Hanover Investors Management, the third largest shareholder in Scottish Media Group, has become the latest alternatives investment firm to have a hand in blocking a European merger, after a deal worth almost £500m (€742m) between the broadcaster and Northern Irish rival UTV collapsed for the second time in six months.

The breakdown marks the latest example of hedge fund investors taking a more activist stance and thwarting companies' ambitions regarding strategy or mergers and acquisitions, following shareholder disputes at Telent, the rump of UK defence group Marconi, German stock exchange group Deutsche Börse and Dutch conglomerate Stork in the past year.