Kepler Partners' Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff: When shareholders fight back on M&A bids

'Bid activity has been rife'

M&A has been a recurring story in the UK over the past couple of years; however, more recently, there have been a number of examples of shareholders pushing back on bids.

Is this a sign of a new-found resilience from investors? Over the past few years, depressed valuations and a cheap currency have attracted a large number of buyers for UK-listed companies. In 2024, over £16.5bn was spent on buying companies from the London Stock Exchange, the highest level since 2021. With M&A having been a major factor in the UK for years, particularly lower down the cap spectrum, there have been increasing concerns over the future for the UK market. However, the past year or so has seen some notable pushback from stakeholders, believing the bids to be oppor...