undisclosed terms. 16-Nov-1999 Fletcher Research, the London-based internet analysis group, has been acquired by Forrester Research of the US for more than £10m. 16-Nov-1999 Phillips, the fine-art auction house, has been acquired by LVMH of France for a sum thought to be about £70m. 16-Nov-1999 Sutherlands, the Edinburgh-based stockbroker, is set to be acquired by CCF-Charterhouse of France in a £15m deal. 11-Nov-1999 Darwell Fabrications, the Tamworth-based precision engineering company, has undergone a £10m management buy-out. 06-Nov-1999 Lionheart, the housewares company, is selling its operating businesses to management for £6.3m. 04-Nov-1999 Camms Coaches has sold its contract hire business to management, and the new company will operate 16 vehicles and trade as Contract Coaches of Nottingham. 02-Nov-1999 Tamdown, the Braintree-based groundworks contractor with 300 employees, has undergone a management buy-out. 30-Oct-1999 Thomson Brothers of Kirkcaldy has acquired King & Company of Darlington, creating a combined architectural ironmonger business with 300 staff at 18 locations. 21-Oct-1999 Withey Group of Borehamwood has acquired contractor CJ Smith in order to complement its construction and shopfitting business. 21-Oct-1999 PAF Systems, the Northamptonshire-based manufacturer of product handling equipment, has undergone a £5.2m management buy-out, and now aims to expand into continental Europe. 19-Oct-1999 Johnson Fry, the retail fund management company, has accepted a £42m takeover offer from Legg Mason of the US. 19-Oct-1999 Brownhills of Newark has bought Madisons, the Blackpool-based motorhomes distributor, for undisclosed terms. 16-Oct-1999 Denton Hall is to merge with Wilde Sapte to create the UK's ninth largest law firm with about 800 lawyers. 13-Oct-1999 Granville, the independent investment bank, has been acquired by Robert W Baird of the US for £37m, and will be renamed Granville Baird in preparation for an expansion across Europe. 12-Oct-1999 John Wallwork Group, the Altrincham-based car leasing and fleet management company, has been acquired by Associates Fleet Services. 09-Oct-1999 Toomey Hire & Leasing has acquired Skyway Leasing, the Chester-based vehicle leasing company, for about £6m. 09-Oct-1999 Colourcare, the Wiltshire-based supplier of photograph development services to retailers, has undergone a £55m management buy-out with the backing of Gresham Trust. 08-Oct-1999 Camloc Gas Springs of Leicester has been acquired by US automotive parts company Arvin Industries, and will be renamed Arvin Motion Control. 05-Oct-1999 Sanderson of South Yorkshire has acquired Creative Microsystems, the US developer of local and state government information systems, for £1.5m. 05-Oct-1999 Silvermines is planning to sell its security manufacturing and distribution business to Bewator of Sweden for about £5.6m. 05-Oct-1999 Ocwen, the mortgage lender, has undergone a £510m management buy-out with the backing of Royal Bank Development Capital. 02-Oct-1999 Bennetts, the Nottingham office products company, has bought the business of James Hardwood, the recently-liquidated Derby company. 01-Oct-1999 Jones Stroud, the owner of Coventry-based name-tag maker J&J Cash, has agreed to sell the group to management for £33m. 01-Oct-1999 SciMAT, the Swindon-based manufacturer of high performance battery separators, has been acquired by Crane & Co of the US. 01-Oct-1999 SLD Genlite, the Leeds-based plant hire company, has merged with SLD Pumps and Chiller Rental Services in a £80m management buy-in deal backed by NatWest Equity Partners. 01-Oct-1999 HiGene Brewery Products, the Chesterfield-based supplier of beer pumps, has undergone a management buy-out with the backing of venture capital group Murray Johnstone. 30-Sep-1999 Azurix has acquired Lurgi Bamag, the German engineering company, in a £18m deal, as part of a strategy to build up an international water business based on Wessex Water. 29-Sep-1999 Amtrak has acquired Nightspeed, the express parcels company, for £31m. 27-Sep-1999 Lovell White Durrant is to merge with Boesebeck Droste of Germany to create the fourth largest law firm in Europe. 27-Sep-1999 Hallam Polymer Engineering has acquired H Slater & Son, the Sheffield-based polyurethane and rubber specialist, and will relocate the company to its site in Dronfield. 