Ashurst has published its review of the UK Public M&A market for Q3 2016.
Overview
13 firm offers were announced in Q3 2016 (10 in Q2 2016) with a combined offer value of £27.5bn (a significant increase compared to just £1.6bn in Q2 2016). Taking out the £24.4bn SoftBank/ARM mega deal, deal value in Q3 was still nearly double that of Q2 2016. All of these offers were in cash with two deals including a stub equity alternative.
Public M&A activity in the UK has picked up significantly following the UK referendum in June. As mentioned in our UK Public M&A Update – Q2 2016, the re-calibration of the pound in the aftermath of the Brexit vote has left UK companies more exposed to takeover by overseas bidders looking to pick up strongly performing companies at comparatively lower prices. That being said, the inexorable rise of the stock market in the UK is likely to have a counterbalancing effect.
In the last quarter, Ashurst advised J.P. Morgan Cazenove in connection with Micro Focus International's $8.8bn merger with the Software Business Segment of Hewlett Packard Enterprise which constitutes a reverse takeover. Ashurst is also advising Wells Fargo Securities and PJT Partners, joint financial advisers to Verizon on its recommended US$2.4bn cash offer for Fleetmatics Group, an Irish Code company.
As well as the above, this update includes a summary of:
- the first post-offer undertakings on SoftBank's £24.4bn bid for ARM Holdings;
- the Panel's response statement RS 2016/1 on the communication and distribution of information during an offer; and
- the Panel's 2016 Annual Report.
