Historically Low Level Of M&As

There were 37 domestic acquisitions involving a change of majority share ownership in Q2 2014 compared with 39 in Q1 2014 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. Domestic acquisitions means UK companies acquiring other UK companies.

There were 19 inward acquisitions, the lowest number of inward acquisitions since Q1 2013 and 17 outward acquisitions from 34 in the previous quarter. Inward acquisitions means UK companies acquired by foreign companies and outward meaning foreign companies acquired by UK companies.

Only companies with a value of over £1m are included and only transactions which resulted in a change of ultimate control.

Significant acquisitions means transactions valued at £100m or more and there was only one such domestic transaction as Babcock International Group acquired Avincis Mission Critical Services Topco Ltd disposed of by World Helicopters SARL of Luxembourg. Other inward transactions included the acquisition of F&C Asset Management Plc by the Bank of Montreal, the acquisition of Oval Ltd by Arthur J Gallagher of the US, the Benson Group by Graphic Packaging Holding Company Inc of the US and of Innovia Holdings by Fairfield LP of Guernsey.

Outward transactions included the acquisition of Arthrocare Corporation of the US by Smith and Nephew Plc, the disposal of Pharmaceutical Devices and Prescription Retail Packing Divisions of France Germany and the US by Rexam Plc, the acquisition of Rexam Pharmaceutical Devices and Prescription Retail Packing Divisions of France, Germany and the US by Montagu Private Equity LLP, the acquisition of Ave Corporation Holdings Ltd of China by RPC Group Plc, the acquisition of Studley Inc of the US by Savills Plc and the disposal of QinetiQ North America Inc by QinetiQ Group Plc.

M&As for the next bulletin include information regarding news of Vodafone's acquisition of Groupo Corporativo Ono, Spain's largest cable operator, the full share ownership take-over of Pizza Express by Hony Capital of Beijing, full control of the House of Fraser going to the Sanpower Group of China and a recommended all share merger of Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail Plc.

All Time Low In M&A

Domestic and cross border transactions involving UK companies hit an all time low in Q4 2013 with only 99 M&As the lowest since Q1 1987 when the lists were first collected. There were 62 domestic acquisitions which involved a change of majority ownership between UK companies.

During 2013 there were 450 domestic and cross border transactions involving UK companies a notable decrease on the 965 of 2011. There were 240 domestic acquisitions for 2013 to the value of £7.7bn from £3.4bn in 2012.

Foreign companies acquired 28 UK companies in Q4 2013 a decrease of 27 compared with the 55 of the previous year. The total value of inward acquisitions was £31.1bn in 2013 from £17.4bn in 2012, similar to the levels of 2009 and 2011.

There were 4 outward acquisitions abroad by UK companies in Q4 2013 down from 7 in Q3. The total number of outward acquisitions made in 2013 was 50, down from 122 in 2012.

Slight Increase In M&A Transactions

There were, in total, 116 domestic and cross-border transactions involving UK companies during the third quarter of 2013 according to the ONS statistical release on mergers and acquisitions. The number remains level when compared with the second quarter and there is a slight increase when compared with the 112 of same period last year.

There were 60 domestic acquisitions involving a change in majority share ownership between UK domestic companies. While the number remained similar to Q2 2013 (64) the value fell from £2.1bn in Q2 to £0.8bn in Q3.

There were 46 acquisitions of foreign companies by UK companies involving a change of majority share ownership, an increase of 39% compared with the previous quarter. The value of inward acquisitions fell considerable from £23.7bn in Q2 to £2.1bn in Q3. One significant transaction was however responsible for the spike in Q2 2013.

There were also 7 inward disposals and 3 outward disposals.

UK M & A Lowest For Some Time

The overall value of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies decreased in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the last quarter and remains low. Overseas acquisitions by UK companies fell to their lowest quarterly level since this series of statistics began in 1987. The value of acquisitions in the UK by foreign companies also reached the lowest level (£3.9bn) since Q2 2010 when it was £2.8bn. Domestic acquisitions fell from £1.8bn to £1.1bn, the lowest since 2009. The net value of cross border transactions was -£5.3bn. What it means is that foreign companies invested more in UK companies in inward investment, than UK companies invested abroad in outward investment. The most significant transaction abroad by a UK company was the disposal by Old Mutual Plc of Skandia Insurance Company Ltd (Sweden) for £2.1bn. The most significant inward transaction was the acquisition of Northern Rock Plc by Vigin Group Holdings Ltd. Other significant transaction included the acquisition of Kalahari Minerals Plc by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holdings Corporation. The most significant transaction by a UK company in the UK was the acquisition of Encore Oil Plc by Premier Oil Plc for a reported value of £0.3bn.

UK Companies Spending Big Abroad

UK companies expenditure on acquisitions abroad in Q2 2011 reached its second highest since Q1 2008 spending total of £10.2bn even though it represents a fall of 51% from £20.7bn. The 6 month figure of over £30bn is also above any 6 monthly period in 2009 or 2010. The number of acquisitions fell from 58 to 41.

The number of inward acquisitions increased from 43 to 46 and to a value of £8.5bn in the second quarter. The value of domestic acquisitions rose from £1.3bn in Q1 to £2.2bn in Q2 2011. The number of acquisitions fell from 68 to 59.

The largest transaction abroad by a UK company was the acquisition of Pride International of the USA by Ensco Plc for about £4.6bn. The acquisition of Netto Foodstores by Wal-Mart Stores Inc for £778m was a significant transaction in the Uk by the US company. Boparan Holdings acquisition of Northern Foods for £343m and Carillion acquisition of EAGA Plc for £298m were other significant transactions in the UK by UK companies.

The data is often affected by one or two very large transactions which may skew the trends underlying the data.