Partner Article

Mergers and acquisitions at new low

British mergers and acquisitions have dropped dramatically to levels that are the lowest since the 90s.

Research analysed by Grant Thornton has shown that 402 M&A transactions worth a total £23.8m have been recorded in the third quarter of 2011; one third below the previous quarter.

Ian Marwood, corporate finance partner for Grant Thornton in Yorkshire and the North East, said: “Even though it is normal for deal activity to drop in the third quarter, the latest statistics show a drop in the number of takeover bids from domestic, foreign and private equity bidders compared to both the previous quarter and the previous year.

Marwood went on to explain that deals with strong strategic logic, and those that were event driven were still happening.

He said: “On a local level, this has been reflected in the strong performance of the Yorkshire and North East corporate finance team at Grant Thornton, completing five substantial transactions between the last week of June and the first week of September.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .