DCC PLC

Dublin-based DCC has agreed a £5.75bn takeover by a consortium led by KKR and Energy Capital Partners, despite vocal shareholder opposition seeking a higher price. The board cited concentrated shareholder register and difficulty attracting new investors as reasons to accept the bid, which values the shares at £65.25 each (around £68 including dividend and contingent payment). Critics argue DCC’s strategy to double operating profits by 2030 and its mix of traditional fuel distribution and growing clean-energy services justify a higher valuation, while the deal highlights continued private equity appetite for UK-listed targets. » More on theguardian.com

DCC has accepted a recommended cash offer of £65.25 a share (plus a £1.25 per share conditional sweetener) from private equity groups KKR and Energy Capital Partners valuing the company at about £5.75bn. The deal, supported by DCC’s board as a certain opportunity to realise value, has drawn criticism from founder Jim Flavin and major institutional investors including Aviva and Fidelity who say the price undervalues the business. The takeover follows a wave of UK-listed firms moving to private ownership and comes despite DCC’s strategy to lift operating profits to £830m by 2030. » More on theguardian.com

At the annual general meeting, DCC decided to pay a dividend of 2.17 GBP per share for 2026, an increase of 5.34% over the previous year. A total of 206.62 million GBP will be distributed to shareholders, and the dividend yield for 2026 is 4.68%. The share price has gained 43.76% over three years, and the real return including dividends amounts to 71.43%. Analysts expect a dividend of 2.22 GBP for 2027, which would reduce the expected yield to around 3.53%. » More on finanzen.net