LBOs to fly as activists poised to bring more M&A to Europe

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By Max Bower
22 Jun 2017

As the shareholder acceptance deadline for German pharmaceuticals firm Stada’s €4.1bn buyout loomed on Thursday, there has been talk in the market about the rising influence of activist investors in Europe. Historically a largely US phenomenon, some market participants think Europe is set to experience a surge in shareholder activism of its own, shaking up the corporate landscape and inviting further leveraged buyouts, writes Max Bower.

Bain Capital and Cinven’s planned €4.1bn public-to-private buyout of Stada was precipitated by a year-long campaign by activist shareholder Active Ownership Capital (AOC), which new Stada CEO Matthias Wiedenfels publicly thanked following the buyout agreement for its part in the deal.

Regardless of the Stada deal, however, Klaus ...

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