This report is not a personal recommendation and does not take into account your personal circumstances or appetite for risk.
When one company acquires another a premium is often paid. Although shares can go down as well as up, a takeover can result in a significant profit for the shareholders. When companies merge the transaction can involve cash and shares, again meaning a windfall (small or large) for shareholders.
Could the offers and potential speculation in the table below collapse with opportunities to trade the shares short, or could huge premiums soon be offered for the prey meaning an opportunity to profit from being long? Could abandoned deals be revived? Could rivals swoop in with better offers, starting a bidding war?
When a deal is announced, a premium is often necessary to sweeten the deal for shareholders of the company being acquired. After all, they are giving up the possibility of future rises in the share price and/or dividend payments. For shareholders, this can sometimes mean a big windfall.
For example Shire offered a 42% premium for AbbVie and Pfizer offered a 35% premium for AstraZeneca. Sometimes, however, the offer comes after speculation and the shares have already reacted, meaning the premium offered (versus the most recent price) is less than the earlier reaction by the shares.
Of course the fact that there has been takeover speculation in the past does not necessarily mean that anything will come of it, or that the share price will rise. Indeed, the value of the shares can fall if no such offer is forthcoming. However, there have been many instances in the past where a sizeable takeover approach has been made following a lengthy period of speculation.
Big M&A deals tend to be heavily traded by investors & traders, making them important a market point of view. They also often involve stocks which representing a cornerstone of many a portfolio. If you want to trade potential or confirmed M&A deals, Accendo Markets is here to help keep you in the loop.
If something major is announced when will you find out? That day? The next? The benefits of working with Accendo Markets is getting a call from your trader in-time and on-time, not just sometime.
We’re here to make sure you are in a position to participate in the UK’s biggest M&A in the most cost effective manner, this sitting alongside our award-winning trading and research service focused on the markets and which set us apart from the competition.
At Accendo Markets we don’t tell you what to do. It’s your call whether you buy or sell. Our aim is to provide the help you need, highlighting opportunities which may be profitable to you the trader and assist you in making trading decisions which can benefit from the use of leveraged instruments.
Our approach focuses on 3 elements below;
Our unique and award-winning service provides you with the help and tools you need to make appropriate trading decisions in the financial markets, both to grow and protect your capital.
While traditional shares require the full amount be paid up front (e.g. 5,000 shares at 200p, would require the full £10,000 outlay), an identical trade using CFDs involves an initial outlay of just £500-£2,500 (CFDs typically require 5-25% deposits depending on liquidity). The outlay is lower but the risk and reward are the same as if £10,000 of shares were held.
The CFD trader benefits/suffers to the same extent as the shareholder but has the advantage of not having to part with the full amount at the outset. He also saves on stamp duty as there is no physical share purchase. Best of all, the CFD trader can take a positive or negative view (short-selling not always available if shares can’t be borrowed).
Should you not be interested in the leverage advantage of CFDs, but do wish to purchase traditional shares, you can always treat CFDs like shares and reduce costs by avoiding stamp duty). Simply deposit the full value of the share position you would like to take (i.e. £10,000) and take an equivalent CFD position (note overnight financing costs on full exposure still apply).
Think the shares will rise? Take a long position by buying the CFDs. Think the shares will fall? Take a short position by selling the CFDs. (sometimes not possible if shares cannot be borrowed) For a more detailed rundown of CFDs, their mechanics, associated costs and some trading scenarios click here.
Beware that the combination of CFD leverage and bigger share-price movements (volatility) can result in bigger than expected losses, which can even exceed your original deposit
Date | Prey | Country | Ticker | Predator | Country | Ticker | Source/Details | Share Price Reaction | Offer Premium |
13-Sep-18 | Debenhams | UK | DEB | Sports Direct | UK | SPD | Sports Direct announced it is not planning to make an offer for Debenhams | -8.0% | – |
10-Sep-18 | Asda/Walmart | US | WMT | Sainsbury | UK | SBRY | Sainsbury CEO says Asda deal could be halted by regulators | 0.6% | – |
10-Sep-18 | RPC Group | UK | RPC | Bain Capital | US | – | Company in takeover discussions with Bain Capital & Apollo Global Management | 21.0% | – |
03-Sep-18 | Dicom Canada | CA | – | Royal Mail Group | UK | RMG | Royal Mail buys Dicom Canada parcel delivery company for C$350m | 2.2% | – |
31-Aug-18 | Whitbread | UK | WTB | Coca-Cola | US | – | Whitbread agrees to sell its Costa Coffee subsidiary to Coca-Cola for £3.9bn | 18.0% | – |
13-Aug-18 | eSure | UK | ESUR | Bain Capital | US | – | Private equity group Bain Capital is in talks to take Esure private for £1.2bn | 31.0% | 37.0% |
10-Aug-18 | House of Fraser | UK | – | Sports Direct | UK | SPD | Sports Direct purchases House of Fraser for £90m | – | – |
23-Jul-18 | WPP | UK | WPP | Alibaba | CH | 1688 | WPP in talks with Tencent & Alibaba to seel WPP’s Chinese advertising business | 3.2% | – |
23-Jul-18 | WPP | UK | WPP | Tencent | CH | 0700 | WPP in talks with Tencent & Alibaba to seel WPP’s Chinese advertising business | 3.2% | – |
