Three ways takeovers rip off shareholders

Takeovers are a great way for directors to look good - and hide the extent of their mistakes for years after, says Tim Bennett. Here's why we should all loathe takeovers.

Directors love takeovers. But shareholders should loathe them. As Thisismoney.co.uk reports, "disastrous decisions by the bosses of Britain's biggest companies have resulted in the loss of billions of pounds after value destroying takeovers". The damage amounts to more than £80bn. Takeover accounting rules offer directors a triple bonus: they make predators look good, allow them to cushion poor performance for years after an acquisition, and only reveal it was a bad idea years later.

The biggest culprits

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Tim graduated with a history degree from Cambridge University in 1989 and, after a year of travelling, joined the financial services firm Ernst and Young in 1990, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1994.

He then moved into financial markets training, designing and running a variety of courses at graduate level and beyond for a range of organisations including the Securities and Investment Institute and UBS. He joined MoneyWeek in 2007.