Tomorrow the City will finally witness the outcome of Britain’s biggest hostile takeover battle since Kraft’s successful bid for Cadbury almost a decade ago.
While engineering giant GKN may not hold the same place as Cadbury in the nation’s hearts, its status as one of the UK’s few remaining industrial titans meant Melrose’s £8.1bn offer would always have attracted controversy – even if the takeover target’s bosses had welcomed it with open arms.
Their decision to fight back instead has led to a vicious three month tussle for shareholder hearts and minds.
To say GKN is the older of the two companies would be an understatement. Now a giant member of the FTSE 100, the company can trace its roots...