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, England.
Its role is to ensure that all shareholders 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 mandated that the Panel was put on a statutory footing. This was completed in the Companies Act 2006.
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
International equivalents
+ International equivalents to the Takeover PanelNationPanel Australian Takeovers Panel Takeovers and Mergers Panel Irish Takeover PanelIrish Takeover Panel Takeovers Panel Swedish Securities Council ()
References
External links