Record numbers of UK firms are being swallowed by private equity – should we be worried?
- Written by Robert Read, Senior Lecturer in International Economics, Lancaster University
Two big takeover battles in the UK are a sign of the times: supermarket chain Wm Morrisons and respiratory medicines group Vectura are both the subject of bids in the billions of pounds by private equity firms. In the case of Vectura, Carlyle Group is battling it out with Marlboro cigarettes giant Altria, while different private equity suitors are...