UK faces swarm of takeover bids in the new year: One in three AIM stocks at risk, says Investment bank Peel Hunt
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Corporate Britain faces ‘a swarm of takeovers’ next year with a third of AIM companies vulnerable to bids, according to City experts. In a stark warning, investment bank Peel Hunt forecast a ‘major and sustained’ wave of offers for London-listed firms in the new year.
And it cautioned there were ‘barbarians at the gate’, a reference to the bitter takeover battle for US conglomerate RJR Nabisco – the maker of Camel cigarettes and Oreo biscuits – which was the focus of a book and film. The alert comes after a mass exodus from London’s stock market that has left the City reeling.
Figures this week showed the biggest net loss of firms from the UK exchange since 2009, with 88 companies leaving and just 18 joining. Firms have quit to list on rival exchanges such as New York, or have de-listed after being snapped up in takeovers. Corporate greed: James Garner starred in the 1993 Barbarians at the Gate film about the bitter takeover batter for US conglomerate RJR Nabisco.
City grandees have called on the Government to scrap stamp duty on London-listed shares. Richard Wilson, chief executive of Interactive Investor, yesterday said the 0.5 per cent levy was the ‘elephant in the room’. ‘We are taxing the UK stock exchange out of existence,’ he said.
