Daniel Black
Hello,
What a difference a week makes. After predictions of a Truss-style economic crisis, the UK (and Rachel Reeves) had some good news as inflation fell slightly to 2.5%, potentially paving the way for rate cuts next month.
Alongside a look at the latest economic data, my pick of the UK M&A news this week includes:
- KKR weighing up a £7 billion sale of waste firm Viridor
- JPMorgan back atop the UK’s banking league tables
- A fourfold increase in UK megadeals in 2024
Enjoy the read, and do connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to discuss M&A or anything else besides.
Deal Tracker
Our weekly roundup of all the confirmed M&A deals in the UK.
The Rumor Mill
- Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony Financial to replace Goldman Sachs as its credit card partner, as Goldman steps back from its consumer finance ambitions
- KKR considers a £7bn sale of UK waste firm Viridor
- A High Court judge approved Carlsberg’s £3.3bn takeover of Britvic
- Pfizer to sell £2.5bn stake in Sensodyne maker Haleon
- Reinet Investments SCA agreed to sell its 2% stake in British American Tobacco Holder for £1.2bn
- Saudi Arabia is close to investing at least $1bn in Dazn Group
- Fortress Investment makes an increased and final offer for Loungers at £367m EV
- De La Rue considers a conditional takeover bid from Disruptive Capital GP and Pension SuperFund Capital,valuing the company at £244m
- Alliance Pharma agrees to a £350m takeover by its largest shareholder, DBAY Advisors Ltd.
- Team Internet shares fell after TowerBrook Capital Partners backtracked on its takeover offer
- Kondor AI granted deadline extension on Ora Technology takeover bid
- Cordiant Digital gets regulatory approval to buy and combine Belgian data centre provider DCU Invest NV and the data centre business of Proximus Group
- Gamma Communications agrees to acquire German business communication software company SF Technologies Holding GmbH, trading as Starface, for £165m
- Brand Architekts shareholders approve its £13.9m takeover by Warpaint London, with nearly 99% support
- The UK High Court approved Metals Exploration’s acquisition of Condor Gold
- British activist investor seeks to disrupt Singapore takeover
- Observer newspaper deal attracts government scrutiny
- Wynn Resorts agrees to buy Crown Resorts Casino in London
- Sage Therapeutics reported Biogen’s bid to acquire the remaining stake
- Thoma Bravo-backed Darktrace is to acquire Cado Security
- Investindustrial expands its presence to Abu Dhabi with its new office
- JPMorgan has reclaimed the top spot in the UK investment banking fee league tables for 2024, surpassing Barclays
- Baroness Ros Altmann urged the FCA to intervene over Saba Capital’s attempt to take control of seven UK investment trusts
- Ex-DWS UK boss plans to expand Aboria real estate venture to Europe
- Rathbones will complete the migration of Investec Wealth & Investment’s clients by mid-2025, despite facing £1.4bn in net outflows following their merger in 2023
- Lloyds to cut 500 jobs and close two offices
- Liontrust to cut more jobs as it increases cost savings target to £6m
- Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square proposed a merger with Howard Hughes Holdings
- IG Group Holdings is to acquire digital investment platform Freetrade
- Carlyle lines up bankers to explore a sale of its British funds network and data business Calastone
- Private equity money flows into UK’s consumer law firms
- UK borrowing costs fall after inflation surprise
- London’s withering AIM market set to lose more members this year
- UK Economy: Growth Slows to 0.1% in November, Below Forecasts
- UK companies plan to invest in AI instead of hiring staff as costs rise
Salaries and bonuses
- Mark Irwin’s £2 million retirement gift from Serco
- Pay fell at hedge fund Rokos despite one member’s £110m haul
- Thames Water says it will raise base pay of bosses if Ofwat limits bonuses
- London electronic trading firm pays $3m per partner, $450k to everyone else
Job moves
- Serco chief executive Mark Irwin quits after two years
- Advent nominates Sergio D’Angelo to lead healthcare deals in Europe
- Clifford Chance hires senior partner Bruce Embley from Skadden in London
- Sullivan Street promotes Oliver Marshall to partner
- Armen names Hugh Langmuir as chair of Armen Partners UK
Market Trends
UK M&A outperforms European rivals in 2024
Mergermarket data highlights a rebound in M&A activity across EMEA in 2024, with deal value climbing 10% year-over-year to £689bn.
The UK outperformed its European counterparts, accounting for more than 31% of EMEA deal volume in Q4 (USD 43.9bn) by closing 822 deals – more than Germany, France and Italy combined (769 deals).
Megadeals make a comeback in 2024
New data from Skadden shows that the UK public M&A market saw a dramatic rise in megadeals in 2024, with 17 transactions exceeding £1bn, up from just four in 2023. Total deal value surged to over £50bn, a more than 160% increase from 2023 (£19bn in 2023).
Skadden predicts a more positive M&A environment in 2025, highlighting a recent announcement by the UK antitrust regulator that signals a more proportionate approach, potentially reducing deal delays and interventions.
A further positive trend to consider is the growing use of share-for-share offers, where bidders use their own stock as offer consideration, doubling from 8% in 2023 to 16% in 2024. This approach allowed bidders to avoid borrowing while enabling target shareholders to benefit from synergies and the upside of the combined group.
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European crypto firms could cut deals with fintech businesses in 2025
Aligning with the overall enthusiasm, crypto M&A is set for a comeback in 2025, with European dealmakers betting on fintech firms to act as industry consolidators in the evolving digital landscape in 2025. This trend, exemplified by Stripe’s £0.9bn acquisition of stablecoin provider Bridge, has pushed 2024 deal volumes to £1.2bn, compared to just above £0.85bn in 2023.
With Trump’s inauguration days away, his deregulatory stance is expected to boost sectors like crypto, lending, and banking technology. Key players to watch include Saxo Bank, seeking a £1.7bn sale, BCP Group, which has received a buyout approach, and Bitpanda, preparing for an IPO. Revolut, leading the integration of crypto offerings with traditional financial services, is also expected to remain an active player.
And the top investment bank in the UK is…
And finally, congratulations to JPMorgan for reclaiming the crown as the UK’s top dealmaker. Goldman and Morgan Stanley rounded out the podium positions, with Barclays dropping down to sixth.
You can read the full analysis in the LSEG’s Global M&A Financial Advisory Report.
Fundraising
- British healthtech Cera raises £126.4m to scale its AI healthcare platform
- Poolbeg Pharma notes Gilead interest in Hookipa fundraise
- Chris Rokos’s macro hedge fund gains almost 31% in 2024
- Equistone pauses fundraising after missing £2.11bn target
