£80bn takeover fuels frenzy as bids for UK companies soar

A wave of foreign attacks has led to the value of bids for British companies reaching almost £80 billion so far this year, new figures show.

According to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), foreign buyers accounted for £63 billion, or more than 80 percent, of takeover offers in Britain between January and April.

It comes at a time when global dealmaking is picking up again and has increased by 31 percent to over a trillion dollars (£850 billion) in the period.

The figures include both approved and rejected bids.

In Britain, mining giant BHP’s £31 billion approach to rival Anglo American was the largest.

The Australian-listed bidder saw its bid rejected but is believed to be likely to come back for another bid.

Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services (IDS) is also being pursued by a foreign predator, while others such as cyber security company Darktrace have already succumbed.

The value of UK-targeted acquisition activity has risen from just £29 billion last year to £78 billion.

And with four-fifths of bidders coming from abroad, foreign companies have never been more dominant in the UK M&A market.

Over the past decade they have typically been responsible for around two-thirds of UK company takeovers.

The US dominated global dealmaking, accounting for 56 percent of the total – the highest share in 25 years in the latest sign that the giant of global capitalism continues to outpace its rivals.

Seventeen of the 20 largest deals announced globally in the four-month period involved a US target, but no foreign predators swooped in, with all but one of them being domestic takeovers.

Lucille Jones, senior manager at LSEG Deals Intelligence, said: “The recovery in dealmaking comes after a prolonged drought.

M&A fell to a ten-year low last year as geopolitical tensions, rising interest rates and recession fears limited risk-taking.

“While there are still significant headwinds, improved economic conditions and a more stable financing environment appear to be driving dealmaking, especially in the US.”

However, global dealmaking has still not recovered to 2021 or 2022 levels.

And the total of £199 billion in April alone – while up 9 per cent on last year – was 5 per cent lower than in March.

The figures showed that the number of deals worldwide in the first four months of the year – at 14,017 – was almost a third lower than in the same period in 2024.

But the value of M&A activity was boosted by an increase in the number of mega dives worth $5 billion (£4 billion) or more to 36, up from 2022, and the highest comparable number since 2021.

In Britain, the most notable activity has been the use of American and other foreign companies taking advantage of low valuations.

Darktrace has agreed to be absorbed by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo for £4.3 billion.

And the board of packaging company DS Smith has backed a £5.8 billion proposal from America’s International Paper.

IDS has rejected a £3.2 billion approach from Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky.

The takeover offers have sparked much scrutiny in the City of London about the loss of British companies to foreign ownership.

Other deals, however, were UK-on-UK affairs, with construction company Nationwide buying Virgin Money for £2.9 billion and housebuilder Barratt picking up Redrow for £2.5 billion.