The merger and acquisition battle in the UK is escalating, and Sybaijie has agreed to a higher offer from KKR

American private equity giant KKR will acquire British instrument giant Spectris for $6.4 billion, signaling a recovery in the European M&A market. Spectris announced on Tuesday that it accepted KKR's offer of £41.75 per share, withdrawing its support for Advent's previous offer of £41 per share. Just four days earlier, the company had expressed support for Advent's bid. Following the announcement, Spectris's European stock rose 1.7% in early trading. This deal values Spectris at £4.2 billion, with an enterprise value of £4.8 billion (approximately $6.4 billion) including debt. According to a previous article by Jianwen, Goldman Sachs strategists pointed out that a series of M&A activities, including the bidding war for Spectris, is becoming an important signal of positive changes in the European market, but these "good news" have not yet been fully priced in by the market. Intense Bidding War Among Private Equity Giants The battle between two American private equity firms for Spectris has been ongoing for over a month. The bidding war began in June with Advent's initial offer, when Spectris's stock price had fallen by about half from its peak in 2021, and KKR's latest offer is £0.75 per share higher than Advent's previous bid, indicating strong interest from private equity firms in high-quality UK assets. The relatively low valuation levels and stable market environment in the UK continue to attract attention from overseas buyers. In recent months, there has been a surge in acquisition offers for UK assets, highlighting the strong acquisition intentions of international investors towards UK companies. Despite the impact of U.S. tariff policies on global M&A transactions in the months following the so-called reciprocal tariffs in early April, the pace of acquisitions of UK companies has clearly accelerated this year. According to Dealogic data, the global M&A market has shown a strong rebound. The total value of transactions in the first seven months of this year reached $2.6 trillion, the highest for the same period since the peak during the pandemic in 2021