11-Jul-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | Comcast | US | CMCSA | Comcast ups Sky bid to 1475p/share | 3.4% | -1.3% |
11-Jul-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | 21st Century Fox | US | FOXA | Fox ups Sky bid to 1400p/share | -1.2% | -6.7% |
10-Jul-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | US regulators approve Takeda’s takeover of Shire | 1.0% | – |
10-Jul-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | 21st Century Fox | US | FOXA | FT reports Fox preparing new Sky offer to outbid Comcast | 2.0% | – |
06-Jul-18 | Inmarsat | UK | ISAT | EchoStar | US | SATS | Echostar offers 523p (265p cash, 0.0777 new shares), but ISAT rejects | -10.0% | 46% |
04-Jul-18 | Anglo American | UK | AAL | Volcon Inv. | – | – | Livemint reports Volcan (family trust of Vedanta founder) considering acquiring Anglo’s South African business | 2.3% | – |
02-Jul-18 | Vedanta Resources | UK | VED | Volcon Inv. | – | – | Volcon Inv. (family trust of VED founder Anil Agarwa), offers 825p/share for remaining 33% | 27.6% | 32.4% |
28-Jun-18 | Chargemaster | UK | – | BP | UK | BP | BP buys Chargemaster, UK’s largest electric vehicle charging network operator for £130m. | 2.4% | – |
28-Jun-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | Takeda CEO averts minority shareholder proposal to cancel the Shire takeover | 2.4% | – |
27-Jun-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | Disney | US | DIS | FY reports Hedge Funds pushing Disney to increase offer for Sky, after offering 35% more for Fox | 1.0% | – |
26-Jun-18 | Inmarsat | UK | ISAT | Eutelsat Comms | FR | ETL | Eutelsat Communications rules out a bid for rival Inmarsat | -9.7% | – |
25-Jun-18 | Inmarsat | UK | ISAT | Eutelsat Comms | FR | ETL | Eutelsat Communications says mulling bid for Inmarsat | 4.0% | – |
25-Jun-18 | IWG | UK | IWG | Terra Firma | UK | – | IWG gets undisclosed cash takeover offer from private equity | 1.2% | – |
18-Jun-18 | Aviva | UK | AVV | Allianz | DE | ALV | The Times reports Allianz on the proal for a large-scale UK acquisition | 1.4% | – |
18-Jun-18 | RSA Insurance | UK | RSA | Allianz | DE | ALV | The Times reports Allianz on the proal for a large-scale UK acquisition | 0.5% | – |
18-Jun-18 | Virgin Money | UK | VM | CYBG | UK | CYBG | VM agress to £1.7bn all share (371p per share) takeover | -2.3% | 19% |
11-Jun-18 | Inmarsat | UK | ISAT | EchoStar | US | SATS | Inmarsat rejects potential takeover offer from US satellite operator | 14.0% | – |
06-Jun-18 | Smurfit Kappa | UK | SKG | International Paper | US | IP | International Paper said it won’t go ahead with its proposed €8.9bn offer for Smurfit Kappa | – | – |
13-Jun-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | Comcast | US | CMCSA | Comcast bids for 21CFox assets that Disney agreed to buy in Dec, incl. 39% stake in Sky | – | – |
05-Jun-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | 21st Century Fox | US | FOXA | UK regulators plan to approve 21st Century Fox bid for Sky | – | – |
29-May-18 | ICU Medical | US | ICUI | Smiths Group | UK | SMIN | Smiths Group is in talks with ICU Medical about a potential merger of their medical device businesses | 3.0% | – |
23-May-18 | Standard Chartered | UK | STAN | Barclays | UK | BARC | Barclays considering merger with Standard Chartered to fend off activist investors | 2.0% | – |
17-May-18 | Ocado | UK | OCDO | Kroger | US | – | Online retailer Ocado strikes deal with US grocery chain Kroger to license platform and sell 5% stake | 41.0% | – |
16-May-18 | FanDuel | US | – | Paddy Power | UK | PPB | PaddyPower Betfair in talks to buy US fantasy sports company FanDuel | 5.0% | – |
14-May-18 | IWG | UK | IWG | TDR Capital | UK | – | IWG receives takeover approaches from 3 private equity groups | 21.0% | – |
14-May-18 | IWG | UK | IWG | Starwood | US | – | IWG receives takeover approaches from 3 private equity groups | 21.0% | – |
14-May-18 | IWG | UK | IWG | Lone Star | US | – | IWG receives takeover approaches from 3 private equity groups | 21.0% | – |
11-May-18 | ZPG | UK | ZPG | Silver Lake | US | – | ZPG plc agrees to £2.2bn/490p per share takeover by US private equity firm Silver Lake. | 30.0% | 31% |
08-May-18 | Titlestone | UK | – | Paragon Banking | UK | PAG | PAG otes press speculation about possible acquisition of Titlestone; says early stages of considering | 2.0% | – |
08-May-18 | Virgin Money | UK | VM | CYBG | UK | CYBG | CYBG Proposed all share merger | 10.0% | 15% |
08-May-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | Takeda confimed cash & shares offer to acquire Shire @ £49/share (o/w $30.33 cash) | 5.0% | 60% |
30-Apr-18 | Asda/Walmart | US | WMT | Sainsbury | UK | SBRY | J Sainsbury struck a deal to merger with Walmart’s Asda, paying it £2.98B and a 42% share | 14.5% | – |
25-Apr-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | Comcast | US | CMCSA | Comcast makes a formal bid for Sky, at £12.50/share | 3.9% | -4.4% |
25-Apr-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | Takeda ups bid to GBP49/share (£27.26 cash, £21.75 shares). Decision deadline extended to May 8. | 1.5% | 60% |
24-Apr-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | Takeda ups bid to GBP47/share and increases cash component | -1.0% | – |
20-Apr-18 | Shire | UK | INTU | Allergan | UK | AGN | Allergan confirmed that it does not intend to make an offer for Shire | -3.0% | – |
19-Apr-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | Takeda confimed cash & shares offer to acquire Shire @ GBP46.50/share | 6.0% | 50% |
18-Apr-18 | INTU Properties | UK | INTU | Hammerson | UK | HMSO | Hammerson board withdraws takeover recommendation for INTU | -6.0% | – |
16-Apr-18 | Whitbread | UK | WTB | Elliott Advisors | US | – | Activist investor Elliott Advisors takes a 6% stake | 7.0% | – |
13-Apr-18 | Hammerson | UK | HMSO | Klepierre | FR | EPA | Klapierre calls off effort to buy | -9.0% | – |
12-Apr-18 | Norwegian Air | NO | NAS | Int. Cons. Airlines | UK | IAG | IAG taken 4.6% stake and interested in siscussing a takeover | 45.0% | – |
