Despite continuing economic headwinds, the first half of 2026 has seen burgeoning activity in the entertainment sector across the value spectrum.  Standout transactions this year include: Fox’s acquisition of Roku; EA’s take-private by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners; Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros; BMG and Concord’s mega merger; Virgin Music Group's acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings; and most recently Sky's acquisition of ITV Media and Entertainment.

The government has revived its long-discussed plan to introduce a corporate re-domiciliation regime, which would allow an overseas company to move its place of incorporation to the UK while retaining its legal identity. This marks not just a technical reform, but a deliberate attempt to strengthen the UK’s attractiveness as a global corporate hub. 

In April 2026, Butcher J handed down judgment in Hoffman & Greenbaum v Finalto Group Limited & Gopher Investments [2026] EWHC 921 (Comm). For sponsors, investors, acquirers and management, the case highlights the risks that can arise in the interim period between signing headline terms and executing definitive long-form documentation. Where an equity term sheet forms part of the deal mechanics, a party who walks away from it or instructs counsel to stop work risks a repudiatory breach and substantial damages.

The judgment carries practical implications for everyone involved in negotiating, executing and managing investment and M&A transactions. The headline lessons go to the structure of the deal documents themselves, but the operational lessons are equally important: how a deal team handles the signing-to-completion period, how instructions to counsel are communicated and how disputes between the parties are managed before they crystallise into litigation.

Deferred consideration remains a common feature of M&A deals in the current cycle. With valuation gaps persisting and financing costs elevated, buyers increasingly seek to defer part of the purchase price – either through fixed instalments (i.e., non-contingent) or milestone or performance‑linked earn‑outs (i.e., contingent) – to bridge pricing expectations and manage risk. Properly structured, these mechanisms can help close deals. But, if poorly structured, they can materially erode value for sellers.

On 25 March 2026, the UK Government launched a consultation on a proposed UK corporate redomiciliation regime. At present, overseas companies wishing to relocate to the UK must generally undertake a full legal restructuring, often involving the creation of a new UK entity and the transfer of assets, contracts and employees. The proposed regime would, for the first time, allow an overseas company to move its place of incorporation to the UK while preserving its existing legal identity, avoiding the need to recreate the business in a new entity.