London – 27 November 2025 — Shares in precision‑measurement group Spectris plc (LON: SXS) are trading almost exactly where you’d expect in the final stretch of a takeover: pinned just below KKR’s £41.75‑per‑share cash offer, with a fresh disclosure this morning from US investor NexPoint and a new analyst note adding detail to the end‑game.
Spectris share price today: SXS edges lower but stays in “deal mode”
By late morning on Thursday, Spectris shares were changing hands around 4,132p (£41.32), down about 2p on the day — a move of roughly ‑0.05% from Wednesday’s 4,134p close. [1]
Data from London South East and Sharecast show a very tight intraday range so far, with trades reported between 4,132p and 4,134p, and an opening price matching yesterday’s close at 4,134p. [2]
That keeps Spectris sitting less than 1% below the £41.75 per share offer price from KKR‑backed Project Aurora Bidco, which comprises £41.47 in cash plus a 28p interim dividend. [3]
Independent price trackers also confirm that the stock has barely moved in recent sessions: on Wednesday 26 November, the shares gained just 0.048%, closing at 4,134p after trading between 4,132p and 4,136p. [4]
In other words, Spectris is firmly in “deal mode”: volatility is low, volumes are orderly and the share price is tightly anchored to the agreed takeover terms, with only a small “deal spread” compensating investors for timing and residual risk.
Takeover timetable: court hearing and delisting days away
The big picture hasn’t changed today, but the clock is now ticking very loudly.
In a 24 November regulatory announcement, Spectris confirmed that all required antitrust and foreign‑investment approvals have been received — including clearance from France, the Netherlands and Spain — and that the KKR deal has moved into its final legal phase. [5]
The updated scheme timetable is now:
- 2 December 2025 – Court Sanction Hearing for the scheme of arrangement
- 3 December 2025 – Last day of dealings in Spectris shares on the London Stock Exchange
- 4 December 2025 – Scheme expected to become Effective, with trading in shares suspended from 7:30 a.m.
- 5 December 2025 – Cancellation of listing and trading in Spectris shares on the LSE by 7:30 a.m. [6]
Separately, FTSE Russell has confirmed that, assuming the court sanctions the scheme as planned, Spectris will be removed from the FTSE 250, FTSE 350, FTSE All‑Share and related indices at the start of trading on 4 December 2025. [7]
For index‑tracking funds and benchmark‑aware managers, that index deletion is a hard deadline: positions must be fully exited or converted into the cash consideration once the scheme goes effective.
KKR’s equity syndication: co‑investors take 28% of Bidco
Behind the scenes, KKR has been syndicating part of its economic exposure in the Spectris acquisition to large institutional co‑investors — an important detail for anyone tracking who ultimately owns the business.
In a 10 November “Update on Equity Syndication” announcement, Project Aurora Bidco confirmed that:
- Initial co‑investors include entities advised by Neuberger Berman, Pathway Capital, CalSTRS, Fisher Lynch Capital, the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, and Temasek. [8]
- These investors, via KKR‑managed co‑investment vehicles, have committed up to £926.95m, representing a maximum 25.4% indirect economic interest in Bidco. [9]
- A further £114m commitment from Oasis Investments Limited, an affiliate of insurer Chubb, takes total co‑investor commitments to about £1.04bn, equivalent to a 28.5% indirect stake in Bidco. [10]
Crucially, the co‑investors — with the exception of Temasek — are described as passive and do not receive direct governance or control rights over Bidco or the Spectris group; KKR remains firmly in charge of the acquisition vehicle. [11]
This structure is typical of large private‑equity deals: KKR locks in outside capital while keeping operational and strategic control.
New today: NexPoint discloses a 1.33% economic interest in Spectris
The main fresh regulatory news on 27 November is a Form 8.3 filing, released at 07:00 via the London market’s Regulatory News Service.
The disclosure, submitted by NexPoint Asset Management, L.P., shows that as of 26 November the US manager controlled: [12]
- 622,470 Spectris shares, representing about 0.63% of the company’s issued share capital
- 707,163 shares via cash‑settled derivatives, equal to around 0.71%
- For a total long economic interest of 1,325,633 shares, or 1.33% of Spectris’ equity
The filing categorises NexPoint under Rule 8.3 of the UK Takeover Code, which applies when an investor has an interest of 1% or more in a company that is the subject of a takeover offer. [13]
The size and structure of the position — a mix of physical shares and derivatives — is typical of merger‑arbitrage and event‑driven strategies, where investors seek to capture the small spread between the current share price and the cash offer, adjusted for the probability and timing of completion.
Heavyweight holders: Norges Bank, Jefferies and others already on the register
Today’s NexPoint filing adds to a crowded roster of institutional players that have disclosed positions in Spectris during November under Rules 8.3 and 8.5.