25-Sep-1999 Cawoods has sold three of its Northern Ireland businesses for undisclosed terms, with Cawoods Coal being bought by Kingsbury Fuels, Cawoods Oil by DCC Energy, and HEAT by RBM Associates. 24-Sep-1999 Prepco Foods, the vegetables supplier, has acquired Selfresh Salads, and Selfresh will be relocated to a purpose built factory next to Prepco in Skelmersdale. 23-Sep-1999 Foyle Meats' Hilton Food joint venture with RWM Food has acquired the processing and packaging business of Dutch retailer Albert Heijn, and plans to invest £7m in the Amsterdam butchery. 23-Sep-1999 4Front Technologies is acquiring CVSI, the US computer consultancy, for £16m. 23-Sep-1999 Magna Exterior Systems, the Swindon-based provider of spray painting services to car manufacturers, has undergone a management buy-out and will be renamed Automotive Coatings. 21-Sep-1999 Doncaster Pharmaceuticals, the distributor of pharmaceutical products to retail chemists, has undergone a management buy-out for undisclosed terms. 18-Sep-1999 Layton Blackham has acquired Chelmsford-based insurance broker Ford Loft Group for undisclosed terms, as part of a strategy to become the leading regional broker in the country. 17-Sep-1999 DMS and Media Lane, the two Leeds-based advertising businesses, have agreed a £75m merger to create a combined media buying group called Brilliant Independent Media Specialists. 16-Sep-1999 Cleveland Papers and Euro Wallcoverings of Peterlee have undergone a £1.1m management buy-out, securing the future of about 50 jobs at the two plants. 15-Sep-1999 Poole Car Centre, the Dorset-based Mitsubishi dealership, has been acquired by the Winchester Motor Group. 14-Sep-1999 Dalehead Foods is to merge with Roach Foods in a £150m deal that will create a combined meat processing business called Flagship Foods. 13-Sep-1999 Brockbank Group is to sell its two motor insurance operations - Admiral of South Wales and Zenith of West Sussex - to management buy-outs, in order to focus on areas such as marine and art insurance. 04-Sep-1999 CSL Group, the Leicester-based business machine supplier, has undergone a management buy-out and expects to create 15 new jobs. 03-Sep-1999 Petroline WellSystems, the Aberdeen-based oilfield services company, has been acquired by Weatherford International of the US for £104m. 03-Sep-1999 Select Appointments is to be acquired by Vedior of the Netherlands for £1.14bn, creating the third largest staffing agency in the world. 02-Sep-1999 BCB International, the Cardiff-based manufacturer of outdoor pursuit products, has sold its camping division to Simpson Lawrence, in order to focus on its core military and commercial marine markets. 01-Sep-1999 Rainey Kelly Campbell Rolfe, the advertising agency, has been acquired by Young & Rubicam of the US for undisclosed terms. 28-Aug-1999 Christie Group has acquired Vision Associates, the Staffordshire-based designer of internet kiosks, for £0.3m. 28-Aug-1999 Cabot Square Capital has acquired The Money Store UK from First Union Corporation of the US for about £325m, in order to expand its high-risk consumer lending business. 26-Aug-1999 Kean Kennedy, the Scottish quantity surveyor, has been acquired by Corderoy. 26-Aug-1999 Red Bank, the Derbyshire-based clay tile manufacturer, has acquired Weatherwell Roof Tile for undisclosed terms. 26-Aug-1999 ICCS, the Dundee-based kitchen and catering supplies business, is to merge with MacGregor & Company of Edinburgh in a £3m deal, and a new head office will be set up in Grangemouth. 24-Aug-1999 Focus Dynamics, the engineering company, has rejected a £5.3m takeover bid from Breckenburn, and has also received expressions of interest from other companies. 23-Aug-1999 Townsley & Co, the private client stockbroker, is to be acquired by Dutch bank Insinger de Beaufort for undisclosed terms. 23-Aug-1999 Hydraulic Equipment Supermarkets, the Gloucester-based hydraulics company, has undergone a £2m management buy-out. 20-Aug-1999 Saxonmill of Batley is to merge with Nicol & Pratt of Meltham near Huddersfield, in order to save 100 jobs and fight off competition in the textile dyeing and finishing market. 20-Aug-1999 Radius Professional, the Cardiff-based supplier of accountancy software, has been sold to a management team for undisclosed terms. 