UK Mergers and Acquisitions Fall in Q2 2010, According to Experian

UK Mergers and Acquisitions Fall in Q2 2010, According to Experian  

Nottingham, 01 July 2010 — Experian^®, the global information services company, today released its latest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity capital market (ECM - flotation, rights issue and placements) data covering Q2 2010.

UK Highlights

• The UK saw a 15.5 per cent decrease in the number of UK M&A and ECM transactions announced during Q2 2010 compared to Q1 2010 (from 1,121 deals to 947 deals).
• £46.2billion worth of transactions were announced in the UK in Q2 2010, down by 8.7per cent on Q1 2010.
• Cenkos Securities was the best performing financial advisor by volume with 15 deals and Morgan Stanley worked on the highest value of deals worth a total of just under £15billion.
• DLA Piper advised on the highest number of transactions (18) in Q2 2010, while the leading legal advisor by value was Herbert Smith with deals worth a total of £13.3billion.

In comparison to Europe

• Europe saw a 17.5per cent decrease in European M&A and ECM transactions announced during Q2 2010 with only 2,375 deals compared to 2,879 transactions in Q1 2010.
• €148.7billion worth of transactions were announced in Europe in Q2 2010, down by
• 16.1per cent on the €177.3billion recorded in Q1 2010.

Wendy Smith, Business Development Manager at Experian Corpfin, said: “The wait for the upturn in corporate finance activity continues, with our research showing a further decline in the overall deal activity across the UK and Europe.  With the exception of the Midlands and Northern Ireland, each region has undergone a decline in activity, continuing the overall downward annual trend.  Again, the stagnation of deal flow in Q1 is principally a result of a lack of funding. 

“This situation has not been helped by the customary uncertainty leading up to the General Election, although the steps taken by the new government may provide some much-needed confidence.”

UK deal sizes

Large deals (£100million* +)

• A total of 67 M&A and ECM deals each with a consideration of over £100million* were recorded in Q2 2010, an 11.8per cent decrease compared to the Q1 2010 figure of 76 large deals announced. Q2 2009 saw a total of 79 large transactions announced, which represents a decrease for Q2 2010 of 15.2per cent.
• The deal values of large transactions have decreased to £40.585billion, down by 7.9per cent in comparison to £44.046billion announced in Q1 2010 and down by 31.4per cent in comparison to £59.2billion recorded in Q2 2009.

Mid-cap deals (£10-£100million*)

• In the mid-cap range both deal volumes and values decreased in Q2 2010 compared to Q1 2010. A total of 148 transactions worth £4.9billion represented a 17.8per cent and 14.8per cent decrease respectively in volume and value terms on the 180 deals valued at £5.7billion recorded in the previous quarter.
• The Q2 2010 volume and value figures were also down on Q2 2009, when 167 transactions worth £5.8billion were recorded.

Small-cap deals (under £10million*)

• Small deals accounted for 238 announced transactions and a deal value of £773.4million in Q2 2010 in contrast to Q1 2010s 296 deals worth £882.2million.
• A total of 283 small deals accounting for £802.6million were announced in Q2 2009.

Table 1: Comparison of regional deal activity

Table 2: Financial advisor deal activities Q2 2010

Table 3: Legal advisor deal activities Q2 2010

For a more detailed report, please visit: http://www.corpfinworldwide.com/web/MaAndIpo.jsp

ENDS

Contact:

Ms Serj Heera

0115 992 2773/07837 652169

serjeet.heera@uk.experian.com

Notes to editors

*Where consideration disclosed

Deal information is based on transactions announced between 1^st April and 24^th June 2010 for quarter two figures and 1^st January and 31^st March 2010 for quarter one figures. Target, bidder or parent of either party must be located in the region which is analysed in order to be included. The deal value of transactions covered in this report is £500,000 or above. Deal activity analysis referring to deal values is based on disclosed actual figures only.

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

For more information, visit http://www.experian.co.uk .

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2010 was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil. 

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com .