UK: Are big merger deals drying up after Brexit?

The UK’s post-Brexit economy risks missing out on merger and acquisition deals, with investors shying away from political risk in the wake of the June 23rd vote.

Early-stage M&A activity jumped 19.8% in mainland Europe in the four weeks after Brexit.

But deal activity in Britain fell 7.4% during the same period, according to a report by M&A analysts Intralinks.

And that trend looks set to continue. Fewer investors want to take a risk on UK assets before the country’s new relationships with its trading partners are thrashed out.

Here is Intralinks on its survey of more than 1,000 dealmakers:

“While a majority of respondents expect demand for European assets over the next six months either to remain the same or increase as a result of Brexit, their responses are very different when asked about demand for UK assets.

A clear majority expects demand for UK assets to decrease over the next six months as a result of Brexit, with German respondents being the most negative. Clearly most dealmakers feel that uncertainty over the impact of Brexit on the UK outweighs the benefits of reduced valuations and a weaker UK currency.”

Full Content: Yahoo Finance

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