Companies cracking down on investment bank leaks
Big companies are putting investment banks under pressure to cut back on the number of advisers working on UK takeover deals, as concerns about leaks grows.
Several clients have asked banks to review the number of employees that have to be informed about live transactions in recent weeks.
This stemmed from rising concerns among regulators about a high number of leaks regarding takeover deals and unusual trading activity, ahead of big transactions and acquisitions, several bankers told the Financial Times.
Advisers with access to non-public information are expected to adhere to total secrecy before announcements, in order to prevent insider trading and ensure all shareholders are treated fairly.
Now, the UK Takeover Panel, which enforces public M&A rules, is “going harder on leakage” according to one senior investment banker.
However, companies have become more concerned about leaks since the Financial Conduct Authority found that almost 40 per cent of takeovers of UK listed companies had been reported in the media before their announcement, following an Financial Times FOI request.
The data spanned April 2024 to May 2025.
Reduce the number of insiders
Regulators have long been pressing banks to reduce the number of people who have continuous access to non-public inside information of transactions.
An FCA study in 2019 found that one firm had only a dozen team members actively working on a deal, but more than 600 employees had full access to information about the transaction.
A following FCA review in 2022, found that while the typical number of insiders at a large bank had reduced, it was still between 250 and 450 people.
The FCA then warned in March that it can “impose unlimited fines, order injuctions, or prohibit regulated firms or approved persons” for breaches of market abuse regulations.
Most likely to leak?
Clients also oppose the idea of hundreds of employees having access to confidential information about their transactions, with it being difficult to pin down a leaker’s identity in many cases.
One person involved in monitoring transactions said: “It is relatively common to have conversations with anyone involved in a deal about leaks.
“But people will always put the blame on the other side”.
Many are quick to blame bankers due to high amount involved in deals compared to consultants and lawyers, while some believe leaks come from companies who are trying to spark bidder interest.
A senior investment banker said it is foreign bidders who are not accustomed to the UK rules that are most likely to leak.
The person told the FT: “For a foreign client, it can be a bit weird, right?”
“It is different from going and doing a deal in the US.”