When changes were made to the UK Takeover Code in 2011, it was widely expected to deter private equity-backed takeovers of public companies. The fears were well founded. The number of such deals had fallen off a cliff since the financial crisis and the stringent set of rules did little to help their revival.

Since 2009, there has not been a year in which more than 12 take-privates have taken place in Europe, with the total value of such deals consistently coming in below $11 billion, according to Dealogic. In the six years before the financial crisis, activity ran at about twice that level.