issue 25 February 2017
Big league
Lincoln City became the first non-league club since Queens Park Rangers in 1914 to win a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals. But what happened in 1914?
— There were only 40 league clubs and QPR won a bye through the early rounds.
— They drew 2-2 with Bristol City before winning 2-0 in a replay.
— They beat Swansea and Birmingham (2-1 each) to reach the quarter-finals, where Liverpool beat them 2-1.
— Liverpool lost the final 1-0 to Burnley, the team Lincoln beat last weekend.
— That final was the last held at the Crystal Palace, which had been its venue since 1895.
Mega mergers
Unilever rejected a £115 billion takeover offer from Kraft Heinz. What happened after huge mergers that did go through?
—Vodafone paid £112 billion for German telecoms giant Mannesmann in 2000 but suffered hefty related losses.
— RBS paid £49 billion for Dutch bank ABN Amro in 2007, leading to its emergency bailout by the government.
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