Baillie Gifford's Iain McCombie: Rightmove's REA rejection 'really good news' for UK M&A

Amid criticism of 'depressing' Budget

Rightmove's recent decision to walk away from several takeover offers from Murdoch-backed Australian property giant REA Group was “really good news” for the UK’s M&A landscape, according to veteran fund manager Iain McCombie.

For McCombie, head of Baillie Gifford's UK Equity team and manager of the UK Equity Core strategy, selling a long-standing member of the FTSE 100 with significant growth potential for "a 20% uplift" is a decision that "makes no sense".  Speaking at a media roundtable attended by Investment Week, McCombie urged UK businesses to remain listed domestically, despite the increase in buyouts from private equity firms and consortiums.  "Kudos to the Rightmove board", he added, "they took the long-term view".  Deep Dive: Resurgence of public company takeovers is a 'double-edged sword' for ...