Bear Hugs Everywhere: UK Companies Think It’s Just Right

So, 2026 is turning out to be quite the year for UK takeovers! Foreign buyers are approaching London-listed companies with offers that are pretty hard to turn down - and they're doing it publicly, which puts some friendly pressure on boards to say yes. You could say it's a bit of a grizzly situation for target boards!

Here's how it works: a bidder makes an unsolicited public offer at a nice premium (at least 20% above the share price) and goes straight to shareholders instead of quietly negotiating with the board first. The idea is to make it so appealing that shareholders will encourage the board to accept, even if management was initially hesitant.

The numbers are pretty impressive. Q2 2026 alone saw UK companies receive £44bn worth of these bear hug offers - the highest since 2018. Overall, this year, acquisitions of UK-listed companies are up 188% to $116bn (including debt) - the highest level since 2007. There have been 12 bear hug attempts in the past year, with most coming from foreign buyers. The UK is actually the number one target globally for these offers in 2026. Clearly, the market can “bear-ly” contain itself!

Some notable players are in the mix. Prologis (US real estate) pursued Segro with four successive offers before Segro agreed to recommend a £14bn deal. EQT (Swedish buyout firm) targeted Intertek. Zurich (Swiss insurer) went after Beazley. KKR and Energy Capital Partners made a £5.75bn bid for DCC, though some shareholders had concerns, And Castlelake and Apollo competed over easyJet.

Why is this happening? After years of underperformance in the UK market, shareholders are much more receptive to takeover offers than they used to be. One banker noted: "In a de-equitising, low-rated market, you're going to see people get more aggressive." A decade ago, going public with an unrecommended offer was seen as a "tactical disaster": shareholders would support the board. These days, they're more likely to look at the premium and encourage the board to accept. The “bear” truth is that valuations are just too attractive to ignore.

The good news is this approach has worked well this year. While it can put boards in a tricky position, it actually helps everyone understand what shareholders are looking for. As one Deutsche Bank executive explained, it provides "pretty good information for both bidders and targets." Of course, it doesn't always go perfectly smoothly. With DCC, for example, shareholders holding over 12% of the company voiced their opposition even though the board recommended the deal.

As one lawyer from Freshfields cheerfully described it: "It's the year of the bear hug. Foreign bidders are feeling confident, UK valuations look attractive and shareholders are open to conversations. If you're a London-listed company right now, it's definitely an interesting time - someone might just come knocking with an offer you'll want to consider! Better pre-“bear” yourself for what might be coming next!