- Anglo American and Royal Mail bidders must submit formal bids
- If they do not do so, they must be absent for at least six months.
- BHP and Daniel Kretinsky have a deadline of Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
Two of the biggest takeover sagas of the year appear to be resolved this week as deal mania sweeps the city.
Bidders from mining giant Anglo American and Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services (IDS) must submit formal bids in the coming days, or withdraw for at least six months.
BHP has been given a deadline of 5pm on Wednesday to submit its bid for Anglo after the miner rejected its Australian rival’s third bid last week.
Meanwhile, Daniel Kretinsky – the billionaire investor nicknamed the “Czech Sphinx” – has the same deadline to make an offer.
It comes as a wave of takeovers has swept the city in recent months.
Frenzy: Buyers have surrounded British companies in search of a deal, with the value of offers from abroad exceeding £70bn so far this year.
Buyers have swarmed British companies in search of a deal, with the value of foreign bids exceeding £70bn so far this year. Last week, IDS’s board backed a £3.5bn bid from Kretinsky, the company’s largest shareholder.
Meanwhile, Anglo’s board rejected three bids from BHP – worth £31bn, £34bn and £39bn – but last week said it would engage with its competitor.
A major obstacle to reaching a deal has been the requirement that Anglo sell two of its South African businesses.
In response, Anglo revealed its own plan to split up, which would include the sale of diamond giant De Beers.
If carried out, the alliance would be one of the largest mining deals ever recorded.
It comes amid a crisis on the London Stock Exchange, which has suffered a mass exodus of companies and a lack of new listings. Last week, Britain’s biggest investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown, became the latest London-listed company to be targeted by foreign buyers.
It rejected a joint £4.67bn bid from private equity firm CVC, Nordic Capital and Platinum Ivy, owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Cyber security group Darktrace has backed a £4.2bn bid from US private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
London-listed companies have also been leaving the market in search of rival financial centres.
Gambling group Flutter and travel agency Tui went public overseas and Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm decided to list on Wall Street last year.
One analyst has warned the market is the target of a “feeding frenzy” of acquisitions, as buyers pounce on undervalued companies.