Welcome to the 2024 edition of our Public M&A trends publication.
Despite continued uncertainty in global debt markets and challenging economic and political conditions, we saw an increase in offers made in 2023 for public companies subject to the UK Takeover Code.
As we explore below, there were a wave of offers in Q4 2023, giving rise to cautious optimism of another strong year of UK public M&A in 2024. We believe that many of the drivers for public M&A in 2023 remain, and buyers (particularly overseas and those backed by private equity) continue to be interested in quality UK assets. 2023 was a popular year for mid-cap and AIM-listed public companies, particularly in the technology, financial and healthcare sectors.
The Travers Smith corporate team advised on just under 20% of all UK public bids made in 2023, and with an active 2024 pipeline, we continue to benefit from direct insight and market knowledge of UK public deals. Get in touch with us now if you have any queries about the content that follows or would like to talk to us about a potential transaction.
Selected 2023 experience
Numis Corporation plc on its £410m recommended offer by Deutsche Bank AG
Inflexion on its recommended £342m takeover of DWF Group plc
IK Partners on its takeover of Medica Group plc by its IK IX Fund
Blancco Technology Group plc on its £175m cash takeover offer by White Bidco Ltd, a vehicle of funds managed by US private equity firm Francisco Partners
DLM Bidco Limited, the bidding vehicle of a consortium led by BaltCap, on its takeover of AIM-listed Xpediator plc
finnCap Group plc on its all-share merger with Cenkos Securities plc
Wavenet Group and MPRC Europe on the acquisition of AdEPT Technology Group plc
Forward Partners plc on their acquisition by Molten Ventures plc
In this publication
UK public M&A figures in this publication are derived from announcements and offer documentation made publicly available and stored on Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law: What’s Market, unless otherwise attributed.