The Deloitte US/UK M&A deal monitor

Transatlantic M&A activity in 2015

2015 was a record breaking year for global mergers and acquisitions with around $4.3 trillion worth of deals announced. The M&A wave was largely led by the US, fuelled by a resurgent economy, strong consumer spending and low unemployment.

This provided a massive boost in confidence and US companies announced around $1.7 trillion worth of deals, the highest in 15 years.

Despite rising interest rates in the US and the possibility of a modest slowing of US growth, the driver factors behind US/UK deal making are set to remain strong.

Breakdown of US/UK merger and acquisition deals in 2015

The total deal volumes in the US/UK M&A deal corridor rose slightly in each of the last four quarters to Q4 2015, with 130 deals in the final quarter.

In terms of comparison, UK outbound deals have run roughly double the value of US outbound deals over the first three quarters of 2015, while US outbound deals led by value in Q4 2015 due to the US acquisition of Visa Europe.

Overall, US outbound investors do more deals, but the total disclosed value is lower.

London and New York are the most active hubs of M&A activity, however UK outbound investors are targeting a wider geographical spread in the US.

US/UK M&A conditions: key facts

• Three out of every 10 US outbound deals are backed by private equity
• The TMT sector is the biggest M&A arena by volume
• Tight US operating conditions are driving US healthcare corporates to expand UK operations
• Within the manufacturing sector, US outbound M&A leads by volume and value
• In financial services US buyers are augmenting existing UK portfolios
• The search for yield is creating alternative financing opportunities
• Global conditions currently support US/UK corridor deals and this will continue
  into 2016
• Total disclosed deal value is now at a 10-quarter high
  

* where value is disclosed