Credit Suisse has secured its third mandate in barely a month from serial acquirer Martin Franklin, after it was on Monday named sole financial adviser to his listed vehicle Platform Specialty Products Corp on a $2.3 billion UK chemicals bid.

The size of the recommended bid for UK chemicals company Alent, which was announced in a statement this morning by a Platform subsidiary vehicle and includes Alent's existing debt, ranks as one of the largest UK M&A deals so far in the second half of 2015.