London — Britain avoided a collapse in mergers and acquisitions activity after the shock Brexit vote as foreign companies used sterling’s spectacular devaluation against the dollar to snap up British companies. British mergers and acquisitions (M&A) totalled $177.5bn in 2016, down sharply from the record $394.8bn in 2015 — when the UK data was skewed by two of three biggest global deals — but was in line with the longer five-year trend. Total annual mergers and acquisitions values averaged $139.3bn for the five years to the start of 2015. Britain also retained its place as the third-largest mergers and acquisitions market after the US and China. Behind the headline numbers there was another clear trend: foreign buyers — such as Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox — shopping with dollars for bargains, while domestic UK-to-UK deal-making fell off sharply. "Brexit should never have been talked up as an Armageddon moment for UK mergers and acquisitions, especially with such a shar...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.