12-Apr-18 | FirstGroup | UK | FGP | Apollo Priv Equity | US | – | FirstGroup rejects all cash offer from private equity group Apollo | 8.0% | – |
11-Apr-18 | Hammerson | UK | HMSO | Klepierre | FR | EPA | Klepierre raises offer by 3% | 1.0% | 47% |
28-Mar-18 | Shire | UK | SHP | Takeda | JP | 4502 | Takeda says condering making an approach | 14.0% | – |
27-Mar-18 | Novartis | CH | NOVN | GlaxoSmithKline | UK | GSK | GSK agrees to buy-out Novartis’ 36.5% stake in their Consumer Healthcare JV for $13bn cash | 6.4% | – |
26-Mar-18 | Purplebricks | UK | PURP | Axel Springer | DE | – | Axel Springer buys £125m/11.5% stake | -10.0% | – |
26-Mar-18 | Finish Line | US | FINL | JD Sports Fashion | UK | JD. | JD Sports acquires Jinish Line for $13.5/share or $558m | 28.0% | – |
20-Mar-18 | Fenner | UK | FENR | Michelin | FR | ML | Fenner agrees to be acquired for 610p/share (£1.2bn) | 25.0% | 31% |
19-Mar-18 | Hammerson | UK | HMSO | Klepierre | FR | EPA | Hammerson rejects ‘opportunistic’ 615p 50/50 cash/share offer from Klepierre | 28.0% | 40% |
19-Mar-18 | GKN | UK | GKN | Melrose Industries | UK | MRO | Melrose sweetens latest 467p offer with £1bn pension injection | -0.7% | 43% |
16-Mar-18 | NEX Group | UK | NXG | CME | US | CME | NEX confirms a preliminary takeover approach from US trading giant CME Group | 36.0% | – |
14-Mar-18 | Prudential | UK | PRU | – | – | – | To demerge Uk business (M&G Prudential) from US & Asian operations | 5.0% | – |
13-Mar-18 | French Connection | UK | FCCN | Unnamed | US | – | FCCN discloses unsolicited US approach last year | 22.0% | – |
12-Mar-18 | GKN | UK | GKN | Melrose Industries | UK | MRO | MRO makes final offer of 467p, (81p cash, 1.69 shares) | -2.5% | 43% |
09-Mar-18 | GKN | UK | GKN | Dana | US | DANA | Proposed merger of GKN Driveline with Dana Inc. Could thwart Melrose hostile takeover | 3.0% | – |
06-Mar-18 | Smurfit Kappa | UK | SKG | Int. Paper | US | IP | SKG rejects undisclosed cash + share approach from US competitor International Paper | 20.0% | – |
05-Mar-18 | Sparton | UK | ULE | Ultra Electronics | UK | ULE | Anti-trust torpedoes ULE’s takeover of US Sparton | -10.0% | – |
28-Feb-18 | Laird | UK | LRD | Advent Int. | US | – | Laird agrees to £1bn takeover from Private Equity firm Advent | 73.0% | 73% |
27-Feb-18 | Sky | UK | SKY | Comcast | US | CMCSA | Comcast makes rival 1250p bid for Sky (& Fox assets), 16% more than 21CFox bid | 22.0% | 14% |
23-Feb-18 | Standard Life Aberdeen | UK | SLA | Phoenix Grp Hldgs | UK | PHNX | Sells 80% of insurance business for £2.8bn cash | -2.5% | – |
20-Feb-18 | Fidessa | UK | FDSA | Temenos | SWISS | TEMN | Fidessa agrees to £1.4bn takeover from Swiss rival at 3567p/shr | 37.0% | 22% |
13-Feb-18 | Triton Digital Canada | CA | – | Audioboom | UK | BOOM | BOOM intends to buy Triton for $185m cash | – | – |
05-Feb-18 | Northern & Shell | UK | – | Trinity Mirror | UK | TNI | Talks to buy certain assets (inc. Daily Express) of publisher Northern & Shell continuing | – | – |
02-Feb-18 | Liberty Global | US | LIB | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Vodafone in talks to buy Liberty assets in Europe in a deal that may exceed €14bn (FT) | – | – |
24-Jan-18 | London Stock Exchange | UK | LSE | US Rival | – | – | Sky: Activit investor TCI told investors consolidation inevitable; typical premium implies £15bn+ | 5.0% | 15% |
17-Jan-18 | UBM | UK | UBM | Informa | UK | INF | INF and UBM propose combo; UBM shareholders to receive 1.083 INF shares + 163p cash | 16.0% | 30% |
17-Jan-18 | GKN | UK | GKN | Melrose Industries | UK | MRO | Melrose ups offer to 430p after its ownshare price rises (81p cash, 1.49 new shares) | 1.0% | 32% |
15-Jan-18 | GKN | UK | GKN | Melrose Industries | UK | MRO | Melrose attack document suggests it may be prepared to make hostile takover | 4.0% | – |
12-Jan-18 | GKN | UK | GKN | Melrose Industries | UK | MRO | Melrose confirms informal approach at 405p/shares (81p cash, 1.49 new shares) | 26.0% | 24% |
27-Dec-17 | IWG | UK | IWG | Canadian Priv Equity | CA | – | IWG confirms takeover approach from Candaian PE firms Brookfield and Onex | 30.0% | – |
22-Dec-17 | Ladbrokes Coral | UK | LCL | GVC Holdings | UK | GVC | Ladbrokes finally agrees to a takeover from GVC for £3.2-4bn | 5.5% | 40% |
22-Dec-17 | Ladbrokes Coral | UK | LCL | GVC Holdings | UK | GVC | GVC and Ladbrokes confirm in merger talks. LCL to get 160-200p/share | 29.0% | 19-35% |
21-Dec-17 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Liberty Global | US | LBTYK | FT reports Liberty Austrian sale in Europe re-opens door to Vodafone deal talks | 1.5% | – |
06-Dec-17 | INTU Properties | UK | INTU | Hammerson | UK | HMSO | Hammerson makes £3.4bn all share offer for INTU | 21.5% | 28% |
29-Nov-17 | Regal Entertainment | US | RGC | Cineworld | UK | CINE | Cineworld confirms $3.1bn/$23 per share (43% prem) offer for Regal in reverse takeover | 9.0% | 43% |
28-Nov-17 | Regal Entertainment | US | RGC | Cineworld | UK | CINE | Reuters notes specualtion about a merger | 7.0% | – |
21-Nov-17 | Imperial Brands | UK | IMB | Japan Tobacco | Japan | 2914.T | Executive favourable to acquisitions is made new JT CEO, fueling talk of a potential takeover of IMB | 4.0% | – |
15-Nov-17 | TalkTalk | UK | TALK | Sector peers | – | – | After another profits warning, Raymond James says consolidation unavoidable, TALK a target | – | – |
14-Nov-17 | Gocompare.com | UK | GOCO | ZPG | ZPG | UK | Gocompare rejects a 110p bid from Zoopla parent ZPG as the bid ‘undervalues’ the company | 10.0% | 19% |
07-Nov-17 | SSE | UK | SSE | Inogy | DE | – | SSE in Talks with Innogy to Create New Energy Supply Company | 3.0% | – |
13-Oct-17 | Aldermore | UK | ALD | FirstRand | SA | FSR | ALD confirms received proposal from FirstRand regarding possible offer for entire share capital | 20.0% | 22% |
09-Oct-17 | Millenium & Copthorne Hotels | UK | MLC | City Developments | SG | CDL | CDL proposes to buy rest of shares it doesn’t already own | 22.0% | 21% |
