US rival agrees £1.2bn deal for British car parts firm in new hit to UK stock market

American Axle and Manufacturing's acquisition of Dowlais follows exodus of London-listed companies in 2024

The British car parts maker Dowlais has agreed to a 1.2bn takeover by its US rival American Axle & Manufacturing, in the latest departure from the London stock market.

The main operation of Dowlais, which has been listed on the FTSE 250 index since 2023, is GKN Automotive, which formed part of the GKN engineering business that was bought by the private equity group Melrose in an acrimonious 8bn takeover battle in 2018.