When will the small cap M&A boom start?

When will the small cap M&A boom start?

The most recent M&A boom has been dominated by large caps. Sam Cosh, manager of the European Assets trust at F&C Investments, asks when the small-cap boom will follow.

The recent explosion seen in corporate activity has been focused at the mega-cap section of the market. In the UK, we have seen the relatively straightforward bid for AstraZeneca by Pfizer, but also the more convoluted deal between GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. In Europe, French companies Lafarge and Alstom, both large caps, also received bids. This has all happened over a relatively short time period, with headline grabbing amounts of money involved, so it is no surprise to hear talk of ‘M&A mania’. More corporate activity makes sense, and indeed it is something which has been e...