Focus Wickes, the DIY giant, has put itself up for sale, with a price tag of £1.5bn. The private equity groups Duke Street, which backed Mr Archer some 13 years ago, and Apax Partners, which bought in... [more]

NHP, the operator of 192 nursing homes, is to be acquired by Blackstone of the US for £564m... [more]

Tate & Lyle has acquired Dolcre Food Ingredients, the South African fructose importer with net assets worth £1.4m... [more]

Colliers CRE has acquired Campbell & Co, the Glasgow-based firm of surveyors, for £1.7m... [more]

Jubb, the Leicestershire-based plastic bottles manufacturer, has been bought of administration by BM Etchco of Birmingham for undisclosed terms, securing the future of 71 jobs... [more]

Shareholders in Drax, Europe's largest coal-fired power station, are understood to be more in favour of an outright sale of the business instead of the restructuring that is being proposed.... [more]

Glisten is to acquire Halo Foods, the manufacturer of cereal, energy and diet bars with 450 staff at three sites in Wales, for £5.6m... [more]

Charles Stanley has acquired Sutherlands Group, the independent stockbroker with offices in Edinburgh and London, for £2.4m... [more]

MGMS International, the Brighouse-based executive recruitment firm with 60 staff, has been acquired by BNB Resources for undisclosed terms... [more]

Wace, the Wiltshire-based printing company with 90 staff, has been acquired by Ringdark after briefly going into administration... [more]

Bank Bottom Engineering Services of West Yorkshire has been bought out of administration by Hystat Systems of Slaithwaite, securing the future of 21 staff... [more]

Olan Mills, the chain of 73 photographic studios, has been acquired by Piper Private Equity and Graphite Capital for up to £10m... [more]

YooMedia has acquired Digital Interactive Television Group, the TV gambling company, for £33m... [more]

Spice Holdings has acquired the water meter installation business of Atlantic Utility Services out of receivership for £0.6m... [more]

Morley Electric Motors, the Yorkshire-based manufacturer of electric motors with 125 staff, has been acquired by ATB Austria Antriebstechnik for undisclosed terms... [more]

Little Chef, the roadside restaurant chain that recently withdrew plans to slim down its cartoon logo after a public outcry, is to be put up for sale early next year for up to £50m. Permira, the priva... [more]

Bunzl has acquired Joseph Weil & Sons of the US and Beltex of Hungary, two distributors of cleaning and safety products... [more]

Kidde has acquired Harden, the French supplier of fire protection equipment and services with 143 staff, for £7m... [more]

TBI, the owner of Cardiff, Luton, Belfast and other airports, has accepted a £551m takeover bid from Abertis of Spain... [more]

Nicholl Food Packaging has acquired Watson & Watson, the Glasgow-based aluminium foil tray manufacturer, for undisclosed terms... [more]