An M&A frenzy this year may have had dealrooms (and newsrooms) buzzing, but for London’s stock market it isn’t as much fun.
An M&A frenzy this year may have had dealrooms (and newsrooms) buzzing, but for London’s stock market it isn’t as much fun. It is shrinking at the fastest pace in more than a decade as a record number of companies go private, merge or simply choose to bid adieu.
About 45 companies have delisted from London so far this year as predominantly foreign, and private equity, buyers swoop on cheaper stocks, our colleagues report this morning. And there could be more to come: General Atlantic is trying to buy Learning Technologies and Aviva is circling Direct Line.
Add a dearth of London IPOs to the mixer (just 11 so far this year) and replacements are few and far between.
Plus, some including gambling house Flutter Entertainment are choosing to base themselves elsewhere. Again, there are signs of more: activist investor Palliser Capital this morning stepped up its campaign for miner Rio Tinto to stick to Australia and quit its London listing.
Bloomberg
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