19-Aug-1999 Bramhall is to acquire Magic Moments Design, the London-based internet service provider, for £10m. 19-Aug-1999 Coca-Cola Beverages is to merge with Hellenic Bottling Company of Greece in a £2bn deal that will create the second largest Coke bottler in the world. 19-Aug-1999 Bishop & Robertson Chalmers is merging with Alex Morrison to create one of the top five law firms in Scotland. 17-Aug-1999 Snapper Music is to undergo a £9m management buy-out, and is planning to set up a US office and develop its internet music business. 16-Aug-1999 ATL Consulting Group, the Southampton-based engineering consultancy, has been acquired by Bureau Veritas of France for undisclosed terms. 10-Aug-1999 Building & Property Group is selling its Unicorn Consultancy Services division to management for £37m. 09-Aug-1999 Newby Foundry Division is to merge its Newby Hill Top Foundry Airset business with Rudge Littley of West Bromwich, to create a combined iron founding group with turnover of about £9m. 04-Aug-1999 Apollo Leisure, the operator of 27 theatres, has been acquired by SFX Entertainment of the US for £162m. 04-Aug-1999 Newport WaferFab has been saved from administration by a £100m management buy-out, which will secure 500 jobs at the south Wales semiconductor factory. 04-Aug-1999 Swankies, the Arbroath-based seafood company, is undergoing a £1.8m management buy-in, which is expected to lead to an expansion of its factory and the creation of new jobs. 02-Aug-1999 JR Industries, the Cardiff-based manufacturer of vehicle roller shutters and railway carriage interiors, has been sold to management in a £12m deal. 30-Jul-1999 Corgi Classics, the model car maker, is being acquired by Zindart of Hong Kong for £29m. 30-Jul-1999 William T Eden, the Kent-based panel products distributor, has been acquired by Sylvan International of Doncaster for about £15m. 27-Jul-1999 SignCorp is to merge with Sign Investments of Leeds in a £3.9m deal, in order to create a combined signmaking business that will float on Aim next month. 26-Jul-1999 Simon Brooke & Partners, the Leeds-based insurance broker, has acquired the bus and coach division of transport insurance specialist BMS Chapman Stevens. 22-Jul-1999 Vymura, the wallpaper company, has agreed to a £29m takeover offer from Gleadway. 22-Jul-1999 Clares Equipment is set to acquire Calderburn, the office furniture group, for £27m. 21-Jul-1999 Seven Group, the Leeds-based design and advertising agency, is to merge with local rival CWG. 19-Jul-1999 Riverside Engineering Services, the Dundee-based pipework and general fabrication company, has been acquired by a management team for undisclosed terms. 19-Jul-1999 Meek Group, the Bristol-based plant hirer, has undergone a £21m management buy-in with the backing of 3i and Barclays Bank. 15-Jul-1999 Computer Cab is acquiring Datacab for an initial £1.3m, in order to create a combined radio taxi group with more than 3,100 drivers. 14-Jul-1999 Forward Industries, the Swindon-based manufacturer of equipment for the nuclear power and hydraulics industries, has been sold to management in a deal funded by NatWest Development Capital. 13-Jul-1999 Charles Crookes & Jones has merged with Phoenix Walters to create a combined Cardiff-based legal practice with 46 staff. 13-Jul-1999 AFOS International, the Aberdeen-based filtration equipment company, has been sold to management for £8.5m. 09-Jul-1999 Acrol, the Widnes-based PVC formulation specialist, has been acquired by Geon Company of the US for undisclosed terms. 05-Jul-1999 Nessco of Aberdeen has acquired Newood Telecom of East Kilbride for undisclosed terms, in order to strengthen its position as an international telecoms solution provider. 29-Jun-1999 Ulster Fireclays, the Northern Ireland-based producer of clay pipes for the building industry, has been acquired by Schiedel of Germany. 28-Jun-1999 Themis Investment Management, the indexed fund manager, has been acquired by CCF Charterhouse of France for undisclosed terms. 25-Jun-1999 Robinson Low Francis, the construction consultant, has merged with Hart Gilmore Associates and is now seeking further acquisitions. 24-Jun-1999 Standard Cressall, the shoe machinery supplier, has been sold by the Halma Group to a management team for undisclosed terms, and will now trade as Standard Engineering. 22-Jun-1999 Conduit Communications is merging with i-Cube to create a global IT consultancy business serving clients in both Europe and North America. 