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Almost four out of ten British takeovers were reported in the media before their announcement in the 14 months to May this year, which triggered the financial regulation concerns that the London stock market is always delicious.
The Financial Conduct Authority issued warnings of the leaks that have achieved an increase in the amount of unusual trading activities shortly before the announcement of British companies Take over.
The data is published in response to the Financial Times Freedom of Information information after Shell took place last week forced to deny A Wall Street Journal report that it was in early phases about taking over the competing blood pressure in order to create a global energy group worth more than 200 billion GBP.
The FCA It found that 42 of the 110 M&A announcements in which companies listed in Great Britain were stated between the beginning of April 2024 and May 29, 2025 by media speculation.
The watchdog said that he had “observed cases of announcements of potential M&A activities that were initiated by media speculation”. The data only went back to 2024, excluded stocks listed overseas and “may not document every instance,” it said.
Officials believe that the trend reflects an increase in the “strategic leaks”, in which companies try to manipulate takeover negotiations in their favor, such as an acquisition goal that tries to improve other bidders’ interest or to eliminate undesirable potential purchasers by making their interest in public. A banker complained to the FCA that a leak had added £ 42 million to the cost of an acquisition.
The 38 percent of the British takeover that are leaked in the media seem to be higher than in many other countries. Out of 509 acquisitions worth more than 1 billion USD, which were announced worldwide in 2024, 31 percent are leaked in the media, so Research From H/consultants Abernathy.
The FCA has a team of officials who carry out the daily monitoring of market movements, media reports and trade in anomalies before the announcements. At the beginning of this year it called in the head of M&A from large investment banks to discuss how the problem can be tackled next to the takeover.
That followed A public warning To the market participants by the FCA in March, in which there was a increase in M&A transactions in the media.
Data that is to be published by the FCA on Tuesday show that 38 percent of the British company takeovers in the two days before the deal was announced in 2024 caused a positive abnormal price movement, which indicates potential insider trade. This increases from an average of five years of 32 percent.
The FCA said that despite the recent changes in its methodology, the data had “restrictions as a broader measure of market soiling”. “On the one hand, the entire insider trade does not lead to a pricing during this period,” it said. “On the other hand, price movements by financial analysts or the media could have been caused, which have correctly predicted probable takeover goals.”
The Guard dog announced that the FT had opened 3 examinations of the potential market abuse between the beginning of 2020 and the end of March 2025. Only three were opened last year of this period.
The takeover panel rejected a statement.