27-Sep-17 | Carillion | UK | CLLN | Middle Eastern Inv | – | – | CityAM reports ME investor wants to buy Carillion shares for access to London listing | 20.0% | – |
25-Sep-17 | Imagination Tech | UK | IMG | Canyon Bridge Capital | US | SU | Deal agreed at £550m or 182p/share | 30.0% | 42% |
25-Sep-17 | Carver | SK | PRIV | Unilever | UK | ULVR | Uilever pays $2.7bn for South Korean skin-care company | -1.0% | – |
22-Sep-17 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | N/A | – | – | Bernstein says investors wrong to write-off off the chances of another takeover approach | 3.0% | – |
05-Sep-17 | Aveva | UK | AVV | Schneider Electric | FR | SU | Reverse takeover. SE £550m cash (858p/share); AV £100m cash (156p) = 1014p for AVV + 40% new grp | 25.0% | – |
24-Jul-17 | B&M European Retail | UK | BME | Asda (Wal-Mart) | US | WMT | Reports suggest Asda are readying a £4.4bn bid for value retailer B&M (Sunday Times) | – | – |
19-Jul-17 | Reckitt Benckiser | UK | RB. | McCormick & Co | US | MKC | McCormick to purchase Reckitt’s food business, including French’s Mustard, for $4.2bn | 1.4% | – |
10-Jul-17 | eSure | UK | ESUR | Direct Line Group | UK | DLG | eSure investigating takeover options, including founder’s former company Direct Line (FT Alphaville) | – | – |
07-Jul-17 | Centrica | UK | CNA | Various | – | – | WallStreetWires reports several buyers could be interested in British Gas owner around 300/share | 3.0% | 45% |
05-Jul-17 | Worldpay | UK | WPG | Vantiv | US | VNTV | WPG & Vantic confirms terms of deal; 55p cash + 0.0672 new Vantiv shares = 385p/share | -5.0% | 20% |
04-Jul-17 | Worldpay | UK | WPG | Vantiv | US | VNTV | WPG confirms approach | 27.0% | – |
19-Jun-17 | Tesco | UK | TSCO | Amazon | US | AMZN | HSBC says #1 Uk grocer TSCO would be best option for AMZN | – | – |
16-Jun-17 | Morrison | UK | MRW | Amazon | US | AMZN | Existing partner Morrison could be target if Amazon wants to increase UK market presence | – | – |
18-May-17 | Berendsen | UK | BRSN | Elis | FR | ELIS | Berendsen rebuffs a revised £2bn takeover offer | 30.0% | 38% |
17-May-17 | Colgate-Palmolive | US | CL | Unilever | UK | ULVR | After reports Colgate up for sale, Societe Generale suggest Unilever acquisition would be ‘game-changer’ | – | – |
04-May-17 | Jimmy Choo | UK | CHOO | Coach | US | COH | Analysts at HSBC suggest CHOO could be a takeover target for Coach | 1.0% | – |
31-Mar-17 | Shawbrook | UK | SHAW | Pollen Street Capial | UK | – | Private equity group make formal £842m offer for Shawbrook at 332.7p/share (FT) | 8.0% | 6% |
16-Mar-17 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Liberty Global | US | LBTYK | Reports surface suggesting the two companies could once again be negotiating merger (The Register) | 12.0% | 15% |
13-Mar-17 | Amec Foster Wheeler | UK | AMFW | Wood Group | UK | WG. | Wood Group launches £2.2bn takeover of Amec, with offer being recommended by board (FT) | 12.0% | 15% |
13-Mar-17 | Bovis Homes | UK | BVS | Galliford Try | UK | GFRD | Bovis turns down first offer of merger with Galliford, however talks are ongoing for £2.5bn deal (FT) | 11.0% | 7% |
13-Mar-17 | Bovis Homes | UK | BVS | Redrow | UK | RDW | Bovis Homes rejects offer from Redrow for business (FT) | – | – |
06-Mar-17 | Aberdeen Asset Management | UK | ADN | Standard Life | UK | SL. | Standard Life buys Aberdeen for £3.8bn making Europe’s 2nd largest fund manager (FT) | 4.4% | 0% |
17-Feb-17 | Unilever | UK | ULVR | Kraft-Heinz | US | KHC | Unilever rejects takeover bid from Kraft at £40/shr, however Kraft will work towards agreement (FT) | 12.0% | 25% |
07-Feb-17 | Ithaca Energy | UK | IAE | Delek Group | ISR | DLEKG | North Sea oil explorer agrees $1.24bn takeover by Israel’s Delek Group (FT) | 10.0% | 12% |
02-Feb-17 | Mead Johnson | US | MJN | Reckitt Benckiser | UK | RB. | In advanced talks to acquire the US infant formula producer Mead Johnson for $16.7bn (FT) | – | 30% |
27-Jan-17 | Booker Group | UK | BOK | Tesco | UK | TSCO | Agrees £3.7bn acquisition of businesses, creating UK’s largest food retailer | 19.5% | 12% |
24-Jan-17 | ITV | UK | ITV | Amazon | US | AMZN | Major shareholders of ITV have been approached by Apple, Amazon and Netflix about 300p/share offer | 9.5% | 52% |
24-Jan-17 | – | UK | ITV | Apple | – | AAPL | valuing the UK TV company at £12bn (Evening Standard) | – | – |
24-Jan-17 | – | UK | ITV | Netflix | – | NFLX | – | – | |
13-Jan-17 | Acacia Mining | UK | ACA | Endeavour | CA | EDV | Acacia says in early talks with Endeavour Mining about a possible £3bn merger; said may or may not result in a deal | 3.5% | – |
14-Dec-16 | Punch Taverns | UK | PUB | Heineken | NL | HEIA | Saw off rival offer from former exec. with £400m takeover bid (FT) | 42.0% | 37% |
14-Dec-17 | Sky | UK | SKY | Disney | US | DIS | Disney makes offer for 21 C Fox Entertainment assets, incl Sky | 2.8% | 9% |
13-Dec-16 | Sky | UK | SKY | 21 C FOX | US | FOX | 21CF said to offer 1075p/share to take control of SKY | 26.0% | 40% |
09-Dec-16 | Ladbrokes Coral | UK | LCL | GVC Holdings | UK | GVC | FT speculation that a £3.2bn tie-up with GVC was on the cards | 5.5% | 40% |
21-Oct-16 | Reynolds American | US | RAI | Brit. Am. Tobacco | UK | BATS | BATS said to offer $56.5/share for the 57.8% stake it doesn’t already own. Merger | 15.3% | 20% |
22-Sep-16 | TUIFly | DE | TUI | easyJet | UK | EZJ | EZJ close to taking a stake in TUIFly to secure flying rights in Europe (Reuters) | – | – |
15-Sep-16 | Penton Info Services | US | Priv | Informa | UK | INF | INF announces £1.18bn acquisition of Penton Information Services to increase US exposure | 2.7% | – |
08-Sep-16 | HP Entreprises | US | HPE | Micro Focus | UK | MCRO | MCRO says to acquire HP Entreprise Software for $808bn in reverse takeover | 15.0% | – |
18-Aug-16 | BT | UK | BT/A | Various | – | – | This is Money cites City sources suggesting Brexit and weak GBP makes BT a takeover target | 2.0% | – |
