M&A activity slides further as interest in British firms drops
BRITISH and foreign firms both put even less cash into UK companies in the second quarter of this year, extending the market’s long dry spell that began with the financial crisis.
The volume of deals fell 39 per cent compared with the same period of 2011, according to official data.
Foreign firms carried out 42 mergers or acquisitions of UK firms, worth £2.6bn in total, down from 68 deals worth £5.1bn in the second quarter last year.
And domestic firms carried out 71 deals worth £0.9bn, down from 94 mergers or acquisitions worth £3.3bn in the same period of 2011.
UK firms also cut back on their purchases of foreign firms, recording 36 deals worth £3.9bn – up from £0.8bn in the first quarter, but well down on the 75 deals with £11bn in the second quarter of 2011.
The data comes a day after City A.M. revealed merger and acquisitions analysts in major investment banks have seen bonuses fall 25 per cent in the last year, in large part due to continued low transaction volumes.