Mergers & Acquisitions in April 2015

In what was an optimistic start to the second quarter, April saw 240 acquisitions of UK companies publically announced, according to M&A deals database, Zephyr.

 

The highlight of the month was undoubtedly the announcement that Royal Dutch Shell plc is to acquire oil and gas exploration firm BG Group plc in a deal that values the company at over £47 billion.

 

The deal signified a 50% premium on BG Group’s share price at the start of April, which represented a market capitalisation of £31 billion.

 

BG Group plc is the UK’s third largest energy company, currently employing circa 5,200 people in 24 countries. The deal could produce a company valued in excess of £200 billion.

 

Other notable deals in April include Aviva’s £5.3 billion acquisition of Friends Life Group Ltd and Haversham Holdings plc’s £1.25 billion acquisition of British Car Auctions Ltd.