Mergers And Acquisitions Involving UK Companies - July To September 2024

3rd December 2024

Transactions that result in a change of ultimate control of the target company and have a value of £1 million or more.

The provisional combined number of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving a change in majority share ownership was 436 during Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep) 2024; this was 43 fewer than during Quarter 2 (Apr to Jun) 2024 (479).

There were an estimated total 179 domestic and cross-border acquisitions involving a change in majority share ownership during July 2024, before falling to 130 in August and declining further to 127 during September 2024.

The value of inward M&A (foreign companies acquiring UK companies) in Quarter 3 2024 was £7.8 billion, £1.1 billion higher than the previous quarter (£6.7 billion).

The value of outward M&A (UK companies acquiring foreign companies) was £4.0 billion in Quarter 3 2024, £0.2 billion less than Quarter 2 2024 (£4.2 billion).

Domestic M&A (UK companies acquiring other UK companies) during Quarter 3 2024 was £2.1 billion, £0.9 billion lower than Quarter 2 2024 (£3.0 billion).

Monthly mergers and acquisitions
The provisional combined number of monthly domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) saw a notable increase during July 2024 (179), before seeing a sharp decrease in August 2024 (130) and declining further during September 2024 (127). The provisional estimate of total combined M&A in September 2024 (127) was lower than in all months since December 2023 (108).

Domestic monthly M&A recorded 82 transactions in July 2024. This decreased to 57 during August 2024, before decreasing to 52 in September 2024.

Outward monthly M&A saw a small decline in the numbers between July (21) and August (18), before increasing to 27 acquisitions in September 2024.

Inward monthly M&A saw 76 acquisitions during July 2024 and fell to 55 in August and 48 in September.

The Bank of England's summary of business conditions for Quarter 3 (July to September) 2024 reported that:
"Overall, investment intentions continue to gradually improve and are positive for the year ahead, though there are some for whom the outlook remains highly uncertain. Professional services firms report steady revenue growth driven by reasonable, but weakening, fee growth and modest, but rising, volume growth, as some corporate transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, have increased slightly. While this means some increase in the demand for funding, overall corporate financing activity remains flat on a year ago".

The same report stated that: "Competition continues among banks to lend to the most creditworthy businesses. Contacts report there is greater willingness to lend to businesses for investment purposes, given an improved economic outlook. Mainstream banks are showing greater appetite for mid-market lending and there are signs of rising mid-market private equity activity and of more appetite for tech and early-stage finance, from a low base. Access to credit is still a challenge for small and medium enterprises and remains difficult for firms with high debt, low profitability or limited security."

Inward mergers and acquisitions
The provisional value of inward mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of UK companies by foreign companies during Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep) 2024 was £7.8 billion. This was an increase of £1.1 billion, compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2024 (£6.7 billion), and £3.0 billion more than in Quarter 3 2023 (£4.8 billion).

A notable inward acquisition, which completed in Quarter 3 2024, was the acquisition of Tyman Plc of the UK by Quanex building products corporation of the United States.

Number of quarterly inward mergers and acquisitions transactions involving UK companies
There were an estimated 179 completed inward M&A transactions involving a change in majority share ownership in Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep) 2024. This showed a small decrease of 8 on the previous quarter (187), and 30 more than Quarter 3 2023 (149).

Outward mergers and acquisitions
The provisional estimated value of outward mergers and acquisitions (M&A) (UK companies acquiring foreign companies) was £4.0 billion in Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep) 2024. This was £0.2 billion lower than in the previous quarter (£4.2 billion), and £1.9 billion higher than Quarter 3 2023 (£2.1 billion).

One notable outward acquisition, which completed in Quarter 3 2024, was the acquisition of Amolyt Pharma SAS of France by AstraZeneca Plc.

For many more details go to the full ONS report HERE