(Bloomberg) -- British dealmakers are gearing up for the busiest week of Christmas M&A in years.
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Bankers are set to burn the midnight oil through the holidays, with several major UK transactions facing bid deadlines next week. The biggest comes from Aviva Plc, which is working to finalize an agreement for a proposed £3.6 billion ($4.5 billion) takeover of motor insurer Direct Line Insurance Group Plc. It needs to announce a firm deal by 5 p.m. on Christmas Day under UK takeover rules.
Next up is Macquarie Asset Management, which is in advanced negotiations on a planned £701 million acquisition of waste management firm Renewi Plc. It’s running up against a deadline on Boxing Day, Dec. 26.
If both deals get done, that would make it the busiest Christmas week for announced takeovers of UK companies since 2018, when $7.4 billion of deals were unveiled including Vinci SA’s acquisition of Gatwick Airport and Visa Inc.’s offer for London-listed payments network Earthport Plc, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
UK takeover rules require suitors to firm up their bids within 28 days of takeover interest becoming public, so every day counts even if the deadline falls on a holiday, said Tony White, a partner at merger arbitrage specialist MKP Advisors.
“Advisers will be working right up to and through their Christmas lunch this year,” White said. That’s “symptomatic of a broader pickup in UK M&A volumes after a couple of quieter years – a trend that seems set to continue in to 2025.”
One smaller deal is also going down to the wire. Abu Dhabi-backed Esyasoft Holding Ltd. has until the end of the day on Dec. 23 to announce a firm offer for Good Energy Group Plc, a renewable power supplier with a market value of £69 million.
Other transactions just crossed the finish line, with advertising veteran Malcolm Denmark agreeing Wednesday to buy National World Plc, owner of newspapers including the Yorkshire Post, for £65 million. A day later, Surgical Science Sweden AB agreed to purchase UK medical simulation business Intelligent Ultrasound Group Plc in a £45 million deal.
Dealmaking has already been picking up, with the volume of mergers and acquisitions targeting UK companies now up 82% this year to $177 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. British companies are attracting interest despite fears that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government would lead to higher taxes and an exodus of the wealthy.