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Despite evidence of a global slowdown in M&A activity between 2018-2019, the same does not appear to hold true for takeovers subject to the City Code on Mergers and Acquisitions. Last year, there were a total of 91 transactions announced during the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 (Q1-Q4 2018), with 79 of these being announced between Q1-Q3 2018. Since 1 January 2019 to 30 September 2019 (Q1-Q3 2019), 86 transactions have already been announced.

Our research indicates a sharp contrast when comparing Q1 2019 with Q1 2018, which saw a 24% increase in deal volume, from 25 deals announced in Q1 2018 to 31 deals announced in Q1 2019. However, transaction activity appeared to remain steady year on year for Q2 (1 April-30 June) and Q3 (1 July-30 September) figures in 2018 and 2019. In Q2 2018, there were 29 deals announced, compared with 28 deals announced in Q2 2019. Q3 2019 saw a slight increase on Q3 2018, with 27 deals in comparison with 25.

The increase in public M&A activity, despite Brexit-related political and economic uncertainty, may be down to a number of factors, including easier access to debt finance and a weaker pound making assets cheaper to foreign buyers. The Market Tracker Team will report in more detail on deal statistics during the period 1 July 2019 to 30 September 2019 and other emerging trends in our upcoming Q3 M&A Trend Report.

For further information on trends emerging in takeovers transactions during in the first half of 2019, see our half-year report.