The Deloitte US/UK M&A Deal Monitor 1H 2017

Overview

The Deloitte US/UK M&A Deal Monitor follows trends and analyses underlying driving forces in the most active merger and acquisition arena in the world economy today. In our fourth edition we focus on the latest half year of M&A activity (January 2017 to June 2017) between the US and the UK, set in the context of the most recent 8 quarters in the US/UK ‘corridor’.

The level of M&A deal flow between the UK and North America means this is still the biggest bilateral deal corridor in the world by volume. However, for the first time in eight quarters divergent expectations for the near to medium term are emerging. There remains a high degree of confidence that the wider M&A market will remain strong over the next half year, due to high structural demand and supportive financial conditions. However, data show that US dealmaking into the UK has taken a step down.

Key themes

• US dealmaking into the UK has fallen by almost 15% in 1H 2017, with several dealmakers pointing to the Brexit effect.
• UK dealmaking into the US has risen by almost 10% in 1H 2017, with UK investors keen to secure revenue growth in the US.
• Confidence over M&A volumes is high in the US, but more guarded in the UK.
• Technology sector deals continue to provide most of the volume in the corridor, with companies attempting to capture opportunities in ‘Big Data’ and growth in cloud-based services
• California, New York and London remain primary locations for transatlantic dealmakers, but US buyer interest in the UK regions outside London is growing.
• Private equity share of deals versus corporates is falling.

Previous editions

2H 2016 – US/UK M&A Deal Monitor

1H 2016 – US/UK M&A Deal Monitor

2H 2015 – US/UK M&A Deal Monitor