Latest news with #Spectris
Bloomberg
09-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Banks Line Up £1.75 Billion of Debt Funding for KKR Spectris Bid
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is part of a group of lenders that's arranging £1.75 billion ($2.38 billion) of debt financing for KKR & Co.'s planned acquisition of Spectris Plc, the British manufacturer of precision testing equipment and software. Jefferies, Crédit Agricole SA and KKR Capital Markets also are participating, according to public filings. KKR has agreed to buy Spectris for £4.1 billion, topping a £3.8 billion bid from a consortium led by Advent.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Is London's stock market in crisis?
I will be accused of 'clickbait' for posing that question. But look at the figures. There were just five new listings – or Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) – in the first half the year, raising £160m from investors. And, well, that is a miserable number. According to data company Dealogic, it is the lowest in 30 years and a fall of 98 per cent when compared with the start of 2021 (when the UK was still suffering from the effects of the pandemic). It is even lower than the level recorded in the first part of 2009, when large parts of the City were still dealing with the after-effects of the financial crisis. Once a global giant – that would get interest from any international company looking to list – the London Stock Exchange is shrinking – fast. Statista shows it hosted more than 2,400 companies at the beginning of 2015. Now, the number is less than 1,700, and falling. It's now big news today if a feisty young British growth company chooses to stay home rather than head off to Wall Street. Predators from overseas – whether other companies or private equity – see London as the perfect place to go shopping for bargains. KKR, a US private equity firm, has just had a £4.7bn offer for Spectris, a UK maker of testing equipment, high-tech instruments and software, accepted. That offer is at a 98 per cent premium to where the company's shares were trading before the takeover interest became known. Private equity companies are all about maths. They have strict targets for the returns from their assets and will only act where they feel those can be met. That KKR thinks it can still hit them while paying a 98 per cent premium speaks volumes about the low valuation this company had prior to the the former's emergence as a suitor. Even more concerning are the rumours that the giants at the top of the market are also considering booking first-class transatlantic flights. Shell was rumoured to be looking at this last year. More recent, speculation has swirled around AstraZeneca, the pharmaceuticals giant. Its loss would be a brutal blow to both the City and to the government – life sciences are a core part of its industrial strategy. All this should worry ministers who say they are committed to a dynamic, modern, and crucially growing economy. The City provides a awful lot of high-paying jobs, and pays an awful lot of tax. The decline of the IPO market will inevitably result in redundancies and a reduction in revenues. What to do? London's strict listing rules have already been eased, to no great effect. The door has opened to controversial practices, such as allowing tech companies to offer dual class shares, which concentrate power in the hands of their founders. Again, the results have proved to be singularly unimpressive. The real problem is those valuations. London was once lauded for its deep pool of investment capital, which helped to keep them healthy. Trouble is, it has dried up. Regulation has resulted in big investment institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies dropping shares in favour of lower risk assets, such as bonds. Brexit also catalysed the flight of billions of pounds of foreign capital. Retail investors have, meanwhile, shunned equities and in favour of cash ISAs – even though they often fail to beat inflation. The British government has in recent years expended a great deal of effort and energy on encouraging start-ups. Some of these have borne fruit – especially in tech, and financial tech – for which London has become a hub. It needs to pay more attention to the next phase of their development, otherwise, as ungrateful as it may seem, they'll join the transatlantic procession. They have a fiduciary duty to their investors, and as things stand, that duty will be easy to fulfil in the welcoming arms of New York. Headquarters will inevitably follow. Regulatory reform must go further and faster, along with more radical action – call it a second big bang. Reeves must face down her critics – including the likes of Martin Lewis – and reduce cash ISA limits. Personally, I'd scrap the product. Harsh? Yes. But necessary to encourage saving through equities. Investors will ultimately thank her when they see how they are rewarded. The UK also currently charges a 0.5 per cent tax on share trades above £1,000. This might not seem like much, but it soon adds up and acts as a disincentive to traders. It is much higher than the charges levied by rival financial centres. Offering the City a £3.3bn tax break is bound to prove controversial in certain quarters – especially when the government is badly strapped for cash and the beneficiaries would like be very wealthy – but it would be worth it, in my view. But here's the thing: the revenues produced by this levy are in decline – just as London as a financial centre is in decline. If scrapping it helped catalyse a revival, it would pay for itself, potentially many times over. Broker Peel Hunt says that higher valuations would translate into higher capital gains and inheritance tax receipts. This is not a new argument. I remember the frustration expressed to me by a lobbyist about a scepticism when they made the case to a Tory minister back in the 1990s. It's time for a Labour minister to be bold and show the way. It isn't yet too late to pull London out of its despairing spiral. If Reeves were to unveil an aggressive package of measures, it would serve as a statement of intent that could very quickly change the narrative, persuading the potential leavers to stay put and encouraging new entrants to test the newly welcoming waters. Improving tax revenues and growth would swiftly follow.
