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Sweeteners and ingredients giant Tate & Lyle is set to become the latest major UK firm to be taken over by foreign owners.

US-based competitor Ingredion has agreed to pay £2.7 billion for the historic UK company.

The board of Tate & Lyle have backed the move to take it into private hands.

The company runs global operations producing ingredients and sweeteners for the food production sector, having sold its Tate & Lyle sugar brand and Lyle’s Golden Syrup brand to ASR Group in 2010.

The proposed takeover is the latest in a recent flurry of deals from foreign suitors snapping up UK-based firms.

Here, Press Association looks at the recent takeover activity.

Why is a US firm buying Tate & Lyle?

Ingredion said the acquisition will boost its geographic reach further and widen its portfolio into areas such as texturants, sugar reduction, and fortification.

It also indicated the move could help improve profitability, stating that it is set to drive cost savings of around 130 million US dollars (£97.5 million) a year by the end of 2030 following the takeover.

Tate & Lyle, first founded more than 165 years ago, is a historic brand with global reach and is therefore an attractive acquisition opportunity.

Nevertheless, Tate said: “Over the last year, the operating environment for ingredients companies and their customers has deteriorated.”

Why are UK firms being bought by international firms more broadly?

Firms often seek mergers and acquisitions to help improve their performance through consolidation.

Some international firms may see buying a UK rival as a method of entering the UK market or for taking over a particularly attractive brand.

For large global companies, such as Tate & Lyle, it can also serve as an opportunity to improve finances by becoming more efficient, such as sharing a larger buying power or consolidating facilities.

UK equity markets, such as the FTSE 100, are stronger year-on-year but have still seen growth lag behind some other countries, such as the US.

Analysts have suggested that international companies, particularly in the US, have therefore seen some UK-based competitors as undervalued and therefore ripe for acquisition.

What does the data show?

The most recent set of data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that 163 UK companies were snapped up by foreign buyers in the first three months of 2026.

It said this represented £14.2 billion worth of deals.

This was significantly larger than the value of deals by UK firms to buy foreign businesses, at £4.7 billion.

The sum of deals represented a slowdown on the £33 billion worth of UK firms being bought in the previous quarter – the fourth quarter of 2025 – which had marked a four-year high.

Which other big companies have been snapped up?

Last week, William Hill owner Evoke agreed a £243.1 million takeover by Greek gambling firm Bally’s Intralot.

Meanwhile, while laboratory testing company Intertek’s board recently gave its initial backing to a £9.4 billion proposal from Swedish firm EQT.

FTSE 100 insurance firm Beazley agreed a deal in March to be bought by Swiss firm Zurich for £8.1 billion.

Elsewhere, asset manager Schroders also agreed to be taken private this year, with a £9.9 billion takeover by US investment company Nuveen.

Last year also saw a number of major deals, including the £3.6 billion takeover of Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services by Daniel Kretinsky’s IP Group.

Are any other UK firms likely to be bought?

Further firms have also received takeover offers or are facing speculation over potential new ownership.

Private hospital operator Spire Healthcare is in talks over a possible £1 billion takeover by its second-largest shareholder, Toscafund Asset Management.

Meanwhile, London-listed energy group DCC pushed back a £5 billion takeover approach from a consortium including KKR and Energy Capital Partners.

Budget airliner EasyJet also pushed back against a takeover approach in recent weeks, saying that a move by Castlelake was “highly opportunistic”.