Three companies unveil plans to leave London Stock Exchange in deals worth over £3bn
Three companies have unveiled plans to exit the London Stock Exchange on the first trading day back from the summer break, in deals with a combined value of more than £3bn, as reported by City M. The firms—Bodycote, Gamma Communications, and Capricorn—each announced or recommended offers to be taken private or acquired, marking another wave of departures from the UK market.
The announcements come as the value of deals removing firms from the London stock market passes $100bn (£74bn) so far this year, according to the Guardian. The Guardian reports that takeovers totalling almost $110bn are putting further pressure on the LSE, and notes that other deals include easyJet’s takeover by Apollo, Segro’s takeover by Prologis, and ITV’s sale to Comcast, as well as Intertek’s takeover by EQT and Beazley’s agreement to be acquired by Zurich.
Bodycote agrees £1.9bn takeover by Veritas Capital
Bodycote, a FTSE 250 industrials group that has been a constituent of the London Stock Exchange since 1972, said it had reached an agreement to be acquired by US private equity firm Veritas Capital in a deal valuing the company at £1.9bn, as reported by City M. The company, based in Macclesfield, had rebuffed earlier approaches from Veritas and CVC.
The Guardian reports the deal at £1.84bn and notes that Bodycote, which offers services including heat treatment for manufacturing, metal joining, and protective metallic coatings, had been the subject of a bidding war with rival European buyout group CVC. Veritas said Bodycote’s prospects would be better served by being taken out of public markets: "As a private company under Veritas’ ownership, Bodycote will benefit from enhanced flexibility and long-term perspective to support continued investment in the business and pursue targeted organic and inorganic growth opportunities," the US group said.
Gamma Communications recommends £1.1bn offer from Epiris
Gamma Communications, a FTSE 250 telecoms provider, recommended a £1.1bn offer from UK private equity firm Epiris, days after confirming it was in possible takeover talks with European buyout firm Waterland, according to both City M. and the Guardian.
Epiris said on Tuesday it had made an all-cash bid at a 53 per cent premium to Gamma's shares before takeover speculation first emerged, as reported by City M. The offer comes a day before a Takeover Panel deadline and is likely to bring an end to months of speculation, City M. reports. Gamma has also seen off interest from Providence Equity Partners and Oakley Capital, according to City M.
The Guardian notes that Epiris first indicated its interest in June and said: "The additional flexibility that comes from a private company environment will enable Gamma to invest further and focus on sustainably improving the growth of its business over the long term."
City M. also reports that Waterland had planned to gatecrash the sale of Gamma before offloading much of the business to Giacom, a telecoms firm chaired by Matthew Riley.
Capricorn agrees $396m takeover by DNO
Capricorn Energy, a Scottish energy company, agreed to a $396m (£292m) takeover by Norwegian rival DNO, as reported by City M. Capricorn had recommended an offer from Genel Energy but switched its recommendation after receiving a higher offer from DNO, which tabled a bid $36m higher, according to City M.
The Guardian reports that the deal ends Capricorn's 38 years on the FTSE all-share index.
The announcements add to a growing list of London-listed companies leaving the market. City M. reports that more than 50 companies have accepted offers or are subject to interest from firms that are private or foreign, and that London-listed mainstays including Schroders, Beazley, and Intertek have quit the market.