Mergers and acquisitions involving British firms fell to a three-year low last year. Deal volumes totalled $355bn, down from $603bn in 2015.
The global backdrop was partly to blame, with fears over Chinese growth last January and jitters over the US presidential election result unnerving investors. The Brexit vote and the immediate resignation of David Cameron “added to the sense of unease”, as Deirdre Hipwell notes in The Times.
Still, it’s hardly all gloom. The value of deals may have slid, but the actual number of transactions was only slightly down on 2015: 2,318 compared to 2,669. Traders should have got used to Brexit uncertainty by now and the fall in sterling means “buying British has never been cheaper”, so more foreign buyers should eye up our market. ITV and industrial software group Aveva are among potential takeover targets this year, says stockbroker AJ Bell.