10-Aug-16 | Entertainment One | UK | ETO | ITV | UK | ITV | ITV makes preliminary 236p (£1bn) bid for ETO. | 10.0% | 10% |
09-Aug-16 | William Hill | UK | WMH | 888 / Rank Group | UK | 888 / RNK | William Hill rejects $4.2bn offer from Rank Group and 888 Holdings (BBG) | 9.0% | 16% |
28-Jul-16 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Novartis | CH | NOVN | CEO Pascal Soriot tells analysts an improving pipeline makes it more attractive to potential buyers | 7.0% | – |
27-Jul-16 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Novartis | CH | NOVN | Citi anaylsts say a NOV/AZN combination would help the Swiss giant gain critical mass | 1.0% | 48% |
18-Jul-16 | ARM Holdings | UK | ARM | SoftBank | JP | 9984 | SoftBank to buy ARM for £23.4bn (FT) | 43.0% | 43% |
13-Jul-16 | Poundland | UK | PLND | Steinhoff | SA | – | Steinhoff offers 220p/share for full takeover | 13.0% | 13% |
15-Jun-16 | Poundland | UK | PLND | Steinhoff | SA | – | South African retail investor Steinhoff says it has acquired a 23% stake in the budget retailer | 30.0% | – |
14-Jun-16 | Premier Farnell | UK | PFL | Datwyler Holding | US | – | Both companies reached a deal for 165p per share or $1bn (Company webeitse) | 51.0% | 51% |
31-May-16 | Alliance Trust | UK | ATST | Rothschild | UK | RIT | Alliance Trust gets merger approach from Lord Rochschild’s RIT Capital Partners (Source: ATST) | 2.5% | – |
23-Mar-16 | Premier Foods | UK | PFD | McCormick & Co | US | MKC | Premier Foods rejects 52p cash per share bid from McCormick & Company (Source: PFD) | 65.0% | 65% |
22-Mar-16 | Imagination Tech | UK | IMG | Apple | US | AAPL | Apple confirms held talks with Imagination Technology but no plans to make an offer (Source: Apple) | 20.0% | – |
08-Mar-16 | Burberry | UK | BRBY | Unknown | – | – | FT reports suggest a mystery investor has bought a 5% stake in the company (Source: FT) | 7.0% | – |
01-Mar-16 | London Stock Exchange | UK | LSE | Int. Cont Exchange | US | ICE | ICE and CME Group could issue competing bids | 7.0% | – |
23-Feb-16 | London Stock Exchange | UK | LSE | Deutsche Boerse | DE | DB1 | LSE announces in talks to merge with DB1 (Source: LSE and BD) | 15.0% | – |
25-Jan-16 | Cable & Wireless | UK | CWC | Liberty Global | US | LBTYK | CWC announces it has reached an agreement with LBTYK regarding terms of acquisition | 1.0% | – |
5-Jan-16 | Home Retail | UK | HOME | Sainsbury | UK | SBRY | SBRY confirms it made a cash + shares approach in Nov which was rejected | 40.0% | – |
17-Dec-15 | Acerta | US | – | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | FT reports AZN has agreed to buy a 55% stake in Acerta with option to take full control for up to $7bn | – | – |
24-Nov-15 | Falkland Oil & Gas | UK | FOGL | Rockhopper | UK | RKH | Falkland Oil and Gas to be acquired. Shareholders to receive RKH shares. Deal worth £57.1m | 4.7% | 11% |
20-Nov-15 | Imperial Tobacco | UK | IMT | Brit. Am. Tobacco | UK | BATS | FT Alphaville reports that BATS has been putting together finacing for a full takeover of IMT | 2.0% | – |
16-Nov-15 | Premier Oil | UK | PMO | Norske Oljeselska | NO | PMO cuts exposure to North Sea with sale of $120m in assets using proceeds to reduce debt | 7.0% | – | |
6-Nov-15 | ZS Pharma | US | ZSPH | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | AZN agrees to buy ZSPH in move to bolster protfolio ahead of loss of patent protection on best selling drug | – | 42% |
3-Nov-15 | Dyax | US | DYAX | Shire | UK | SHP | Shire to Acquire Dyax for $37.7/share or $5.9bn, with unwavering focus on mid-size acquisitions | – | – |
28-Oct-15 | EE | UK | – | BT | UK | BT/A | BT-EE £12.5bn merger cleared by Competition and Markets Authority | 3.5% | – |
5-Oct-15 | APR Energy | UK | APR | Consortuim | – | – | Confirms approach by a consortium of investors regarding a takeover | 88.0% | – |
5-Oct-15 | Glencore | UK | GLEN | SWF, Pensions | – | – | Daily Telegraph: Company says open to takeover offers, but doubts buyers will offer fair price | 10.0% | – |
5-Oct-15 | Xchanging | UK | XCH | Capita | UK | CPI | Company says target of two competing bids from CPI and Apollo Group (US) | 50.0% | 50% |
30-Sep-15 | Darty | UK | DRTY | FNAC | FR | FNAC | Reuters reports FNAC makes offer of 101p/share for UK listed Darty | 15.0% | 27% |
28-Sep-15 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Liberty Global | US | LBTYA | Liberty walks away from asset swap discussions | -4.0% | – |
21-Sep-15 | RSA Insurance | UK | RSA | Zurich | SW | ZURN | Zurich walks away from RSA deal | -21.0% | – |
17-Sep-15 | Guardian Fn Servs | UK | Priv | Phoenix Grp Hldgs | UK | PHNX | PHNX confirms rumours it has begun non-exclusive talks about acquiring Guardian Financial Services. | 5.0% | – |
16-Sep-15 | SABMiller | UK | SAB | AB InBev | US | BUD | FT reports AB InBev approaches SABMiller to explore $250bn tie-up | 20.0% | – |
8-Sep-15 | Amlin | UK | AML | Mitsui Sumitomo | JP | 8316 | Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company bids 670p/share (+ Oct’s 8.4p div) equating to £3.5bn | 33.6% | 36% |
3-Sep-15 | WM Morrison | UK | MRW | Brait | SA | – | Telegraph reports Brait chief Christo Wiese eyeing expansion into UK supermarket sector | 5.0% | – |
1-Sep-15 | Steritech | US | – | Rentokil | UK | RTO | Rentokil buys US pest control business Steritech for $425m | – | – |
26-Aug-15 | Betfair | UK | BET | Paddy Power | UK | PLSA | Reached agreement on terms of $8bn merger | 19.5% | – |
11-Aug-15 | Bwin.Party | UK | BPTY | 888 | UK | 888 | BWIN confirms received revised proposal from 888 | – | – |
10-Aug-15 | Partnership Assurance | UK | PA | Just Retirement | UK | JRG | Agreed to £670m merger with PA getting 0.834 new JRG shares or 166p/share | – | 8% |
10-Aug-15 | – | – | – | CRH | UK/IRE | CRH | On the look out for more acquisitions after $6.5bn binge on assets from Lafarge and Holcim | – | – |
07-Aug-15 | Tethys Petroleum | CA | TPL | Nostrum Oil & Gas | UK | NOG | NOG mulling $50m bid for TPL; C$0.2185 per TPL share | – | 56% |