22-Jun-1999 Camstruction, the Aberdeen-based building contractor, has acquired the granite building works specialist George Simpson & Co, for undisclosed terms. 16-Jun-1999 Souplex, the Morecambe-based plastic moulding company, has been acquired by Moll Industries of the US. 11-Jun-1999 Lowe Electronics, the Matlock-based specialist radio manufacturer, has acquired Relcom of London for £0.5m, in order to gain access to the European mobile telephone market. 10-Jun-1999 Pathe is selling its pay-TV operations to Vivendi of France, which will involve the transfer of Pathe's 17% stake in BSkyB and 20% stake in CanalSatellite and raises the prospect of BSkyB renewing merger talks with Canal Plus. 08-Jun-1999 Clyde Shipping is acquiring Lewmar, the supplier of boat parts, for £30m, in order to increase its presence in the leisure marine equipment market. 08-Jun-1999 Pegasus Airwave is to merge with Egerton Hospital Equipment, in order to create a combined group called Pegasus Egerton that will be a leading player in the patient and bed management market. 07-Jun-1999 Hatt Kitchens, the Kidderminster-based supplier of made-to-measure kitchens, has undergone a management buy-out that will secure the future of 100 jobs. 07-Jun-1999 Buchler Phillips, the insolvency and restructuring firm, is being acquired by Kroll-O'Gara, the Nasdaq-listed risk specialist, in a £12m deal. 04-Jun-1999 Southern Cooper, the Burnley-based law firm, is to merge with Whittle & Whittaker to create a combined firm called Southerns with 60 staff. 27-May-1999 Salehurst, the specialist paper supplier, has announced a £22m management buy-out. 27-May-1999 Cintex, the developer of manufacturing inspection systems, has been acquired by HSBC Private Equity for £38m. 26-May-1999 Bioprocessing Corporation, the Durham-based supplier of chromatographic media, is being acquired by Millipore of the US for £12m. 20-May-1999 Brooke Industrial is to acquire Somta Tools, the manufacturer of high-speed cutting tools, from Anglo American for £4.5m. 14-May-1999 Bristol Uniforms, the manufacturer of protective clothing, has been sold to specialist workwear company Faithful Group for undisclosed terms. 13-May-1999 IGG Component Technology, the Fareham-based supplier of satellite parts, has been sold to its management team for £10m. 12-May-1999 Computer Parts International has acquired Open Integration, the Walsall-based computer systems and spares company, for £3.5m. 12-May-1999 Dentmaster, the remover of dents from car panels, is to be acquired by Manheim Auctions for £11m. 12-May-1999 Scientifics, the Derby-based research company, has acquired the Glasgow-based bridge monitoring division of Stanger Science, which is owned by Tarmac. 10-May-1999 Aga of Sweden has withdrawn from the UK industrial gases market by selling AGA Gas to Air Products & Chemicals of the US as well as its 50% stake in Air Gas Production to Messer of Germany. 10-May-1999 Kartupelis Associates and The Focus Group have merged to create one of the largest PR firms in the Mid-Anglia region. 06-May-1999 Remington Collins, the Leicester-based insurance broker, is merging with the Beckett Group of East Anglia. 05-May-1999 Property Asset Holdings is acquiring Northacre, the London-based residential property developer, for £14m, and will adopt the Northacre name. 05-May-1999 Stratagem has sold its industrial door and access control business to Kaba of Switzerland for £6.3m, in order to focus on refrigeration, castings and motor dealerships. 05-May-1999 Roslin Bio-Med, the cloning research company set up by Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, is being acquired by Geron of the US, and £12.5m will be invested at the institute over the next six years. 05-May-1999 John Lawrie and International Tubular Services are merging to create a combined Aberdeen-based oil and gas services company with turnover of more than £40m. 04-May-1999 Beauford has sold three Stoke-based pottery factories - Wade UK, Wade USA and Allied Insulators - to a management buy-out team for £7.9m. 04-May-1999 Beachcroft Stanleys is merging with Wansbroughs Willey Hargrave to create the UK's tenth largest law firm, and the new group will be called Beachcroft Wansbroughs. 