Mergers and acquisitions

M&A : Outward : Value of disposals : £m

£ 1,657 m

2018 Q4

Release date:

5 March 2019

Next release:

4 June 2019

Mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies: October to December 2018

What's in the bulletin?

• In Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2018, the total value of inward mergers and acquisitions (M&A) was £33.3 billion, the highest value since Quarter 4 2016 (£85.2 billion).
• The total value of inward M&A for the whole of 2018 (Jan to Dec) was £71.1 billion, a sizeable increase on the value reported in 2017 (£35.2 billion), yet considerably lower than the value recorded in 2016 (£190.0 billion).
• The value of outward M&A (UK companies acquiring foreign companies abroad) was £9.9 billion in Quarter 4 2018, a sizeable increase on the value recorded in the previous quarter (£4.3 billion).