6-Aug-15 | Bwin.Party | UK | BPTY | GVC Holdings | UK | GVC | GVC confirms fully funded £1bn bid (25p cash + 0.231 new GVC shares) | – | – |
4-Aug-15 | GlaxoSmithKline | UK | GSK | Pfizer | US | PFE | Media reports (Telegraph, This is Money) that PFE might consider a £19 share & cash offer | 1.5% | – |
3-Aug-15 | Baxalta | US | BXLT | Shire | UK | SHP | SHP offers 0.1687/share to create $34bn tie-up and leading global biotech focused on rare diseases | -11.0% | 36% |
30-Jul-15 | Dragon Oil | UK | DGO | ENOC | UAE | ENOC | ENOC increases bid again, this time to 800p | 10.0% | 10% |
28-Jul-15 | Chime Communications | UK | CHW | WPP | UK | WPP | CHW confirms in talks with WPP and Providence Equity about a 365p per share offer | 25.0% | 34% |
28-Jul-15 | Melrose Industries | UK | MRO | Honeywell | US | HON | Reuters reports Melrose to sell its Elster division to Honeywell for $5.1bn | 16.0% | – |
28-Jul-15 | RSA Insurance | UK | RSA | Zurich | SW | ZURN | Zurich said it is weighing up a bid for British rival RSA Insurance Group; deal likely in cash | 12.0% | – |
28-Jul-15 | Boehringer Ingelheim | DE | BING | Hikma Pharma. | UK | HIK | Acquires Roxannes Laboratories from BING for $2.65bn in cash and shares | 10.0% | – |
27-Jul-15 | Fokker Technologies | NL | – | GKN | UK | GKN | GKN says it will buy Fokker for €706 million (including debt) from private-equity owner Arle Capital | 7.0% | – |
24-Jul-15 | Bwin.Party | UK | BPTY | GVC Holdings | UK | GVC | Reports suggest GVC has made new proposal for Bwin with £1bn/125p bid | – | – |
23-Jul-15 | Coral | UK | – | Ladbrokes | UK | LAD | Ladbrokes to merge with Gala Coral in deal to make £2.1bn revenue group | -3.0% | – |
20-Jul-15 | FT Group | UK | PSON | Nikkei | JP | – | Pearson top sell FT Group to Nikkei for £844m | 2.0% | – |
17-Jul-15 | Aveva | UK | AVV | Schneider Elec | FR | SU | Aveva agrees to a reverse takeover with Schneider Electric | 30.0% | – |
9-Jul-15 | Bwin.Party | UK | BPTY | 888 | UK | 888 | 888 & BWIN agree cash and share offer of 39.45p and 0.40488 share sin 888 (105p) | – | – |
23-Jun-15 | Bwin.Party | UK | BPTY | GVC Holdings | UK | GVC | BWIN confirms 110p/share offer from GVC involving cash and shares | – | 10% |
22-Jun-15 | Ladbrokes | UK | LAD | Gala Coral | UK | Priv | LAD confirms in discussions with Gala Coral regarding a possible merger | 5.0% | – |
22-Jun-15 | SKY | UK | SKY | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Reports suggest the Murdoch family has rejected two approaches for its stake in Sky | 1.5% | – |
22-Jun-15 | SKY | UK | SKY | Vivendi | FR | VIV | Reports suggest the Murdoch family has rejected two approaches for its stake in Sky | 1.5% | – |
22-Jun-15 | Severn Trent | UK | SVT | Borealis Infra. | CA | Priv | Canadian firm Borealis Infrastructure considering £5bn bid, 2yrs after previous approach rejected | 2.7% | – |
16-Jun-15 | Thorntons | UK | THT | Fererro | IT | Priv | THT agrees to 145p bid from the Italian chocolatier | – | 43% |
15-Jun-15 | GlaxoSmithKline | UK | GSK | Roche | SW | ROG | Daily mail reports Swiss Roche and US J&J eyeing up the UK-pharma giant | 1.0% | – |
9-Jun-15 | Dragon Oil | UK | DGO | ENOC | UAE | ENOC | ENOC sweetens deal to 750p | – | 2% |
8-Jun-15 | Vedanta | UK | VED | Cairn India | IN | – | Press speculation (Telegraph) or merger of two subsidiaries; Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India | 7.0% | – |
8-Jun-15 | Diageo | UK | DGE | 3G Capital | BZ | – | Speculation in Brazilian newspaper Veja that 3G interested in bid (with BUD?) | 8.0% | – |
1-Jun-15 | Actelion | CH | ATLN | Shire | UK | SHP | Sundays Times reports ATLN rebuffed a £12bn approach by SHP | 10.0% | – |
21-May-15 | Plus500 | UK | PLUS | Playtech | UK | PTEC | Playtech agreed to buy PLUS for £459.6m; 400p cash per share | – | 12% |
20-May-15 | Dragon Oil | UK | DGO | ENOC | UAE | ENOC | Considering possible cash offer of 735p for the remaining 46% | – | 47% |
11-May-15 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Liberty Global | US | LBTYA | Liberty’s Malone says VOD could be a good fit | 5.0% | – |
8-May-15 | Spirit Pub | UK | SPRT | Greene King | UK | GNK | Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says deal will substantially lessen sector competition | – | – |
7-May-15 | Menulog | AU/NZ | – | Just Eat | UK | JE> | Just eat gobbles up counterpart for £445m | -4.0% | – |
23-Apr-15 | Telecity | UK | TCY | Equinix | US | TCY | Equinix makes £2.3bn cash and shares offer | 21.0% | 27% |
8-Apr-15 | Pace | UK | PIC | Arris | US | ARRS | British set-top box maker agreed to be bought by Arris Group for $2.1bn in stock and cash. | 35.0% | 28% |
25-Mar-15 | BG Group | UK | BG. | Royal Dutch Shell | UK | RDSa | Media reports Shell agrees to buy BG Group for £47B | 37.0% | 50% |
16-Mar-15 | SABMiller | UK | SAB | AB InBev | US | BUD | Media reports 3G bid for KRFT reduces chance of a BUD bid for SAB | -1.0% | – |
12-Mar-15 | Dragon Oil | UK | DGO | ENOC | UAE | ENOC | ENOC announces intention to make an approach; no price given | 5.0% | – |
6-Mar-15 | TSB | UK | TSB | Sabadell | ES | SABE | Sabadell proposes a bid of 340p/share subject to reaching agreement on t&c of an offer (Reuters) | 26.0% | 29% |
18-Feb-15 | Weir Group | UK | WEIR | Priv Equity | – | – | Reuters cites speculation (Daily Telegraph, Mail) of £25/share breakup offer. | 5.0% | – |
16-Feb-15 | De La Rue | UK | DLAR | Oberthur | UK | OCS | Bid speculation from Oberthur and un-named Private equity house mentioned in in UK press | – | – |
11-Feb-15 | 888 Holdings | UK | 888 | William Hill | UK | WMH | Talks collapse | -21.5% | – |
11-Feb-15 | Lonmin | UK | LMI | Glencore | UK | GLEN | GLEN says selling 23.9% stake in LMI | – | – |
10-Feb-15 | Interxion | US | INXN | Telecity | UK | TCY | Telecity agrees to buy INXN to create £3bn euro Dominant server host | 16.0% | 15% |
5-Feb-15 | 888 Holdings | UK | 888 | William Hill | UK | WMH | 888 confirms received approach about possible offer from WMH | 18.0% | – |
