• Rightmove trading at discount to REA bid
• Temenos bid catalysts building
• Sainsbury’s could be on Kretinsky agenda

Top takeover targets for 2026 include Rightmove, Temenos, Sainsbury’s, Ontex, Nagarro and Greggs, according to analysis by The Morning Flash.

ITV and Evotec, which were highlighted in last year’s top picks but did not attract bid interest, also feature again this year.

The eight companies feature some of the strongest bid catalysts across more than 100 potential targets screened by this news service.

Targets like Glencore, which have already confirmed talks with a named bidder, are considered to be active deals and so are not included in this analysis of early-stage takeover candidates.

Rightmove redux

Shares in London-listed Rightmove have recently been sliding into the sweet-spot for a possible return bid from digital property advertising peer REA Group.

Sydney-listed REA made a series of unsuccessful bids for Rightmove in 2024 and reportedly studied a fresh bid last year.

Stake-building at Rightmove in November by asset manager Independent Franchise Partners, which has pursued activist-style campaigns in the past, could provide further encouragement for REA.

Rightmove has a market cap of GBP 3.9bn and its shares are now trading at a 52% spread to the cash and stock offer it rejected from REA in 2024.

Temenos bid prospects build

There is no shortage of takeover catalysts at core banking software provider Temenos.

Interested bidders in recent years have reportedly included financial sponsors Nordic Capital and KKR, as well as software giant SAP.

There has also been activist involvement via a campaign from Petrus, the UK hedge fund led by managing partner Klaus Umek.

It’s also possible financier Martin Ebner, whose investment vehicle has built a 20% stake in Temenos, would be open to teaming up with a private equity fund to take the business private.

Temenos has a market cap of CHF 4.9bn (EUR 5.3bn).

Sainsbury’s deal catalysts

After completing the acquisition of Royal Mail early last year, Sainsbury’s could be next on the UK takeover agenda for Czech financier Daniel Kretinsky.

Kretinksy’s Vesa Equity investment vehicle has built a 10% stake in the GBP 7bn market cap grocer over the last few years, making him its largest shareholder.

Sainsbury’s attractive valuation and the presence of other important investors on its shareholder register, including a wealthy family‑backed investment group that owns the Costcutter chain, suggests it could be ripe for a bid.

Second time lucky for Evotec?

Frankfurt-listed contract development and manufacturing organisation Evotec appeared ripe for a bid last year and looks even more appealing in 2026.

Financial sponsor Triton has left investors guessing about its plans after building a 10% stake in the business towards the end of 2024.

There could be an opportunity for it to team up for a take-private with UAE state-backed investment vehicle Mubadala, which holds a 7% stake.

Evotec, which has a market cap of EUR 1.1bn, turned down an EUR 11 per share non-binding offer from sector peer Halozyme in 2024.

That proved to be a poor decision in hindsight — shares in Evotec closed yesterday at EUR 6.27 — but it leaves plenty of scope for bid interest to return.

ITV delisting prospects

Breaking up GBP 3bn‑market‑cap ITV was never going to be straightforward, but it appears progress is finally being made after a year of stop‑starts.

ITV confirmed in November it is in discussions with Nasdaq-listed Comcast about a potential GBP 1.6bn enterprise value bid for its broadcasting division.

A variety of bidders have also been linked with its ITV Studios business.

ITV’s sum-of-the-parts discount means there’s a reasonable chance deals for both of its key divisions can be agreed this year, paving the way for an eventual exit from the stock market.

Ontex on the cards

Bid prospects for Brussels-listed toiletries and hygiene products producer Ontex were given a boost last year after a hotly contested divest by US peer Kimberly-Clark.

Kimberly-Clark sold a 51% stake in its International Family Care and Professional (IFP) tissue business to Brazil-based Suzano in a deal which valued the unit at USD 3.4bn (EUR 3bn).

That represented a multiple of 7x the division’s 2024 EBITDA which would imply a share price of around EUR 10 per share for Ontex, according to previous analysis by The Morning Flash.

With Ontex’s shares closing yesterday at EUR 4.84 —albeit after a profit warning last month— there still appears to be ample headroom for a deal to be agreed.

Ontex has a market cap of EUR 399m.

Nagarro back in play

Munich-based IT services provider Nagarro has been in on-off takeover discussions for more than a year.

Its shares are currently trading at similar levels to when the company attracted bid interest from financial sponsor Warburg Pincus during 2024

While those talks ended without an agreement, Nagarro’s close comparable Datagroup was subsequently acquired by KKR.

With Nagarro’s shares trading at an attractive level and signs of financial sponsor appetite for M&A in the sector, 2026 could be the year a deal finally gets done.

Nagarro has a market cap of around EUR 914m.

Greggs’ cash appeal

Food-to-go chain Greggs was identified as a possible bid target by The Morning Flash in February last year on the back of an attractive read-across from the takeover of peer Subway.

There’s also been plenty of private equity and strategic interest in close comp Costa Coffee, which is in the process of being sold by Coca-Cola.

Greggs is expected to deliver big improvements in cash flow this year as a major investment programme to expand capacity is coming to an end.

These catalysts have prompted investments from Singapore-based hedge fund Lauro Asset Management and UK-based firm Silchester, both of which occasionally engage in activist-style investment campaigns.

And takeover interest could follow as Greggs’ free cash flow starts to rebuild in an increasingly active fast-food M&A niche.

Greggs has a current market cap of about GBP 1.7bn.