Can you pick out the next foreign takeover target?

THE £3bn swoop for British tech darling Aveva Group by France’s Schneider Electric makes it the latest UK firm to be snapped up by an overseas investor.

Similar foreign takeovers of British names such as Worldpay, Sky, Unilever, and Berendsen during the past year has been encouraged by the ongoing weakness in the pound, which puts UK companies in the bargain basement.

With the weak sterling exchange rate looking set to stay, savvy savers could be in for a serious windfall if they manage to predict the next blockbuster takeover.

Companies soar in value after receiving an offer because it opens them up to extra funding and shows that a rival has enough faith in its prospects to risk its own capital for a slice of the action.

Aveva’s shares have risen 26pc since it received Schneider’s offer on Wednesday – a tidy income for all its investors. Worldpay has soared 30pc since being bought by US rival Vantix for £9.3bn in July, while laundry firm Berendsen jumped 52pc since receiving a £2.2bn offer from French peer Elis in May.

So it is worth keeping on top of where the next bid is coming from.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, has highlighted six firms which he believes still look attractive to overseas investors.

Renishaw and Spectris are both leaders in precision instrument manufacturing and have good longterm growth records, making them attractive to foreign suitors.

With Renishaw’s chief executive and deputy chairman owning more than half of the company’s stock, the fact that the pair are both well into their 70s is also worth considering, according to Mould.

But he added that Renishaw’s history shows a strong culture and a management that has always worked hard to keep jobs rather than cut them, so won’t sell to just ‘anyone who comes knocking’.

MP Evans, the palm oil plantation group, rejected a 640p-per- share offer from a Malaysian rival just before the end of last year, and Mould believes there is a chance of another suitor rearing their head at some stage.

Despite Burberry fending off a bid from America’s Coach in late 2016, Mould believes another bid is likely due to the fashion group’s iconic brand, fat profit margins and consolidation in the luxury retail sector.

ITV’s recent recovery from an off period and a large chunk of shares being owned by Virgin Media parent, Liberty Global, Mould said the broadcaster is regularly mentioned in the takeover rumour mill.

Capital Drilling, a mining services business, has seen shares falling 17pc over the past year as a result of an export ban in Tanzania, where two of the company’s key customers are based. But Mould believes the fall could be overdone. ‘ Two of Capital’s Tanzanian contracts relate to mines unaffected by the new rules and the firm is still very busy in Mauritania, Mali and Egypt,’ he said.