5-Feb-15 | Rexam | UK | REX | Ball Corp | US | BLL | REX reveals in talks with American packaging supplier about 610p/share deal | 24.0% | – |
30-Jan-15 | EE | UK | – | BT | UK | BT/A | BT Agrees to buy EE for £12.5bn | 5.4% | – |
27-Jan-15 | IAG | UK | IAG | Qataris | – | Take 10% stake | – | – | |
12-Jan-15 | Aer Lingus | IRE | AERL | IAG | UK | IAG | Aer Lingus to recommend offer | – | – |
18-Dec-14 | NPS Pharma | US | NPSP | Shire | UK | SHP | Companies agreed to merger with Shire acquiring NPS for $46/share cash ($5.2bn) | 20.0% | 51% |
16-Dec-14 | Aer Lingus | IRE | AERL | IAG | UK | IAG | Aer Lingus rebuffs IAG preliminary approach | 20.0% | – |
8-Dec-14 | Orange | FR | ORA | BT | UK | BT/A | BT says entered into exclusive talks with Orange and Deutsche Telekom to buy EE | 2.0% | – |
2-Dec-14 | Sainsbury | UK | SBRY | Crystal Amber | UK | CRSL | UK activist fund in talks with investors about buying SBRY shares (Sun Telegraph) | 3.0% | – |
2-Dec-14 | Friends Life | UK | FLG | Aviva | UK | AV. | AV offers 0.74 new Aviva shares for each FLG; equates to 394p/shares | – | 15% |
1-Dec-14 | BP | UK | BP/ | Royal Dutch Shell | UK | RDSb | Speculation of RDS buying BP | 4.0% | – |
1-Dec-14 | Petroceltic Int | UK | PCI | Dragon Oil | UK | DGO | DGO drops bid on weak commodity prices | -34.0% | – |
1-Dec-14 | Morgan Advanced Mat | UK | MGAMM | Vesuvius | UK | VSVS | VSVS says MGAMM rejected preliminary offer; does not now intend to bid | 4.0% | – |
26-Nov-14 | Balfour Beatty | UK | BBY | John Laing Infra. | UK | JLIF | JLIF offers £1bn for public private partnership assets (educ, health) | 5.0% | – |
24-Nov-14 | EE | UK | – | BT | UK | BT/A | EE confirms in talks with BT about acquisition | – | – |
21-Nov-14 | O2 | UK | – | BT | UK | BT/A | BT confirms in talks to buy EE or O2 | – | – |
21-Nov-14 | Salamander Energy | UK | SMDR | Ophir Energy | UK | OPHR | OPHR proposes all share acquisition worth 0.5719 OPHR shares or 115.9p/share | – | 45% |
14-Nov-14 | Friends Life | UK | FLG | Aviva | UK | AV. | FLG confirms reached agreement on terms of deal for FLG to merge with AV | 5.0% | – |
12-Nov-14 | Salamander Energy | UK | SMDR | Consortium | – | – | SMDR confirms 121p/share offer from Compania Espanola de Petroleos (Spain) | 20.0% | – |
11-Nov-14 | Bwin.Party | UK | BPTY | – | – | – | Company confirmed in talks with interested parties | 10.0% | – |
11-Nov-14 | United Utilities | UK | UU | – | – | – | Telegraph cites renewed interest from Canadian Teachers Pension Fund /Kuwait Inv | 2.0% | – |
7-Nov-14 | InterContinental Hotels | UK | IHG | – | – | – | FT says activist investor urges comb with Marriot/Starwood/Hilton | 4.0% | – |
5-Nov-14 | ITV | UK | ITV | Guardian cites Liberum research on M&A in Australia | – | – | |||
5-Nov-14 | Tullow Oil | UK | TLW | ONGC Videsh | IN | – | Telegraph cites 6yr lows and regular takeover chatter | 2.0% | – |
5-Nov-14 | United Utilities | UK | UU | – | – | – | Telegraph cites interest from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan | 3.0% | – |
3-Nov-14 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | AT&T | US | T | Telegraph cites UBS research that VOD could be bought by AT&T/Softbank | – | – |
3-Nov-14 | Ocado | UK | OCDO | – | – | – | Reuters cites ongoing speculation | 10.0% | – |
29-Oct-14 | Salamander Energy | UK | SMDR | Ophir Energy | UK | OPHR | Ophir confirms approach but no details | – | – |
29-Oct-14 | Anglo American | UK | GLEN | Glencore-Xstrata | UK | GLEN | Express cites AAL mooted as target for giant GLEN | 3.7% | – |
27-Oct-14 | TalkTalk | UK | TALK | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Express says VOD lining up bid for TalkTalk | 1.0% | – |
27-Oct-14 | Salamander Energy | UK | SMDR | Ophir Energy | UK | OPHR | Salamander confirms approach from OPHR and Compania Espanola de Petrolas | 21.0% | – |
21-Oct-14 | SkyItalia/Medisat | IT | – | BSkyB | UK | BSY | Telegraph says Bernstein says BSY could merge SkyItalia with Mediset | – | – |
20-Oct-14 | Croda | UK | CRDA | Priv Equity | – | – | FT cites speculation of private equity interest in the sector | 1.8% | – |
15-Oct-14 | Spirit Pub | UK | SPRT | Greene King | UK | GNK | GNK offers SPRT shareholders a revised 109.5p/share (0.1322 GNK + 8p/share) | 10.0% | – |
6-Oct-14 | CSR | UK | CSR | Qualcomm | US | QCOM | QCOm offers 900p/share | 33.0% | 57% |
6-Oct-14 | Petroceltic Int | UK | PCI | Dragon Oil | UK | DGO | After speculation, PCI declares in detailed discussions with DGO | 20.0% | – |
6-Oct-14 | ASOS | UK | ASC | Amazon | US | AMZN | UBS: ASC could be target as online fashion gets more competitive; 5000p/share | 5.0% | – |
3-Oct-14 | Rio Tinto | UK | RIO | Glencore-Xstrata | UK | GLEN | Bloomberg says GLEN laying groundwork for merger; rebuffed | 10.0% | – |
23-Sep-14 | Debenhams | UK | DEB | Sports Direct | UK | SPD | SPD spent £33m buying another 5% | 3.0% | – |
16-Sep-14 | Spirit Pub | UK | SPRT | Greene King | UK | GNK | GNK confirms bid approach which SPRT rejected; FT says offer was 100p | 15.0% | – |
15-Sep-14 | Rio Tinto | UK | RIO | Glencore-Xstrata | UK | GLEN | FT reports that RIO is better option than buying AAL | 1.0% | – |
15-Sep-14 | SABMiller | UK | SAB | AB InBev | US | BUD | AB Inbev talking to banks about financing a £75 billion buyout (marketwatch) | 13.2% | – |
2-Sep-14 | Heineken | NL | HEIA | SAB Miller | UK | SAB | SAB approached Heineken but was rejected (source Heineken) | 13.2% | – |
2-Sep-14 | Tesco | UK | TSCO | Wal-Mart | US | WMT | Media speculation that Tesco could be a takeover target for Wal-Mart | 1.0% | – |
2-Sep-14 | ARM Holdings | UK | ARM | – | – | – | Media speculation that ARM could be a takeover target | 1.0% | – |
2-Sep-14 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | SoftBank | JP | – | Speculation from Nikkei suggesting that VOD could be target for SoftBank | 1.5% | – |
1-Sep-14 | Anglo American | UK | AAL | – | – | – | AAL CEO says the company are open to takeover offers | 3.0% | – |
