Proactive Investors - UK firms have been the third-most targeted globally this year as merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has picked up.
Some US$137.1 billion (£102.4 billion) was spent on such activity in the UK over the first nine months of the year, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence, up 54%.
Most of this came from foreign buyers, which accounted for 72% of the total to take the highest share in three years.
This coincided with a 79% increase in activity, with deals around UK targets equating to 6% of the global total, behind only the US and China.
Falling uncertainty around UK politics and expectations for further interest rate cuts have buoyed the figures this year, LSEG Deals Intelligence senior manager Lucille Jones said.
These “bode well for dealmaker appetites,” Jones added, “and may encourage more companies off the sidelines to pursue acquisitions”.
Property portal Rightmove PLC (LON:RMV) has emerged most recently as a target of Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group, while DS Smith PLC (LON:SMDS) and Darktrace PLC (LON:DARK) have also seen multi-billion bids this year.
Some US$52.1 billion has been spent on ongoing deals from the UK over the year so far, marking an increase of 15%.