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ABB to buy Rotork in 4.1 billion pound takeover
The deal follows two other overseas bids for UK-listed companies on the same day, underscoring how capital continues to flow out of London markets.
Thursday brought three overseas takeovers of UK-listed companies, including Rotork, which makes pipeline safety valves. ABB is set to acquire Rotork for 4.1 billion pounds, according to the Guardian Business.
The same day, Gooch & Housego, a precision optics specialist serving aerospace and defence, was scheduled to be bought by a US investment firm for 346 million pounds, and Ramsdens, a financial services and pawnbroker business, was also being acquired from the US for 230 million pounds.
The paper said the individual deals delivered premiums of 73%, 41%, and 49% versus pre-action share prices. Collectively, it framed the wave of takeovers as part of a wider decline in London listings, citing Peel Hunt data showing 285 billion pounds of market capitalisation departing versus 6 billion pounds arriving from new London listings worth 100 million pounds or more since the start of 2023.
The Guardian Business added that it is time for regulators and policymakers to address what it calls London’s shrinking stock market, pointing to consultations and listing rule changes, but arguing that boards are under pressure to sell and that the UK market remains open to bidders.