Such, though, is the nature of the current deal frenzy gripping the market. 888 and GVC continue to trade offers in the battle for gaming group bwin.party Digital Entertainment. Shell's approach for BG proved the megadeal was alive and well, despite all the evidence takeovers of such scale are troublesome. And, as Stephen Wilmot has written in this week's Taking Stock column, US predators continue to prowl European bourses for suitable targets. That's partly, as Stephen notes, due to newly discovered ways to skirt US attempts to nullify so-called tax-inversion deals. But it's also because they're awash with cash - especially in foreign jurisdictions from where it can't be easily repatriated - and envisage better returns from buying European recovery prospects than investing in organic growth.
The deal makes sense from our owner Pearson's perspective, too, marking the final throes of a lengthy process that has seen it slim down from a sprawling conglomerate that owned TV channels and theme parks to a pure-play education specialist. So again, no surprise that we've been sold - it was always a matter of when rather than if, and we're looking forward to giving a proper view on the shares as soon as we're under new management.
Nor should we be entirely surprised that our new proprietor will be Japanese. As it happens, we'd previously noted on our podcast that corporate Japan was on the prowl, having seen two London-listed electrical engineers, Domino Printing Sciences and Optos, taken over by large Japanese companies. In both cases, the acquirers, Brother and Nikon respectively, paid a handsome premium, justifying the prices by suggesting that the targets would provide a springboard for global expansion. The same argument has been put forward by Nikkei, which although huge in Japan has a limited presence elsewhere in the world.
Of course, capitalising on that potential will not be without its challenges, not least cultural - to domnstrate, Nikkei's journalists once concluded that it was seven years before Nippon Sheet Glass understood what it had acquired with the UK's Pilkington in 2006. Such challenges, though, are not insurmountable and a focused new owner also suggests exciting possibilities. And the reasons behind the current M&A boom - globalisation, specialisation and the continuing era of cheap money - suggest there could be a lot more interest in innovative and expansive British companies. That's one good reason why it remains a good time to hold their shares.
