AW – The UK government said over the weekend it would stiffen laws governing foreign takeovers of British companies, potentially raising new hurdles for overseas acquirers amid heightened interest in British companies as takeover targets, Peter Evans of the Wall Street Journal wrote on Sunday.
The new rules – which the government hasn’t detailed, but announced in general terms on Sunday – come after US drug company Pfizer Inc. failed to seal a nearly $120 billion deal to buy rival AstraZeneca PLC. The UK government wasn’t hostile to that bid but said it would scrutinize it closely as concerns emerged over potential job cuts in Britain.
