Vultures circle over UK firms where bargains are to be found

FIFTEEN major UK stock market-listed companies with a combined market value of nearly £170 billion are vulnerable to takeover, analysis for the Evening Standard shows.

- Simon English, Simon Hunt

City bankers say big money rivals and private equity firms, often in the US, are running the rule over some of Britain’s best-known businesses, driven by the strength of the dollar against the pound, fresh certainty about interest rates, and low share values.

For months City experts have been complaining that London-listed shares are unloved compared to similar firms in the US. With both economies now likely to avoid recession, bankers say clients are casting their eye over what could be huge deals that would inject life back into a moribund M&A market.

At £100bn, Unilever is the most striking possible target and could prove too big a mouthful for any consortium.

John Choong, markets analyst at InvestingReviews.co.uk, said: “Considering the malaise of the UK stock market over the past couple of years and the fact that FTSE shares are now trading at their biggest discounts to fair value in over a decade, it’s no surprise to see talk about potential private equity takeovers pick up.