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Fight to keep AstraZeneca British: Labour is failing miserably to back a vital industry, says ALEX BRUMMER
Reviving UK share investment is among the most pressing challenges facing Britain. All being well Rachel Reeves plans to raise the issue in her Mansion House speech later this month. There is plenty for the Chancellor to get her teeth into. The London stock market is under siege. The sad sight of the directors of instrument maker Spectris selling out to KKR for £4.1billion should be an alarm signal. Most chilling is the prospect of Britain's largest listed company, AstraZeneca, moving its share quote to New York. The Government's first priority, as it seeks to calm nervy markets after the welfare reform fiasco, should be to prevent such a catastrophe for UK plc. It is unlikely that Astra has immediate plans to go. But in his darkest moments chief executive Sir Pascal Soriot flirts with the idea as its focus has shifted from Britain to investment in the US and China. In weighing the matter one should never, however, underestimate the depth of its European roots in Britain and Sweden. It is this rich research heritage which protected it from disappearing into the hands of American competitor Pfizer in 2014. The departure of the FTSE 100's most valuable constituent and a company in one of the Government's earmarked growth sectors would be a disaster for the London Stock Exchange, the City, advisory groups and UK life sciences. If the share quotation goes, so would command and control, brain power, and some research and development. Labour needs to understand how alienated big pharma has become. Keir Starmer's refusal to back a vaccine plant in Speke, outside Liverpool, was a diabolical error for a Government needing growth industries. Instead, it prefers to pile cash into decarbonising steel production. The vaccine facility may be water under the bridge. What sticks in the craw is the failure of Health Secretary Wes Streeting, so far, to deliver on pledges to the drugs industry before and after the election. Britain is brilliant at developing new medicines and the surge in Astra's valuation over the last decade has been driven by its breakthrough remedies for immunology compounds to treat cancers. As a beneficiary of oncology advances, I have reason to be eternally thankful. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which stepped up its game during the pandemic, has proved effective at offering fast-track approvals. It is an improvement on the European Medicines Agency which moved from Canary Wharf to the Hague after Brexit. The UK blockages come at Nice, the agency which does cost benefit analysis for new drugs and devices. Its hesitancy and flawed analysis have undermined the NHS as a great testbed for new drugs which could be great income-spinners for the UK. There was, quite frankly, anger when the Government's recent industrial strategy emerged and the promised life sciences review failed to appear. The industry also has been alienated by a deal under which the rebate to the Government on drug sales was arbitrarily raised to 22.9 per cent from 15 per cent. In effect, it represents a stealth tax on the UK's leading-edge pharma and bioscience companies. As a source pointed out, the cure for ballooning welfare bills – a consequence of the 700,000 people added to benefit rolls since Covid – is better health outcomes. The preventative way of getting people back to work is through vaccines. GSK is a global leader in such cures. Astra is a powerhouse of new medicines. And Smith & Nephew is a leading force in high-tech surgical dressings, sports ailments and body replacement devices. A change of language is required. 'Life sciences' sounds pleasant enough but is too vague and all but meaningless to patients. They need to understand how new pills, drugs, medicines, painkillers and other palliatives can make their lives better and help them avert the grim reaper. Britain has the companies which can do that, and the connection must be made. Labour is failing miserably to back a vital industry. The Prime Minister, Rachel Reeves and Wes Streeting are in danger of betraying a key contributor to the nation's health and welfare.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KKR Strikes Back: $5.6 Billion Bid Could Flip the Script on London's M&A Drought
KKR (NYSE:KKR) is swinging hard again. After a streak of misses in the UK, the U.S. private equity giant just put 4.1 billion ($5.6 billion) on the table to acquire Spectris Plcthe British precision testing equipment company. That's a 96.3% premium to Spectris' share price before buyout rumors hit in early June. And this time, KKR isn't just offering cash. It's offering equity ownership to Spectris employees, a move that might tip the scales in its favor. The board, which previously turned down a conditional KKR proposal, is now on board. But this could still turn into a bidding warAdvent, the original suitor, hasn't made its final move. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with KKR. It's been a frustrating run for KKR in the UK. In May, it pulled out of talks to acquire analytics firm GlobalData. Then in June, it lost out on Assura Plc after the board sided with Primary Health Properties, a strategic player. Even outside of listed companies, KKR backed away from investing 4 billion in Thames Water following extended due diligence. And yet, the firm isn't slowing down. A spokesperson noted that KKR has invested nearly 4.5 billion in UK equity over the past 18 months, across deals like Viridor (waste management), ERM (sustainability), and Dawsongroup (asset leasing). So why keep hunting in London? It's simple. UK assets are cheapand KKR knows it. According to Peel Hunt, U.S. private equity firms made over a quarter of all UK bids in the first half of the year. Charles Hall, Peel Hunt's head of research, calls the UK a happy hunting ground for buyout firms. And KKR is playing the long game. After deals in Sweden and broader Europe, the Spectris offer could mark a turning point in its international push. But Advent might not go quietly. This story's far from over. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Private equity giant KKR wins takeover battle for British scientific testing kit maker Spectris
Private equity giant KKR has trumped Advent with a £4.7billion takeover bid for Spectris. In another blow to the City, the British scientific testing kit maker is the latest firm to leave the London stock market. It came as research from broker Peel Hunt showed the UK is on course for the biggest year of takeovers since 2021, after £74billion of offers so far this year. The Spectris board withdrew support for the £4.4billion Advent bid in favour of KKR. New York buyout group KKR was dubbed the 'barbarians at the gate' for its fearsome reputation following a 1989 takeover of RJR Nabisco, which was turned into a book and film. Spectris chairman Mark Williamson said: 'KKR's offer provides attractive and immediate cash value for shareholders and a compelling vision for the future of the group the board believes will be to the benefit of stakeholders.' It comes amid a flurry of takeovers on London's stock market. Last month, KKR lost out when the GP surgery owner Assura accepted a £1.8billion offer from Primary Health Properties. Microchip designer Alphawave agreed a £1.8billion takeover by US software giant and Nvidia rival Qualcomm. And in the last few months, ready meal maker Greencore bought food manufacturer Bakkavor for £1.2billion and Dowlais, the car parts arm of GKN, was snapped up for £1.1billion by American Axle and Manufacturing.
