Reckitt Benckiser (RB) makes it a brace of companies whose share prices have defied traditional M&A reaction recently, rising on news of spending big to acquire. While prey will almost always rise thanks to a premium being offered to cede control, for the predator to jump is not so normal. To do so implies acquisition of better growth and higher margins that can give a new lease of life to a behemoth stuck in a rut. It’s been no secret that these UK Index giants have been facing challenging macro-economic conditions from increasingly price conscious consumers, stiff competition and FX volatility.

Last week Tesco (£16bn cap) offered £3.7bn for Booker, and while its shares jumped mostly thanks to a dividend return, it also saw markets welcome an opportunity to reinforce its long-held #1 UK grocer slot and expand to become the UK’s leading food business, boosting group profits thanks to better growth and sizeable synergies.

Today sees consumer giant RB (£48bn cap) offer $16.7bn (30% premium) for US-based Mead Johnson to secure enhanced access to the higher-margin consumer health foods/nutritional segment. While both companies sell worldwide the latter’s sales of such products in faster-growing emerging markets is likely what is boosting RB sentiment most. Mead’s 50% of sales from Asia and 17% from LatAm may offer a superior growth profile that can help revive slowing growth at its own unit.

Could this latest supplement keep the 2017 share price recovery on track after H2’s waning of sentiment from last summer’s record highs, the bubble punctured by a brace of guidance cuts and a Q3 results miss? Shares making an upside test of the 200-day moving average. A break could confirm a healthy change of trend.

Mike van Dulken, Head of Research, 2 Feb