Yahoo Finance Foreign takeovers of UK companies reaches record high
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) quarterly M&A report findings show that foreign takeovers of UK companies reached record levels last year.
In 2016 the ONS tracked 227 foreign takeovers which is the highest annual number since 2011, worth £187.4 billion, the highest total value since records began in 1969.
M&A advisory firm, Livingstone has also released its 2014-2016 Global M&A deals Tracker which breaks down the volume of international M&A deals.
Livingstone reports Chinese acquisitions of UK companies has increased by 215% in the period 2014-2016, although accounting for only one in 20 international acquisitions in the UK marketplace.
[graphiq id=”MyWh8tm5nv” title=”Largest M&A Deals of 2016″ width=”600″ height=”611″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/MyWh8tm5nv” link=”https://www.findthecompany.com/” link_text=”Graphiq” ]
M&A buyers from the Americas are the largest source of international investment in UK businesses, whilst European deals increased by nearly a fifth from 185 to 208, accounting for more than 35% of all inbound deals recorded, according to Livingstone.
The cheap pound and the strong tech tech scene in the UK play a major role in the M&A scene expecting activity to increase in 2017.
Jeremy Furniss, a partner at Livingstone says: “Our findings highlight that M&A activity into the UK has grown at a record pace as investors from Europe, the Americas and Asia take advantage of the cheaper pound to acquire successful companies in a strong economy.”
Furniss highlights the current interest rate environment remains at historically low levels, which in turn has created continued appetite for acquisitions that have the potential to generate solid returns. He adds we see no reason for this to change in 2017.
“This landscape, coupled with the UK’s strong tech scene driving innovation and reacting to disruptive technologies, will continue to encourage further foreign interest in UK businesses this year,” says Furniss.
Written by London-based journalist Tanzeel Akhtar. Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, FT Alphaville, CNBC, Citywire, Euromoney, Interactive Investor.
Disclaimer: The content on this page does not constitute financial advice and is provided for general information purposes only. Nothing on this page should be regarded as an offer to conduct investment business or to buy/sell any investment.
