The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or more commonly The Takeover Panel, is the United Kingdom's regulatory body charged with the administration of The Takeover Code. It was set up in 1968 and is located in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its role is to ensure that all

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

s are treated equally during takeover bids. Its main functions are to issue and administer the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code") and to supervise and regulate takeovers and other matters to which the Code applies. Its central objective is to ensure fair treatment for all shareholders in takeover bids.

Powers

The Panel is a statutory body under Chapter 1 of Part 28 (sections 942 to 965) of the Companies Act 2006 as amended by The Companies Act 2006 (Amendment of Schedule 2)(No 2) Order 2009. It has established a reputation for giving informed advice in an expert area of regulatory activity. It is the ''de facto'' arbiter of takeover bids and has the support of government and other organisations with statutory involvement. The European Takeovers Directive mandates that the Panel is put on a statutory footing. This was completed in the

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c. 46) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largel ...

. Whenever a transaction is made on the LSE or other London-based exchange that is greater than £10,000, the details of the transaction are passed on to the panel for their evaluation, and a levy is charged of £1.50 (as of 2 December 2024) on the transaction, which goes to the panel as payment (known as the "PTM levy"). It was decided in '' R v Panel on Take-overs and Mergers, ex p Datafin plc'' that decisions of this panel are subject to judicial review, even though it was at that time (i.e., in 1986) only a private body. This was due to its "enormous power" and "giant's strength". As The Panel is now a statutory footing, its decisions can now be reviewed even without referring to this case.

Directors General

The Takeover Panel has been led by the following individuals since inception: *1968-72: Ian Fraser *1972-74: John Hull, Schroders *1974-76: Martin Harris *1976-79: David Macdonald, Hill Samuel *1979-81: Graham Walsh, Morgan Grenfell *1981-83: J.M. Hignett, Lazard *1983-85: T G Barker *1985-87: John Walker-Haworth, a Director of S G Warburg *1987-89: Antony Beevor, Hambros *1989-92: Geoffrey Barnett, Barings *1992-94: Frances Heaton, Lazard *1994-96: William Staple, Rothschild *1996-99: Alistair Defriez, SBC Warburg *1999-01: Patrick Drayton, Schroders *2001-03: Philip Remnant, Credit Suisse First Boston *2003-05: Richard Murley, Goldman Sachs *2005-07: Mark Warham, Morgan Stanley *2007-10: Robert Hingley, Lexicon *2010 (interim): Philip Remnant *2010-13 Robert Gillespie, Evercore *2013-15: Philip Robert-Tissot, Citigroup *2015-18: Crispin Wright, Rothschild *2018-21: Simon Lindsay, Citigroup *2021-24: Ian Hart, UBS *2024– : Omar Faruqui, Barclays https://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/download/panel-statement-2024-4

International equivalents

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panel On Takeovers And Mergers Organisations based in the City of London United Kingdom company law 1968 establishments in the United Kingdom Financial regulatory authorities of the United Kingdom Mergers and acquisitions Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Corporate governance in the United Kingdom