1-Sep-14 | Perform | UK | PER | AI PG | UK | – | AI to aquire Perform for £392.99m in cash | 24.8% | 21% |
20-Aug-14 | ITV | UK | ITV | Liberty Global | US | LBTYK | Media reports that Liberty Global could swoop for ITV | 3.5% | – |
18-Aug-14 | Actavis | US | ACT | Pfizer | US | PFE | PFE to explore alternatives to AZN, targets include ACT | – | – |
11-Aug-14 | Family Dollar Stores | US | FDO | Dollar General | US | DG | DG proposed to acquire FDO for $78.50 per share in cash | – | 9% |
1-Aug-14 | Balfour Beatty | UK | BBY | Carillion | UK | CLLN | BBY rejects increased offer. CLLN now withdrawn offer | – | – |
31-Jul-14 | GlaxoSmithKline | UK | GSK | Pfizer | US | PFE | FT reports Bernstein saying 20% slump makes GSK vulnerable | – | – |
29-Jul-14 | Balfour Beatty | UK | BBY | Carillion | UK | CLLN | BBY walks away from merger talks | -5/-7% | – |
25-Jul-14 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Pfizer | US | PFE | Media reports Pfizer says still looking at deals including big ones | – | – |
25-Jul-14 | Balfour Beatty | UK | BBY | Carillion | UK | CLLN | Companies comfirm in talks about £3bn merger | 8-13% | – |
18-Jul-14 | Sainsbury | UK | SBRY | Qataris | – | – | Media revived spculation | 4.8% | – |
17-Jul-14 | Shire | UK | SHP | AbbVie | US | ABBV | Merger agreed at 5248p (2444p cash and 0.866 Abbvie shares | – | 42% |
16-Jul-14 | ITV | UK | ITV | Liberty Global | US | LBTYA | Bought 6.4% stake from BSkyB | 9.3% | 1% |
16-Jul-14 | Meggitt | UK | MGGT | United Tech. | US | UTX | Daily Mail reports potential for 625p/shareoffer | 9.0% | – |
14-Jul-14 | Time Warner | US | TWX | 21C Fox | US | FOX | Variety says $80bn or $85/share offer in past few weeks rejected | 15.8% | 25% |
14-Jul-14 | SABMiller | UK | SAB | AB InBev | US | BUD | Media reports ABINbev could acquire fellow brewer (recurrent) | 2.9% | – |
23-Jun-14 | Shire | UK | SHP | AbbVie | US | ABBV | Offer upped to 5320p/share | 3.1% | 42% |
19-Jun-14 | Kentz | UK | KENZ | SNC-Lavalin | CAN | – | £975.92m acquisition confirmed | 33.0% | 28% |
5-Jun-14 | Shire | UK | SHP | AbbVie | US | ABBV | £4626p/share offer rejected | 20.0% | 31% |
28-May-14 | Centrica | UK | CAN | Qataris | – | – | Speculation lined up big lnes of stock at 400p+ (This is money) | 1.3% | – |
27-May-14 | Smith & Nephew | UK | SN. | Stryker | US | SYK | Speculation of bid; denied | 15.0% | – |
27-May-14 | InterContinental Hotels | UK | IHG | – | US | – | £6bn approach from US accoring to Sky News | 6.3% | – |
22-May-14 | Sainsbury | UK | SBRY | Qataris | – | – | Speculation of takeover revived from time to time | – | – |
20-May-14 | ARM Holdings | UK | ARM | – | – | – | US Tech giant Google put aside $30BN for takeovers | 7.0% | – |
19-May-14 | Aeroflex | US | ARX | Cobham | UK | COB | $10.5/share or $900m | – | 26% |
15-May-14 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Pfizer | US | PFE | Offer rejected | 1.5% | -15% |
13-May-14 | Carphone Warehouse | UK | CPW | Dixons Retail | UK | DXNS | €3.7bn merger of equals confirmed | 1.6% | – |
6-May-14 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Pfizer | US | PFE | Offer rejected | – | – |
2-May-14 | Carphone Warehouse | UK | CPW | Dixons Retail | UK | DXNS | €3.7bn merger of equals talks ongoing | 4% (both) | – |
30-Apr-14 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Pfizer | US | PFE | Offer rejected | – | 35% |
30-Apr-14 | Shire | UK | SHP | Pfizer | US | PFE | Daily Mail, FT, SocGen analysts | 3.5% | – |
30-Apr-14 | Heritage Oil | UK | HOIL | Quatari Royals | – | – | Heritage reports offer made | – | 25% |
29-Apr-14 | BG Group | UK | BG. | Exxon/Chevron | US | XOM/CVX | – | 3.0% | – |
29-Apr-14 | Shire | UK | SHP | Allergan | US | AGN | Reuters | 3.0% | – |
25-Apr-14 | Wolfson Microelectronics | UK | WLF | Cirrus Logic | US | CRUS | – | – | 74% |
20-Apr-14 | Tate &Lyle | UK | TATE | Bunge | US | BG | Sharecast | – | 20% |
15-Apr-14 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Pfizer | US | PFE | Sunday Times | – | 26% |
28-Mar-14 | Caracal Energy | UK | CRCL | Glencore-Xstrata | UK | GLEN | Glencore to buy for 550p/share | – | 59% |
10-Mar-14 | Manroy | UK | MAN | Herstal | BE | – | Goes with Herstal; Beretta and | – | 52% |
24-Feb-14 | Fyffes | UK | FFE | Chiquita | US | CQB | Merger talks ongoing | – | 59% |
18-Feb-14 | Carphone Warehouse | UK | CPW | Dixons Retail | UK | DXNS | Merger talks ongoing | 9% (both) | – |
28-Jan-14 | Probability | UK | PBTY | Gtech | IT | GTK | All cash takeover | – | 59% |
27-Jan-14 | F&C Asset Management | UK | FCAM | Bank of Montreal | CA | BMO | Confirmed approach | – | 31% |
5-Jan-14 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | AT&T | US | T | AT&T declares no approach for 6 months | – | – |
5-Jan-14 | AstraZeneca | UK | AZN | Pfizer | US | PFE | PFE press release from 28-4-14 | – | 30% |
2-Jan-14 | Utilities | UK | – | – | – | – | Attraction of bond-like, inflation-linked returns | – | – |
5-Dec-13 | Snacktime | UK | SNAK | Uvenko | UK | – | Talks terminated 19/2/14 | 43.0% | – |
26-Nov-13 | AZ Electronics | UK | AZEM | Merck KgAA | DE | MRK GR | Deal ongoing | – | 52% |
17-May-13 | Manroy | UK | MAN | Herstal | BE | – | Talks with 3 buyers; US Ordanace exits, Herstal & Beratta stay | 43.0% | – |
20-Jan-13 | Assura Group | UK | AGR | Medicx Fund Ltd | UK | MXF | Ongoing | – | 10% |
16-Jan-13 | Vodafone | UK | VOD | Verizon Comms | US | V | Verizon to acquire VD outright | – | – |
14-Nov-12 | Tui Travel | UK | TT | Tui AG | DE | TUI GR | Renewed | – | – |
2-Nov-12 | Britivic | UK | BVIC | AG Barr | UK | BAG | All share merger | – | 0% |
2011-13 | Goldbridges Global Resources | UK | GBGR | African Resources | – | – | Offer to buy 60% | – | 66% |
2011 | GulfKeystone Petroleum | UK | GKP | Oil Majors | – | – | Often touted as prey for oil majors wanting access to Kurdistan | – | – |
*The above does not represent an exhaustive list of deals and/or speculation relating to UK listed companies
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