Two of the biggest takeover sagas of the year appear to be being resolved as deal mania sweeps through town
- Bidders for Anglo American and Royal Mail must submit formal bids
- If they don’t, they will have to run away for at least six months
- BHP and Daniel Kretinsky were given a 5pm deadline on Wednesday
Two of the biggest takeover sagas of the year look set to be resolved this week as deal mania sweeps through town.
Bidders for mining giant Anglo American and Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services (IDS) must make a formal offer in the coming days – or walk away for at least six months.
BHP was given a 5pm deadline on Wednesday to submit its bid for Anglo, after the miner rejected its Australian rival’s third bid last week.
Meanwhile, Daniel Kretinsky – the billionaire investor dubbed the ‘Czech Sphinx’ – has the same deadline to make a bid.
It comes as a wave of takeovers has swept the city in recent months.
Madness: Buyers have surrounded British companies in search of a deal, with the value of bids from abroad reaching £70 billion so far this year
Buyers have surrounded British companies in search of a deal, with the value of bids from abroad reaching £70 billion so far this year. The IDS board last week backed a £3.5 billion bid from Kretinsky, the company’s largest shareholder.
Meanwhile, Anglo’s board rejected three bids from BHP – worth £31bn, £34bn and £39bn – but said last week it would go with its rival.
A major hurdle to a deal was the requirement for Anglo to sell two of its South African businesses.
In response, Anglo unveiled its own plan to break itself up, including the sale of diamond giant De Beers.
If it goes ahead, the partnership would be one of the largest mining deals ever.
It comes amid a crisis on the London stock exchange, which is suffering a mass exodus of companies and a lack of new listings. Last week, Britain’s largest investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown, became the latest London-listed company to be targeted by foreign buyers.
It rejected a joint bid of £4.67 billion from private equity firm CVC, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy, owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Cyber security group Darktrace has backed a £4.2 billion bid from US private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
London-listed companies have also left the market for competing financial centres.
Gambling group Flutter and travel agency Tui have both listed abroad and Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm decided to float on Wall Street last year.
One analyst has warned that the market is being targeted for a takeover frenzy as buyers target undervalued companies.