Amid tumult, UK Plc's stability, bargains attract dealmakers

More than $10 billion in bids for British companies announced on Monday, this year’s busiest day according to Dealogic data, showed how low valuations and the market's relative stability were attracting rivals and funds after a volatility-induced pause.

- AMY-JO CROWLEY YADARISA SHABONG PURVI AGARWAL

Companies may also be using the opportunity to enter the UK market before potential further weakening of the dollar or strengthening of the pound made future transactions more expensive, analysts said. Among those to announce takeover offers for UK firms on Monday were US chipmaker Qualcomm, private equity firm Advent, and France’s L'Oreal.

While US President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs and the resulting volatility hampered dealmaking for weeks, some companies are now finding the right conditions to agree on transactions.

Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Maryland-based IonQ, which on Monday announced a $1.08 billion acquisition of British quantum computing firm Oxford Ionics, said that in addition to Britain’s talent pool, the geopolitical backdrop made the deal more compelling as governments want more “sovereign quantum networks,” he said.

"People want things on-premises and they want things to be local," Mr de Masi told Reuters.