In This Article:
UK takeovers have surged this year, with bidders targeting larger companies, according to data provided by AJ Bell (AJB.L).
The investment platform found there had been £49bn worth of successful bids in 2024, up from £17.2bn in 2023. The average value of these deals was £1.07bn, which was nearly three times higher than the £390m average in 2023.
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said: "A bounty of unloved or underappreciated companies were swept off their feet, signalling the UK market as being 'on sale' and showing there was widespread value on offer."
Five FTSE 100 (^FTSE) companies received takeover offers in 2024, while 19 firms in the FTSE 250 (^FTMC) received bids.
Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio
On Tuesday, the UK's competition watchdog said it had given Danish brewer Carlsberg's (CARL-B.CO) £3.3bn takeover of UK soft drinks maker Britvic (BVIC.L) the green light.
A day earlier, the UK government said it had approved the £3.6bn takeover of Royal Mail-owner International Distribution Services (IDS.L) by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský's EP Group.
“One of the perfect recipes for a takeover is a company with decent scale but whose share price is drifting sideways or downwards as the market frets about near-term headwinds," said Coatsworth.
In terms of who could be the next takeover target, Coatsworth put forward broadcaster ITV (ITV.L) and discount store chain B&M (BME.L), as a couple of suggestions.
The fact that the UK has been an unloved market could make companies cheaper for potential bidders, but it could also simply make UK firms less appealing than those in other markets.
Do you think this year's trend is set to continue? Are there more major UK companies that could be next? Vote in our poll below.
Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers.
Read more:
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.