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.

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