Qatar Holding will not be bidding for Marks & Spencer, it seems. An intriguing footnote to this non-tale, however, is the absence of anyone arguing that M&S is a great national treasure that should be immune from takeover games.
Back in 2004, when Sir Philip Green had M&S in his sights, it was a different story. There was deep shock in some quarters that this grand high street name could even find itself on the receiving end of a bid approach. These days, one suspects, a bid from Qatar, Green or almost anybody else would be received with a shrug. M&S is not what it was. It is now regarded as a company in long-term decline. If a would-be new owner wanted to try to reverse that fate, there would probably be little protest.
Of course, the usual reservations about leveraged takeovers – the detail of tax arrangements and protections for the pension fund – would still apply. But M&S as a "special" British company that should, in some vague way, be protected? That's now hard to imagine.
