More NewsUK M&A Deal Activity Falls During Q112, According to Experian

UK M&A Deal Activity Falls During Q112, According to Experian

The total number of UK mergers, acquisitions, flotations, rights issues and placements announced during Q112 fell by 19.8%, according to research by Experian. The number of deals announced fell to 944 in Q112, down from 1,177 in Q111. However, Scotland and the southwest were the only regions to see deal volumes increase, up by 14.9% and 14.1% respectively.

The value of UK deals during Q1 saw a significant increase of 62.8% compared to Q111, led mainly by one transaction – the Glencore International acquisition of Xstrata for £39.1bn. Cenkos Securities was the most active financial advisor by volume with 18 deals, while Goldman Sachs topped the value league with transactions worth a total of £45.5bn. The leading legal advisors were Pinsent Masons by volume with18 transactions and Linklaters with £48bn total deal value from 13 deals.

Wendy Driver, business development manager at Experian Corpfin, said: “Despite an overall fall in the volume of deal activity, two regions still managed to buck the trend and values in five of the UK regions were up, influenced mainly by the biggest deal ever in the mining and quarrying industry. It was also among the highest-valued transactions in UK corporate history. This highlights that firms are managing to find the funds to invest.”

Europe and the Rest of the World

There was a UK element in 48.56% of all European transactions, up from 41.68% in Q111. In terms of value the UK contributed almost 62.84% of the European total for Q112.

  • Europe saw a 31.13% decrease in M&A and ECM transactions announced during Q112 with 1,945 deals compared to 2,824 transactions in Q111.
  • The downturn in volume has had the expected effect on value, with European transactions decreasing by 28.40% compared to Q111. There was £120.603bn worth of deals recorded in Q112, down from the £168.438bn worth of transactions announced in Q111.
  • The majority of the UK’s cross border deals during Q112 were with the US, with 124 transactions, followed by Germany, Australia and France, all with 21.
  • In the US volumes were down by 30.96%, and values were down by 36.88% compared to Q111.
  • Asia-Pacific also witnessed a decline in both volume and in value during Q112, by 25.01% and 28.57%, respectively.

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