Bird & Bird contributes to LexisNexis Market Standards Trend Report: Trends in UK Public M&A deals in 2023

Topics covered include:

• Outlook for 2024
• Deal value and deal volume
• Deal structure
• Unrecommended, competing and mandatory offers
• Public to private (P2P) transactions
• Bidder jurisdiction
• Industry
• Offer timetables
• Bid financing
• Shareholder engagement
• Legal and regulatory developments

Simon Allport and Nick O’Donnell, partners at Bird & Bird contributed insights on the report’s findings. Simon commented, “That the volume of deals in 2023 remained relatively static year on year is reflective of a market that is neither particularly buoyant, nor significantly depressed. There are still deals to be done, but there continues to be a level of caution, given the geo-political and economic climate. We expect this to continue into 2024.” Nick O’Donnell also commented, “In our view, the large proportion of US and other overseas bidders has contributed to schemes, as the nearest equivalent to a Delaware merger, continuing to cement their position as the default deal structure. This resulted, anecdotally, in 2023 being a year when court availability has become a preoccupation for many a deal team.”

You can register to download a copy of the report here