Sharp fall in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity
There has been a sharp fall in Merger and Acquisitions (M&A) activity over the last 12 months, according to recent figures.
The figures, from Mergermarket, reveal a 40 per cent decrease in the number of deals in the second quarter of 2019 in comparison with the second quarter of 2018.
Meanwhile, corporate M&A activity fell to £15.1 bn over the same period – the lowest since the EU referendum in June 2016.
At the same time, investment overseas by UK companies also dropped to its lowest level since the referendum, with £8.4 billion being spent. This has been widely attributed to the relative weakness of the pound.
However, figures for July and August show encouraging signs for Q3 2019 with inbound M&A reaching £22.2bn, substantially helped by a small number of larger deals.