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Thursday, 12 November 2026

Compiled with AI from public news sources. Folio is editorial commentary for commercial-awareness practice, not legal advice. Verify any detail against the linked sources before relying on it professionally.

All M&A Banking & Finance Disputes

Top Story/Disputes

High Court awards Aamanya AG over USD 3 million after Ballinger wrongly cancelled FX forward contracts without paying fair market value

In a judgment handed down on 11 November 2026, Mr Justice Stanley in the Commercial Court, part of the Business and Property Courts found in favour of Aamanya AG against Ballinger & Co Ltd in a dispute over the termination of 25 foreign exchange (FX) forward contracts. The court held that Ballinger was entitled to cancel the trades in March 2022, having determined they had become derivative products outside the category it was authorised to offer under the parties' umbrella FX Agreement. However, the court also found that when Ballinger exercised that termination right, it was obliged to pay Aamanya the fair current market value of those contracts at the point of termination, rather than simply cancelling them for nothing. That payment obligation amounts to just over USD 3 million. On Ballinger's counterclaim, the court found that Aamanya had not deceived Ballinger about the nature of the trades, and that Ballinger had in any event failed to establish any recoverable loss. The case, cited as [2026] EWHC 2905 (Comm), turned on how to construe the termination provision in the FX Agreement and whether, once invoked, it carried an obligation to compensate at market value. O'Melveny and Myers acted for Aamanya, led by Oliver Assersohn KC and Rachel Carver. Brown Rudnick acted for Ballinger, led by Emmanuel Sheppard.

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Also Today

Court of Appeal rules that a 'see to it' guarantee cannot ground a bankruptcy petition, overturning Bristol County Court order in Matthews v BSN

CMA opens pre-notification consultation on Pilgrim's Pride bid for Walkers Deli and Sausage Co as JBS-linked deal enters UK merger scrutiny

HM Treasury updates Money Laundering Advisory Notice following FATF June 2026 plenary changes to High Risk Third Countries list

Bigger Picture

Sector Watch

CMA Food Sector Scrutiny Intensifies

The CMA's pre-notification consultation on Pilgrim's Pride/JBS acquiring Walkers Deli and Sausage Co from Samworth Brothers is the third food or consumer goods merger to enter CMA scrutiny in the past fortnight, following the McCormick/Unilever foods business review and the cleared Co-operative Group/Southern Co-operative deal. All three involve significant branded retail categories where the CMA has signalled willingness to impose remedies. Competition lawyers advising food sector acquirers should anticipate heightened scrutiny of market share overlaps, particularly where a global parent group such as JBS already holds UK food processing capacity, and should build Phase 1 and Phase 2 timelines into deal timetabling from the outset.

One to Follow

The CMA's formal Phase 1 investigation into Pilgrim's Pride/JBS acquiring Walkers Deli and Sausage Co, expected to open after the 25 November invitation-to-comment deadline closes

If the CMA finds an arguable substantial lessening of competition in sausage, cooked meat or snacking categories, the case could become a Phase 2 reference, which would generate significant competition litigation and remedies work and set a precedent for how the CMA treats JBS-linked acquisitions in the UK food sector going forward.

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