UK M&A Deal Activity Value Up 15% in 2011, According to Experian Corpfin

The total value of UK mergers, acquisitions, flotations, rights issues and placements was £181.4bn in the first nine months of 2011, an increase of 15.7% on the same period in 2010, according to Experian, a global information services company. This was despite the overall volume of deals falling by 6.7% to 3,169.

The value of UK mid-market transactions where a consideration was disclosed was up by 18% to £159.5bn on the year, against just 1% fewer transactions (549).

Rothschild has been the most active financial advisor by volume with 58 deals, while HSBC topped the value league with deals worth a total of £42.3bn. The leading legal advisors were Eversheds (91 transactions) and Sullivan & Cromwell (£43bn total deal value).

Almost half (44.7%) of all European transactions involved a UK firm, while 13.8% of UK deals involved a US firm.

Europe and the Rest of the World

• The value of European transactions in the year to date was £525.6bn, an increase of 8% on the corresponding period in 2010. There were 19% fewer transactions (7,091).
• In the US, volumes were down in the year to date by 31.9%, while values were up by 20.5%.
• Asia-Pacific witnessed declines in both volume and value during first nine months of 2011, by 10.9% and 8% respectively.

Wendy Smith, business development manager at Experian Corpfin, said: “Deal flow in the UK has been suppressed this year, although the value of activity is remarkably resilient. The north west is the only English region to increase both the volume and value of its deals over the period.”

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