Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, says a potential bid from a US private equity consortium made up of Energy Capital and KKR for DCC makes the Irish firm the fourth FTSE 100 firm to attract a takeover approach in 2026 and points to ongoing value in UK equities.
He notes that the £29.7 billion of cash or cash-and-stock bids already announced this year would rise by more than £5 billion if DCC’s implied valuation holds, and that the average takeover premium so far is about 39%, below the 52% and 47% uplifts seen in 2023 and 2024 but strong versus recent years.
Mould cites the earlier approaches for Beazley, Schroders and Intertek, Rio Tinto’s brief merger talks with Glencore and a group of six putative deals, including Advanced Medical Solutions, Audioboom, Gamma Communications, Capricorn Energy and Spire Healthcare, whose combined market value with DCC is roughly £7.6 billion as evidence of deal momentum.
When it comes to DCC, a firm offer must be tabled by 10 June at the latest, which will be the near-term test that will show whether the approach converts into a completed takeover.