04-May-1999 City Business Systems, the Leicester-based computer systems supplier, has been sold to a management team. 03-May-1999 Grampian is acquiring Wilfred Holden, the Lancashire-based road haulage company, for £1.2m. 29-Apr-1999 Kolorcraft, the Wakefield-based producer of corporate communications material, has been sold to its management for £6m. 28-Apr-1999 Acorn, the microchip designer, has agreed to a £270m takeover by MSDW Investment Holdings, and Acorn's set-top box business will be sold to Pace Micro Technology and its Media DSP division will be sold to management. 28-Apr-1999 Ellison Holdings, the engineering company, has been acquired by TransTechnology Corporation, and the US company will close its Anderton International factory in Bingley and transfer 150 workers to Ellison's factory in Glusburn. 22-Apr-1999 Milner has acquired the Professional Construction Management group of companies in order to expand its corporate building consultancy division. 22-Apr-1999 Norish is acquiring Belvedere Warehousing Group, the coffee and cocoa warehousing company, for £7m. 16-Apr-1999 Avonside, the building services company, is to be sold to its managing director and Alchemy Partners in a £22m deal. 10-Apr-1999 SP Group, the Birmingham-based specialist printing group, has been sold to a management team for £18m. 09-Apr-1999 Denise Fabrics has bought Wilson Wilcox, the Yorkshire-based fabric design company, out of administration. 08-Apr-1999 Cambridge Animation Systems, the producer of animation software for the film industry, has been bought by Nomura for undisclosed terms. 07-Apr-1999 Charles Walls Group, the Yorkshire-based advertising agency, has been acquired by its management team in a £0.5m deal. 06-Apr-1999 Wenaas has acquired St Heliers Safety, the Tyneside-based manufacturer of clothing and protective equipment with turnover of about £2m. 02-Apr-1999 Tectonic, the Merthyr-based manufacturer of computerised camera systems to monitor printing presses, has been sold to a management team for undisclosed terms. 01-Apr-1999 TS Booker & Son, the Wakefield-based specialist furniture manufacturer, has been sold to a management buy-in team. 01-Apr-1999 Mercantile, the small Tyneside-based building society, is to acquire its local rival The Standard. 31-Mar-1999 M-R Group, the data management company, has accepted a £94m takeover offer from Lason, the US company that is seeking to build up its European business. 26-Mar-1999 Waters, the Hertfordshire-based Renault, Peugeot and Toyota car dealership, has been sold to management for undisclosed terms. 25-Mar-1999 Headway is selling its Europa sofa-bed manufacturing business to a management team for about £1.5m. 24-Mar-1999 South Country Homes is acquiring Thistledown for £3.3m in order to transform itself from a property company into a leisure group, and it will be renamed Marazan Leisure. 23-Mar-1999 Dale Polymers, the Accrington-based rubber products company, has undergone a management buy-out and is now seeking to expand into new markets. 18-Mar-1999 Wernick Hire, the building hire company, has acquired UK Cabins for £2.4m. 18-Mar-1999 Barbour Index, the information company, is to be acquired by Havas of France for £53m. 13-Mar-1999 Garador, the Yeovil-based garage door manufacturer, has undergone a management buyout for undisclosed terms. 11-Mar-1999 C Jeffrey Black and J Lizars are to merge to create Scotland's largest independent optical group, with 23 branches and more than 200 staff. 10-Mar-1999 Oliver Ashworth Group has acquired Walker & Staff, the Billericay-based industrial valves and pipeline equipment distribution business, in a £1.4m deal. 09-Mar-1999 Esselte Office Products has sold its Bar Hill-based Machine Supplies Division to management in a multi-million pound deal, and the business will be renamed Roltech and extra staff taken on. 04-Mar-1999 Horace Small Apparel, the work clothes manufacturer, is to sell its US operations to VF Workwear for £36m. 02-Mar-1999 Panic Link, the Ashby-based parcels company, has sold a controlling stake to Chronopost, part of the French post office, for undisclosed terms. 01-Mar-1999 Henderson Investors, the fund management company, is acquiring Phoenix Realty Advisors of the US, which will more than double its property assets under management to £7.2bn. 01-Mar-1999 Marconi Communications has acquired Tetrel, the Llantrisant-based payphones manufacturer, for undisclosed terms, and has promised to invest in the company to expand international sales. 