Daniel Black
Hello,
It’s been a busy week in the rumour mill with plenty of deals in the offing. Perhaps most notably, BP appears vulnerable to a takeover due to a slide in its share price.
And there’s also signs that public M&A might be seeing a small revival following a slow start to the year.
In other news:
- Santander rejected an £11bn bid from NatWest for its UK unit
- The UK’s competition regulator opened an inquiry into Aviva’s Direct Line bid
- Banker bonuses are expected to slump by 20%
Thanks for reading, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss how I can help with your next M&A deal.
Deal Tracker
Our weekly roundup of all the confirmed M&A deals in the UK.
Industry news
- UK VC activity hits £9bn in 2024, BVCA Reports
- UK economy grows faster than expected at 0.7% in first quarter
- Lower US tariffs on UK exports unlikely to take effect for weeks, say British officials
- Plans to reset UK-EU relations hit trouble over fishing rights and youth mobility
- Foreign states to be allowed to take 15% stake in UK newspapers
- Number of entrepreneurs closing UK businesses hits highest level since pandemic
The rumour mill
- Iberdrola to sell UK Smart-Meters rental business to Macquarie for £0.9bn
- Smiths Group kicks off break-up with move to sell £1bn unit
- BP rivals run the numbers on takeover of struggling oil major
- Santander rejected £11bn bid from NatWest for UK unit
- FD Technologies accepts £570m offer by Boston’s TA Associates
- UK competition regulator opens inquiry of Aviva buy of Direct Line
- Aviva reports sales rise and positive flows ahead of Direct Line deal
- LondonMetric agrees £699m deal to acquire Urban Logistics
- Greencore seals £1.2bn Bakkavor deal
- Apollo-backed Evri is to merge with DHL eCommerce UK
- Brave Bison confirms plans to buy MiniMBA from Centaur Media
- Towerbrook explores sale of Austrocel bio-refinery
- H&T Group accepts £297m offer from US-based FirstCash
- Reckitt’s plan to sell Air Wick unit at risk of collapse
- Virgin Media O2 strikes tie-up with Daisy to form £1.4bn business telecoms giant
- Tullow Oil signs agreement to sell Gabon assets for £226m
- GSK acquires “potential best-in-class” medicine efimosfermin for up to £1.5bn
- Dai-ichi Life to boost stake in UK Hedge Fund Capula to 15%
- Cap10-backed Sureserve agrees to buy Kinovo in £56m deal
- Greencoat Renewables plans South African listing and sells its Irish assets for £132m
- Chariot regains control of Moroccan offshore licences from Energean
- Metals One signs term sheet to enter US gold exploration sector
- Persimmon announces sale of FibreNest for around £100m
- UK embedded finance fintech Lerex shuts down
- GTCR nears deal to buy JMG Group
- MiddleGround Capital-backed Xtrac buys Zoerkler
- Vitabiotics sale is to relaunch end-May following delays
- Man Group is reportedly in talks to acquire Bardin Hill
- Tenzing invests in Tillo
- Renewables firm Upvolt buys UK solar, heating installer OHM Energy
Salaries and bonuses
- Thames Water executives to receive bonuses from £3bn emergency loan
- Banker bonuses expected to slump 20% as tariff chaos hits deals
- Goldman hikes pay costs for London bankers by 9% as fees jump
- Nomura moves top trader to London in European equities push
- Ex-Goldman Sachs bankers’ boutique Ardea ups UK pay after doubling fees to $48m
- Credit Suisse bonus ruling could see 1,000 bankers handed payouts
- Citi paid someone in London $9m to go away last year
- Citigroup increases bonuses for top UK investment bankers to £512k
Job moves
- Evercore poaches top European Citigroup dealmaker
- Bank of America executive appointed to senior UK Treasury role
- RBC revamps European sales team with ex-UBS fixed income head
- Bank of America executive tapped for senior Treasury role
- Citi names new UK private banking boss
- Citi’s new London credit trader comes from a New York hedge fund
- Goldman Sachs’ London office added 1 person in Q1. Be thankful
- Brevan Howard hires ex-JPMorgan heavyweight Hernandez as executive chair
- UBS cut some underperformers already this month. More cuts are coming next week
- Barclays picks Avinash Thakur to head investment banking in Asia Pacific
Market trends
Revival of the capital markets?
After a prolonged quiet period, European and UK equity capital markets are finally showing signs of life again. A strong rally in the Stoxx 600, up over 10% since early April, has sparked interest from investors. There’s a promising lineup of possible upcoming listings, including Verisure, Stada, and Ebury that could mark a turning point for European ECM.
In the UK, companies such as Cobalt Holdings and Iforex have announced their plans for London listing in June. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) efforts to enhance the listing framework, along with renewing investor interest and improving sentiment, may suggest the reestablishing of the LSE as a viable hub in the near future.
Reeves puts pressure on pension funds
As the UK looks to revive its IPO market, the government’s new “Mansion House Accord” could provide crucial capital injection amidst declining investments in the private market. This plan aims to unlock up to £50bn from workspace pension funds into private sectors. An estimated £25bn is anticipated to flow into UK-based assets, including startups and infrastructure.
Despite being signed by 17 major pension providers, the voluntary initiative has triggered some backlash. This could force Chancellor Reeves to create a “backstop” power to force pension funds to honour the new pact. When asked if she would mandate the investments, she replied: ”Never say never.”
The joys of spring
Spring has also brought good news for UK public M&A, with March and April surpassing the activity levels of January and February. Twelve firm offers landed, pushing year-to-date deal count to 17 and £3bn in aggregate transaction value, marking a modest but promising start.
With 10 more potential deals worth over £8bn simmering, the outlook is one of cautious optimism and increasing competition, as evidenced by the first hostile bid in two years.
From UK Public M&A Monthly Activity Update: April 2025 | Herbert Smith Freehills
Driving much of this activity is private equity, now responsible for a commanding 55% of firm offers, up from 36% last year. PE is outpacing listed and private strategic buyers, thanks to favourable debt conditions and comfort with complex financing.
Fundraising
- Adams Street Partners closes £228m oversubscribed European venture fund
- Actis raises £1.28bn for new long life infrastructure fund
IPOs
- London bankers scour market for IPO reboot after Shein stalls
- Cobalt Holdings plans £173m London IPO to offer exposure to cobalt
- Trading platform iForex eyes London IPO