Highlights from the recent wave of disclosures include:
- Norges Bank (Norway’s central bank and sovereign wealth manager) reported a holding of 2,837,376 shares, equal to 2.85% of Spectris’ issued share capital, in a Form 8.3 whose details were carried by Sharecast on 27 November (based on trades dated 25 November). [14]
- Jefferies International filed a Form 8.3 on 26 November, disclosing economic interests in over 1.2 million shares, combining direct holdings and derivatives. [15]
- Multiple Form 8.5 filings from exempt principal traders — including J.P. Morgan SE, Goldman Sachs International, Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch International and others — detail trading and hedging activity undertaken in a client‑serving capacity. [16]
A consolidated RNS feed from London South East shows dozens of Form 8.3 and 8.5 announcements on 25–26 November alone, alongside a “Holdings in Company” (TR‑1) notification, underlining the intense institutional positioning around the deal. [17]
The UK Takeover Panel’s disclosure table, updated again today, continues to list Spectris plc as an offeree company, confirming that the offer period remains live and that enhanced disclosure rules still apply. [18]
27 November broker view: strong growth, stretched valuation
Alongside the regulatory drip‑feed, investors also have fresh fundamental analysis to chew over today.
A new research note published on 27 November by Directorstalk Interviews’ UK Broker Ratings section paints Spectris as a company with solid operational momentum but a demanding valuation, especially with the takeover price now effectively capping upside. [19]
Key points from that analysis:
- Spectris’ shares are trading around 4,134p, close to the top of their 52‑week range of roughly 1,909p to 4,166p, underlining how far the stock has run during the takeover saga. [20]
- The company has delivered revenue growth of about 7.9%, reflecting healthy demand for its precision measurement and test equipment across life sciences, automotive, electronics and other sectors. [21]
- However, return on equity sits at roughly 4.2%, and the note flags a payout ratio above 140% against a dividend yield of about 2.0%, raising questions about the long‑term sustainability of current distributions without faster earnings growth. [22]
- On valuation metrics, the stock screens as expensive versus earnings: the report points to an extremely high forward P/E based on consensus numbers and an average broker target price of around 3,406p, implying downside versus both the pre‑bid and current takeover‑anchored levels. [23]
- Even so, analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a split of six Buy vs three Hold recommendations and no published Sell ratings in the note’s sample. [24]
Technically, the shares remain in bullish territory, trading above their 50‑day (~4,102p) and 200‑day (~3,334p) moving averages, while a mid‑range RSI around 45 suggests neither overbought nor oversold conditions. [25]
Taken together, the message from today’s broker commentary is that fundamentals are supportive but largely subsumed by the takeover price: with SXS already at or above most target prices, the deal itself is the key driver of near‑term returns.
What today’s developments mean for Spectris shareholders
For existing and prospective investors looking at Spectris on 27 November 2025, today’s newsflow reinforces a few clear themes:
- Deal completion risk looks low, but not zero
- Regulatory and antitrust approvals are effectively all in the bag.
- The remaining milestones — court sanction, scheme effectiveness and delisting — are procedural but still need to happen on schedule. [26]
- The market is treating SXS as a near‑cash instrument
- The tiny spread between the share price (around £41.32) and the £41.75 offer value suggests arbitrageurs see limited risk that the scheme fails or is materially delayed. [27]
- Institutional money is heavily involved
- Today’s NexPoint 1.33% position and earlier disclosures from Norges Bank, Jefferies, Vanguard and several investment banks show that professional investors dominate the register during the offer period. [28]
- Fundamentals matter mainly as downside insurance
- Strong revenue growth, decent free cash flow and a solid niche in precision measurement help underpin the deal valuation, but with the price effectively capped by KKR’s bid, fundamental upside is less relevant in the short term. [29]
- Key dates to watch from here
- 2 December 2025 – Court Sanction Hearing
- 3 December 2025 – Last day of trading in SXS shares
- 4 December 2025 – Scheme expected to become effective; shares suspended
- 5 December 2025 – Spectris delisted from the LSE and removed from FTSE indices [30]
A quick word of caution
This article summarises public information and analyst commentary on Spectris plc as of 27 November 2025. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. If you are considering trading SXS or any other stock, you should assess your own financial situation or consult a suitably regulated adviser.
References
1. www.sharecast.com, 2. www.sharecast.com, 3. www.investegate.co.uk, 4. stockinvest.us, 5. www.investegate.co.uk, 6. www.investegate.co.uk, 7. www.investegate.co.uk, 8. www.tradingview.com, 9. www.tradingview.com, 10. www.tradingview.com, 11. www.tradingview.com, 12. www.lse.co.uk, 13. www.lse.co.uk, 14. www.sharecast.com, 15. www.sharesmagazine.co.uk, 16. www.lse.co.uk, 17. www.lse.co.uk, 18. www.tradingview.com, 19. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 20. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 21. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 22. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 23. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 24. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 25. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 26. www.investegate.co.uk, 27. www.sharecast.com, 28. www.lse.co.uk, 29. www.directorstalkinterviews.com, 30. www.investegate.co.uk