26-Feb-1999 Brownhills Garage, the Newark-based motorhomes dealer, has been acquired by a management team for £15m, and is now seeking to grow both organically and by acquisition. 25-Feb-1999 Pemberstone, the residential property company, is to undergo a £32m management buyout. 25-Feb-1999 Wilmslow Group is acquiring Media Content, the sports media advisory concern, in a £10m reverse takeover. 25-Feb-1999 Karrimor, the outdoor clothing firm, has been bought by South African leisure group Cullinan Holdings for £9m, and production at the Clayton-le-Moors site is expected to close with the loss of 80 jobs. 24-Feb-1999 Thornton Precision Components and seven other engineering companies have been acquired by a management buyout with the backing of 3i from National Industries of Kuwait for £154m, and the new company will be called Mettis Group. 23-Feb-1999 Shorterm Group, the engineering contract employment agency, is being acquired for £17m by a group of institutions led by 3i, and the business will be expanded nationally. 22-Feb-1999 Jordec is diversifying out of engineering into cleaning services with the acquisition of Checkclean and Corporate Clean for £2.1m. 16-Feb-1999 Interior Services Group has acquired the H Waters property management company for an initial £3.5m. 16-Feb-1999 Prebon Yamane and MW Marshall, the over-the-counter brokers, are planning to merge to create a combined group with more than 2,000 staff in 30 offices around the world. 16-Feb-1999 Safetynet, the computer disaster recovery company, has undergone a management buyout for £85m. 15-Feb-1999 ITG Group is acquiring Computers in Ireland, which includes the Computerland and Work Station names, for up to £7.7m. 15-Feb-1999 Northstar Securities is buying Equator Films for £9m, in order to move its focus from property investment to the media sector. 13-Feb-1999 Appeal Blinds, the Bristol-based manufacturer of blinds for conservatories, has undergone a management buyout. 12-Feb-1999 Golden Vale has acquired Dairyborn Foods, the manufacturer of cheese-based products, for an initial £8.5m. 12-Feb-1999 Chesterfelt, the Chesterfield-based roofing felt company, has been sold to a management buy-in team assembled by venture capital group 3i, for undisclosed terms. 11-Feb-1999 Danisco Pack has acquired March Packaging Group, the corrugated sheet manufacturer with sites in Hastings, Andover, Redditch and Northfleet, for undisclosed terms. 11-Feb-1999 SCA has acquired Danapak Papemballage, the Danish corrugated board producer, for £50m. 11-Feb-1999 HE Services of Kent has bought the BCP Plant Hire business from Finning for undisclosed terms. 11-Feb-1999 Southern Electric Contracting has acquired Connect South West, the Exeter-based street lighting contractor. 11-Feb-1999 Fishers International is to acquire Pycraft & Arnold, the loss-adjuster for large insurers, for about £11m. 11-Feb-1999 Calderburn is selling its Dauphin office furniture manufacturing business to Daco for £1.7m. 11-Feb-1999 Independent Car Auctions has acquired SEA of France for undisclosed terms, which will give it new sites in Bordeaux, Marseilles and Toulouse. 10-Feb-1999 Alison Associates, the Reading-based supplier of car sales data, has been acquired by Bell & Howell of the US for undisclosed terms. 10-Feb-1999 Storyboards Harpers, the supplier of presentation services to the advertising industry, has undergone a £5m management buyout. 09-Feb-1999 Watts Blake Bearne, the producer of ball clay for the ceramics industry, has agreed a £105m takeover by its largest shareholder SCR Sibelco. 05-Feb-1999 Shepherd Consulting is acquiring GRC Consultants, the Hampshire-based process engineering company, for undisclosed terms. 04-Feb-1999 Bethell Group has acquired Electricity Distribution Services, the heavy-duty cabling company, for undisclosed terms. 04-Feb-1999 Bertrams, the independent book wholesaler, is merging with Cypher, the library supplier, in a £54m deal financed by Mercury Asset Management Private Equity. 04-Feb-1999 Wright Health Group, the Dundee-based dental supply company, has acquired the dental business of London-based Cottrell & Company for undisclosed terms, which will give it the opportunity to expand in the south of England and Wales. 03-Feb-1999 Direct Resources, the Edinburgh-based IT recruitment specialist, has been acquired by Mastech of the US for about £5m. 02-Feb-1999 H Young is acquiring Animal, the supplier of sports clothing and accessories, for about £2m. 02-Feb-1999 Chiltern Group is planning to acquire the rival tax consultancy NCS Consultants for undisclosed terms. 