- Irish energy specialist attracts a takeover approach from American private equity consortium
- No details as yet, and firm offer is required by 10 June at the latest
- Beazley, Schroders, and Intertek have already received offers this year and Rio Tinto pondered a merger with Glencore
- A confirmed and successful bid for DCC could take the total value of UK takeovers in the public arena to more than £30 billion
- Ongoing merger and acquisition activity suggests UK equities still offer value
“A potential bid for DCC means the Irish energy specialist becomes the fourth member of the UK’s elite FTSE 100 index to attract a takeover bid in 2026 after Beazley, Schroders and Intertek,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Even though the would-be buyers are yet to set a price tag for their target, the total value of bids on the table for listed UK companies is already £29.7 billion this year, and DCC would add more than £5 billion to that tally on its own, if Wednesday’s share price gains are any guide.
“The bid for DCC, which comes from a consortium formed of two American private equity specialists, Energy Capital and KKR, suggests that the UK equity market continues to offer value, judging by how prospective trade and financial buyers from home and abroad seem keen to snap up London-listed companies.
“The approach also highlights how investors, be they institutional or retail, continue to grapple with the issue of energy security and its importance in the context of both industrial supply chains and also national security, following the disruption caused by COVID-19 and lockdowns, the Russian attack on Ukraine and now the hot and cold war that continues to simmer between the USA and Iran.
Source: Company accounts. *2026 based on all live bids announced as of 29 April, most of which are yet to close
“The bid for DCC is the sixth putative deal where the bidder or bidders are yet to reveal a firm offer price will close successfully, and there is no guarantee that all of the twenty-one deals announced in 2026 will meet with boardroom or shareholder approval and close successfully.
“The other five deals where the bidder is yet to fully show their hand involve Advanced Medical Solutions, Audioboom, Gamma Communications, Capricorn Energy and Spire Healthcare.
“Their current combined stock market valuation, along with that of DCC, is £7.6 billion.
“Even if three of the sextet have been the target of unsuccessful approaches in the past, 2026 is off to a fast start, given that 2025’s total value for successful takeovers was £29.1 billion.
Source: Company accounts. *2026 based on all live bids announced as of 29 April, most of which are yet to close
“But it is not just the pace of deal-making that catches the eye.
“The level of interest in FTSE 100 firms is notable, too.
“Again, DCC is the fourth member of the UK’s headline index to attract a predator this year, while Rio Tinto did briefly consider a merger with fellow mining giant Glencore. It is telling that would-be buyers still think the FTSE 100 firms offer good value even as the index sits within 6% of February’s all-time closing high.
Source: Company accounts. *2026 based on all live bids announced as of 29 April, all of which are yet to close and includes failed Rio Tinto-Glencore merger talks
“In addition, the average takeover premium on all of the deals tabled so far in 2026 is 39%.
“That does not quite match the 52% and 47% average uplift gratefully banked by shareholders in 2023 and 2024 respectively, but it stands up well to the averages posted in 2021, 2022 and 2025, despite substantial gains in the UK’s headline equity indices.
Source: Company accounts. *2026 based on all live bids announced as of 29 April, most of which are yet to close
“The returns banked from successful deals leave investors with capital to redeploy. There is no guarantee that they will buy UK-listed equities with the proceeds, but the income from takeovers is a helpful supplement all the same to total returns from the London market.
“The £29.7 billion in cash, or cash-and-stock, bids that is already on the table this year equates to just over 1% of the FTSE All-Share’s stock market capitalisation.
“Analysts’ consensus forecasts suggest that the FTSE 100’s members are primed to pay out £88 billion in ordinary and special dividends this year, and the FTSE All-Share some £98 billion in total.
“The FTSE 100’s members have also announced share buyback plans worth £32.1 billion, with another £3.4 billion declared by other UK-listed companies.
“The combination of dividends, buybacks and takeovers takes the potential total cash return to £163 billion, for a ‘cash yield’ equivalent to 5.8% of the FTSE All-Share’s stock market valuation.
“Six more takeovers could add at least £7.6 billion to that and there is scope for further bids and buybacks as the year goes on.
“In this respect there is scope for further upside in UK equity market cash returns and 2024’s record aggregate return from dividends, buybacks, and takeovers of £207 billion could be within reach.
“Risks do remain all the same.
“First, any escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could drive oil and gas prices higher still, hit trade flows, burden companies and consumers with extra costs and ultimately crimp global growth. A slowdown or recession could persuade companies to conserve rather than distribute cash.
“Second, any stock market volatility could persuade would-be buyers to shun takeover deals rather than pursue them, even if lower valuations should, in theory, make any purchases more attractive from a valuation point of view.
“Finally, BP, Centrica and Intertek have all halted their buyback programmes, as has HSBC as it digests last year’s $13.6 billion purchase of the 37% stake in Hang Seng Bank that it did not already own. NatWest has said it will pause its buybacks once the current one is finished, thanks to the £2.7 billion deal for wealth manager Evelyn Partners. Animal spirits in British boardrooms could mean acquisitions take precedence over cash returns and shareholders can be forgiven for wondering whether Shell will recalibrate its buyback scheme as it prepares to buy Canada’s ARC Resources in a $16.4 billion deal.”
