Another two UK firms sell out to foreign bidders - but tech stars fend off predators
Two more firms look set to leave the London stock market after takeover bids by foreign predators.
GP surgery owner Assura has accepted a £1.7billion offer from US private equity giant KKR after a bidding war.
And environmental consultancy Ricardo has been snapped up by rival WSP –owned by Canada's Genivar – in a £281million deal. WSP was previously listed in London before Genivar bought it in 2012.
The latest deals come amid a mounting crisis for London amid a takeover frenzy.
This week US chip giant Qualcomm bought Alphawave for £1.8billion while private equity group Advent is near a £3.7billion deal for scientific instrument maker Spectris.
Meanwhile, US payments firm Corpay is circling UK fintech Alpha Group and Northern Ireland software company FD Technologies has accepted a £570million bid from private equity giant TA Associates.
London has also been hit by defections as companies move listings to the US in search of higher valuations.
And a lack of fresh listings means those companies are not being replaced. Accountant MHA is the only company worth more than £100million to have gone public on the London market so far in 2025.
Assura, which owns doctors' surgeries, hospitals and hospices in the UK, recommended a 52.1p a share offer from KKR and Stonepeak to investors.
KKR is one of the biggest private equity outfits in the US and Stonepeak is a New York investment firm. The decision knocks NHS landlord Primary Health Properties (PHP), which had briefly derailed KKR's takeover attempt, out of the running.
PHP offered £1.68billion to buy Assura, while KKR's previous bid was £1.61billion – and its deal means Assura will leave London's stock market.
In a merger with PHP, the FTSE 250 business would have become part of a publicly traded company, creating the eighth-largest UK-listed REIT.
Assura chairman Ed Smith said: 'KKR and Stonepeak are highly experienced investors and I am confident that with their support, and the additional capital they will provide, Assura will continue to deliver high-quality healthcare infrastructure our communities need.'
Assura had previously turned down bids of 46.2p and 43p per share from PHP, and a 48p proposal from KKR.
UK tech starlets fend off private equity suitors
The proposed takeovers of Assura and Ricardo came as two British tech starlets fended off private equity suitors.
US buyout giant Bain Capital abandoned plans to acquire Craneware after the Edinburgh software firm rejected a £940million bid.
And British private equity group ICG ditched its pursuit of data analytics firm GlobalData.
It means the two tech companies will remain listed on the stock market in London – though other suitors may emerge.
Shares in Craneware, which specialises in healthcare financial software for the US market, fell 0.8 per cent, or 15p, to 1990p while GlobalData dipped 10.1p per cent, or 17.5p, to 155p.
Anxiety over Britain's status as a tech hub rose this week after US microchip giant Qualcomm swooped on London-listed Alphawave and fintech champion Wise announced plans to shift its main share listing to New York.
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