news release
Nottingham, 05 July 2012 - Experian®, the global information services company, today revealed that the total value of UK mergers, acquisitions, flotations, rights issues and placements was £141 billion during the first six months of 2012 - an increase of 29 per cent on the total disclosed value during the same period in 2011.
This was led primarily by an increase in transactions worth £1 billion or more. During the first half of 2012, 24 large deals were announced worth £92.3 billion in total involving some of the UK’s largest companies. 16 of these were proposed acquisitions of UK companies by overseas firms.
During the same period last year, there were 18 such deals announced worth £51.3 billion. Eight of these involved the proposed acquisition of a UK company by a foreign investor.
Meanwhile, the total volume of deals announced across the UK as a whole during the first half of 2012 fell by just over 10 per cent – from 2,339 transactions in the first half of 2011 to 2,084 so far this year.
The only areas in the UK to see the number of transactions rise year-on-year were the South West (where deal volumes rose by 17 per cent), Northern Ireland (up 12 per cent) and Scotland (up three per cent).
The UK mid-market (transactions worth between £10 million and £100 million) and small segments (transactions worth between £0.5milion and £10 million) saw declines in both volume and value in HY1 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. The mid-market was down by around 20 per cent in volume and value, with small deals down by just over 12 per cent for both.
Around 47 per cent of all European transactions included a UK element – either acquiring, merging with or being bought by a UK based company - up from 43 per cent in HY 2011. In terms of value, deals involving UK companies contributed almost 35 per cent of the European total for HY 2012.
Wendy Driver, Business Development Manager at Experian UK&I, said: “The number of multi-billion pound deals involving top-level corporate UK businesses that have taken place recently highlights an increased interest in the UK market and reflects the quality of UK businesses. The recent acquisition of Weetabix by Chinese giant Bright Food is just one notable example of this trend.
“Focusing on the volume of deals across the UK, while it has lessened slightly, this has mirrored a worldwide trend.”
Table 1: Comparison of Regional Deal Activities HY 2012
UK areas |
Volume of deals announced |
Value of deals announced (£m) | ||
HY 2012 |
HY 2011 |
HY 2012 |
HY 2011 | |
Greater London |
672 |
908 |
88,154 |
47,175 |
South East |
262 |
369 |
10,980 |
21,940 |
South West |
322 |
276 |
52,682 |
23,254 |
East Anglia |
97 |
127 |
1,549 |
2,445 |
Midlands |
280 |
290 |
11,376 |
7,395 |
Yorkshire |
155 |
179 |
695 |
1,941 |
North West |
288 |
339 |
3,021 |
6,830 |
North East |
56 |
70 |
464 |
1,641 |
Wales |
65 |
89 |
1,997 |
1,857 |
Scotland |
176 |
171 |
10,840 |
5,934 |
Northern Ireland |
19 |
17 |
691 |
232 |
UK wide |
2,084 |
2,339 |
140,962 |
109,235 |
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Table 2: Rest of World summary HY 2012 | ||||
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Rest of World |
Volume of deals announced |
Value of deals announced (£m) | ||
HY 2012 |
HY 2011 |
HY 2012 |
HY 2011 | |
Europe |
4,393 |
5,444 |
405,029 |
368,912 |
USA |
3,088 |
3,339 |
280,880 |
367,176 |
Asia |
4,410 |
5,445 |
235,049 |
313,953 |
Table 3: Top five countries dealing with the UK in HY 2012
Country |
Proportion of deals |
Value (£m) |
Volume |
USA |
13.24% |
30,958 |
276 |
Germany |
2.74% |
3,418 |
57 |
France |
2.54% |
8,151 |
53 |
Canada |
1.82% |
12,052 |
38 |
Netherlands |
1.78% |
3,915 |
37 |
For more detailed reports, please visit: http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer-information/experian-corpfin-resources.html
Ms Serj Heera
PR Manager
0115 992 2773/07837 652169
Notes to editors
The information was compiled and analysed by Experian Corpfin.
*Where consideration disclosed
Deal information is based on transactions announced between 1st January and 25th June, 2012 for 2012 figures, and between 1st January and 30th June 2011 for 2011 figures. Target, bidder or parent of either party must be located in the region that 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. SME analysis is based on companies with a turnover of up to £20million including undisclosed. Large company analysis is based on companies with a turnover of more than £20million.