White & Case partner and head of UK Public M&A Patrick Sarch was recently featured in The Telegraph, The Times, the Daily Mail and CityAM, commenting on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the London Stock Exchange which has shown a sharp rise in foreign takeovers of UK companies in the first two months of 2026.
In The Telegraph, Patrick noted that with nearly $90 billion of transactions agreed in January and February 2026, deal values are expected to "increase significantly…driven by transformational M&A and bigger public-to-private transactions, particularly in the financial services, healthcare, technology and defence sectors" as foreign bidders continue to pursue competitively priced UK assets.
Patrick similarly highlighted in The Times that "while confidence in the UK economy remains fragile, international bidders continue to be drawn to the UK market due to its enduring attractions including relative valuations generally and a large number of undervalued businesses, issuers with international businesses and revenues, transparent governance, clear rules that provide an orderly framework for bids and management talent and technological expertise."
In the Daily Mail, Patrick said that whilst deal values will increase, deal volumes will remain broadly similar to current levels and that there is a likely trend of bigger private equity swoops on publicly listed firms in those industries.
Separately, in CityAM, Patrick commented on recent data showing that the value of inward mergers and acquisitions surged to £27.4bn in the final quarter of 2025, the highest level since mid-2021. Patrick observed that international bidders continue to be attracted by the UK's "relative valuations and many undervalued businesses," with high-profile deals including DoorDash's £2.9 billion acquisition of Deliveroo (on which White & Case advised) highlighting ongoing overseas interest in UK-listed companies.
Read the full The Telegraph article here (paywalled).
Read the full The Times article here (paywalled).
Read the full Daily Mail article here.
Read the full CityAM article here.
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