Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Private equity definition

What does Private equity mean? Private equity describes investment by professional funds in unlisted (unquoted) companies to obtain minority or controlling stakes, financing growth, management buy-outs/ins, recapitalisations or turnarounds, often alongside acquisition debt. The shares acquired are not admitted to trading on a stock exchange, so are less marketable and less liquid than public (quoted) equity. The term is not defined in legislation or case law; it is a market description used consistently across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Transactions are privately negotiated and typically documented through investment and shareholders’ agreements, amended articles, preference shares or loan notes, management incentive arrangements (such as...

UK Takeover Code public M&A 2019: volumes up, values down; private equity and foreign bidders; activism; legal and regulatory developments; 2020 outlook

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate expert

Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This content was published in 2020 and is not maintained.

The Market Standards trend report presents detailed examination of the 66 firm offers and 45 possible offers made for quoted companies governed by the Takeover Code during 2019. It also shares insight into public M&A patterns and what we might expect in 2020 and thereafter.

What does the Market Standards trend report cover?

transaction value and volume
private equity participation
hostile takeovers and rival bids
sector focus
UK and overseas bidder activity
shareholder activism
post-offer undertakings and national security undertakings
legal and regulatory developments

The report assesses headline transactions, including the Takeaway.com/Prosus competing bids for Just Eat, Advent International’s £4bn offer for Cobham, the £2.6bn consortium bid for Inmarsat, and Non-Standard Finance’s £1.3bn hostile approach for Provident Financial.

What are the highlights from the report?

Public M&A deal volume increased markedly in 2019 (66 firm offers)...

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Giles Distin

Addleshaw Goddard

Giles is a Partner in the Corporate Finance Group of Addleshaw Goddard's London office. He is an expert in advising on UK securities regulation and on UK listed company transactions, including takeovers and other regulated M&A transactions (cross-border and domestic), initial public offerings, reverse takeovers and public equity fundraisings involving companies listed on the Main Market or AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Giles was seconded for two years to the UK Takeover Panel and is one of a select number of lawyers in the UK with cutting edge experience of takeovers gained both in private practice and at the competent authority for regulating takeovers and mergers in the UK. Whilst in private practice, Giles has advised on over 50 public takeover bids....

Simon Wood

Addleshaw Goddard

Simon is a corporate finance partner with Addleshaw Goddard and regularly advises public companies on the full range of transactions on the Main Market and AIM. He has particular expertise in public M&A having recently returned from a two year secondment as Secretary to the Takeover Panel, where he was responsible for regulating the most significant recent M&A transactions. He was also involved in all the major decisions and policies made during that time and as a consequence has a unique insight into the manner in which the Takeover Code is applied by the Panel on a day to day basis....

Alison Smith

Freshfields

Alison is a partner in the corporate group based in London. She advises on a broad range of corporate transactions, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments and disposals, joint ventures and restructurings. She has a particular focus on complex cross-border M&A....

Selina Sagayam

Gibson Dunn

Selina S Sagayam is the Head of UK Transactional Practice Development in the London office of international law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She is an English qualified lawyer who joined the firm as a partner in 2007. Selina is recognised as an expert in the field of public takeovers and corporate governance. Ms. Sagayam was named in the London Top 50 Women section of Super Lawyers UK 2013. She has been highlighted as a leading lawyer in the field of corporate law in the 2012 'The Lawyer Hot 100' report. In addition, Ms. Sagayam is recommended as a leading lawyer in the field of Corporate/M&A by UK Legal Experts (2011-2012), recommended for 'Flotations: small and mid-cap' by The Legal 500 UK 2011 and listed in the International Who's Who of Corporate Governance Lawyers 2010 and 2011. Based on...

Leon Ferera

Jones Day

Leon is the head of Jones Day's London M&A practice. He advises on domestic and cross-border M&A and private equity transactions and has particular experience in public takeovers, having been seconded for two years to the UK Takeover Panel. He also advises clients generally on corporate law and corporate governance issues. Leon speaks and writes frequently on takeovers and is a member of the working group on takeovers of the Corporate Finance Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. ...

Adam Cain

Adam has a particular focus on public M&A activity, having advised on six public takeovers during the course of the last year.

Julian Stanier

Julian Stanier is a lawyer specialising in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He joined the firm in October 2017 having gained over 20 years' experience at two other international firms. He advises international and UK issuers and investment banks on IPOs and secondary offerings in London (both on the Main Market and AIM) and internationally. He specialises in UK public company takeovers and cross border and domestic mergers and acquisitions. Julian is recommended by both Chambers and Legal 500. In 2007 he featured in The Lawyer magazine's Hot 100....

Tom Matthews

White & Case

Tom Matthews is a partner in the Firm's M&A and Corporate Practice in the London Office. He advises corporates, investment banks and private equity and activist funds on international public and private M&A transactions, primary and secondary equity raisings and sell-downs, joint ventures and listed company advisory and corporate governance matters. Prior to joining White & Case, Tom worked for a London magic circle firm and another major international law firm for 14 years....

Dominic Ross

White & Case

Dominic is a partner in White & Case's M&A and Corporate Practice based in the London office. He regularly advises both corporate clients and investment banks on a wide variety of M&A, equity capital markets, Listing Rule and Takeover Code transactions, as well as corporate governance matters. Dominic has spent time on secondment with Citi's ECM legal team. Dominic has a particular focus on large, complex, cross border M&A transactions involving UK public companies, and has been recommended by the Legal500 for M&A ' upper mid-market and premium deals. Dominic also has sector expertise in the healthcare, gaming and consumer and retail industries....

Patrick Sarch , Partner

Hogan Lovells

Patrick is a senior partner in the London Corporate & Finance practice at Hogan Lovells and is co-head of the firm's UK M&A practice. He has more than 25 years' experience advising clients on corporate finance, domestic, and cross-border public company M&A (with extensive experience in competitive and hostile situations), innovative structuring, the Takeover Code, disclosure issues, securities law and the Listing Rules, as well as secondary issues and capital restructuring. In recent years, he has developed a strong "activism" practice, having advised both companies and activist shareholders on a number of leading ESG, strategic, and M&A-related campaigns and disputes. Patrick has very broad experience of advising businesses and investors through their full life cycle, from start-up to wind-up, via strategic investment, IPO, merger and redomiciliation and has helped rescue many from near death...

Simon Allport

Bird & Bird

Simon is a partner in Bird & Bird's international corporate group. Based in London, he advises on a wide range of public and private M&A transactions and equity capital markets transactions. Simon has an intimate knowledge of the UK's Takeover Code, having been seconded to the Takeover Panel earlier in his career and has advised numerous clients in a variety of sectors over the years on both hostile and recommended deals. Simon also advises both corporates and financial advisers on a wide range of general corporate, company law and regulatory matters across the financial services, aviation, life sciences and media sectors. Simon is consistently ranked as a leading individual for Corporate Finance work by Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500....

Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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