01-Feb-1999 P&M Vacuum Services has been acquired by Tuthill Corporation of the US and its Heywood factory will be used as the European manufacturing and distribution facility for Tuthill's industrial vacuum pumps. 28-Jan-1999 Solmek of Middlesbrough has merged with Leeds-based Pro-Soils Surveys in order to offer land reclamation services nationwide. 28-Jan-1999 Stadium Group has acquired Dextroplast, the Sutton-on-Trent building materials company, for £0.4m. 28-Jan-1999 Kemp Stroud, the Aldershot builder, has been acquired by Leonard Field of Southampton. 28-Jan-1999 CCI Holdings is transforming itself into a business software group through the acquisitions of Xavier for £15m, KSE for £11m, and CSL Xenon for £3m. 28-Jan-1999 BDO Stoy Hayward is to merge with Moores Rowland to create an enlarged accountancy firm with about 2,500 staff. 28-Jan-1999 Johnson Service has sold its US dry-cleaning subsidiary to DCI for £30m, in order to focus on the expansion of its UK business. 27-Jan-1999 Brown Shipley is to acquire Henry Cooke, the private client stockbroker, for £20m, in order to benefit from cross-selling opportunities. 22-Jan-1999 Industrial Contract Services has merged with Thomas Vale, the design and build contractor, to form ICS-Vale. 21-Jan-1999 The Lewis Harris Group has acquired Niwel, the Manchester-based builder with annual sales of £12m. 21-Jan-1999 EJA Engineering, the safety-switch equipment manufacturer, is to be acquired by Rockwell of the US for £50m. 19-Jan-1999 Friends Ivory & Sime is to acquire London & Manchester's fund management divisions for £35m, which will increase its funds under management by 21% to £29bn. 19-Jan-1999 Travel City Direct has acquired Robert Davies Travel and its holiday shops in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Barry and Porthcawl. 15-Jan-1999 Tecroc has acquired Appleby Building Products and will set up a southern distribution centre at Appleby's site in Ditton, Kent. 15-Jan-1999 VHE has acquired West Cumberland Engineering, the steel fabricator and insulation contractor, for up to £2m. 15-Jan-1999 Abbey Hanson Rowe, the architectural firm, is to merge with Holford Associates, and will then seek to expand into building surveying and environmental consultancy. 15-Jan-1999 Spaceminster, the Milton Keynes-based supplier of injection moulding machines, has acquired Lupton Holdings for £1m. 14-Jan-1999 Goodwins, the Staffordshire-based confectionery and tobacco wholesaler, has been acquired by BWG of Dublin for undisclosed terms. 14-Jan-1999 Dudley Jenkins, the producer of envelopes and database mailing lists, is to be acquired by Wegener Arcade of the Netherlands for £81m. 14-Jan-1999 London International Group is to close its group headquarters in London and move to its European regional office in Hertfordshire, with the loss of 25 jobs. 14-Jan-1999 Eagle Marketing, the Tonbridge-based computer components distributor, has undergone a £3m management buy-in. 13-Jan-1999 MMP International, the Harrogate-based industrial coatings company, has been acquired by Devcon Plexus of the US for undisclosed terms. 12-Jan-1999 Copyright Promotions Group, the sports and entertainment licensing agency, is to be acquired by ISMM of Switzerland for £20m. 12-Jan-1999 Bowthorpe is acquiring Wireless Telecom, the US wireless and satellite communications business, for £11m. 08-Jan-1999 EBC has acquired NR Humphreys, the Reading-based building maintenance company, for undisclosed terms. 07-Jan-1999 Travelex, the operator of airport currency exchange facilities, has been sold to management for undisclosed terms. 06-Jan-1999 Park Products, the Blackburn-based manufacturer of mobile lighting towers and sheet metal work, is being bought by management from its parent company Fife Indmar for £3m. 04-Jan-1999 Strutt & Parker has acquired William Hillary Leisure & Hotels, the chartered surveyor, in order to benefit from growth in the leisure property sector. 04-Jan-1999 Lynx Express has acquired Red Star Parcels to create a parcels delivery business with more than 4,000 employees and turnover of £170m. 04-Jan-1999 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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