Mergers and Acquisitions involving UK companies: Quarter 4 October to December 2015

During 2015 (Jan to Dec) the total number and value of successful domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving UK companies continued to show low levels of activity compared with those seen before the 2008 to 2009 economic downturn.

During Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2015 the total number of successful domestic and cross border M&A involving UK companies remained relatively flat when compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2015 and also with the same quarter of the previous year (Quarter 4 2014).

In Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2015,136 completed acquisitions of foreign companies made by UK companies (outward M&A) were reported, compared with 113 during 2014, a year-on-year increase of 20%.

Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2015 saw an increase in the total number of completed outward cross border M&A (33) compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2015 (22), showing a quarter-on-quarter increase of 50%.

During Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2015 the number of both inward cross border (24) and domestic M&A (41) saw levels of activity fall by 27% and 25% respectively when compared with the numbers reported for Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2015.

We are constantly aiming to improve this release and its associated commentary. We would welcome any feedback you might have and would be particularly interested in knowing how you make use of these data to inform our work. Please contact us via email: fdi@ons.gov.uk or telephone Michael Hardie on +44 (0)1633 455923.

The estimates produced for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are vital and important components of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows data (inward and outward) and which is used to calculate the UK Balance of Payments published in the Blue Book and Pink Book.

This release covers mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions that have been successfully completed, result in a change of ultimate control of the target company, and have a value of £1 million or more. Information on the number and value of transactions are reported, in addition to whether transactions are acquisitions or disposals.

Figures relating to mergers are included within acquisitions and those relating to demergers are contained within disposals. These statistics are presented on a current price basis, which are prices as they were at the time of measurement and are therefore not adjusted for inflation.

The quarterly numbers and value of M&A activity are prone to large quarter-on-quarter movements, as these data relate to specific ‘one off’ only transactions. For example, one quarter can be heavily impacted by one large transaction. Therefore it can be more appropriate to analyse trends over time.

During Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2015 the total number of successful domestic and cross border M&A involving UK companies remained relatively flat when compared with Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2015 and also with the same quarter of the previous year (Quarter 4 2014).There were a total of 107 completed domestic and cross-border M&A involving UK companies in Q4 2015. This total includes 41 domestic acquisitions, 33 outward acquisitions, 9 outward disposals and, 24 inward acquisitions. This represents a decrease of 11% on the previous quarter (Quarter 3 2015), when 120 completed domestic and cross border M&A was reported and also a year-on-year decrease of 7% on the number recorded in Quarter 4 2014 (129) (Figure 1).

Overall 2015 (Jan to Dec) saw total mergers and acquisitions activity involving UK companies remain at lower levels than experienced during the depth of the 2008 to 2009 economic downturn. There were a total of 447 domestic and cross border acquisitions which completed during 2015 compared with 412 in 2014, an increase of 35 acquisitions. This represents an 8% year-on-year increase overall of total M&A activity involving UK companies.

Recent M&A statistics can be put into context by comparing the low levels of recorded M&A activity involving UK companies over consecutive 5 year intervals since 1997 (Table 1A below).

Average Outward M&A

The average number of outward acquisitions during 1997 to 2001 (5 year interval) were reported as 128 completed acquisitions with an average value of £159 million per transaction. The average number of outward acquisitions continued to see a decline during the following 10 years reporting 67 outward acquisitions with an average value of £119 million, by the end of 2011. For the period Quarter 1 2012 to Quarter 3 2015 the average number of outward acquisitions fell further to report 26 with an average value of £178 million per transaction.

Average Inward M&A

During the 5 year period 1997 to 2001 the average number of inward acquisitions was reported as 54 with an average value of £183 million. The following 10 years (2002 to 2011) experienced relatively stable levels of M&A activity before reporting an average number of 34 inward acquisitions with an average value per transaction of £172 million during Quarter 1 2012 to Quarter 3 2015.

Average Domestic M&A

During the same 15 year period (1997 to 2011) the average number of domestic acquisitions saw a similar downward trend as reported by both outward and inward M&A. The average number of domestic M&A for 1997 to 2001 was 136 with an average value of £80 million per transaction before falling to an average of 57 domestic acquisitions by Quarter 3 2015.

Notes for Summary

1. Quarter 1 is January to March, Quarter 2 is April to June 2015, Quarter 3 is July to September 2015 and Quarter 4 is October to December 2015.

There were 41 completed acquisitions of UK companies by other UK companies in Quarter 4 2015 involving a change in majority ownership. This is similar to the number of completed acquisitions recorded in Quarter 1 2015 (45) and represents a marginal decrease between both quarters of approximately 9%.

During Quarter 4 2015 the value of domestic M&A was reported as £0.7 billion. This is a similar value previously recorded at Quarter 3 2012 (£0.6 billion). However, the Quarter 4 2015 value of domestic M&A (£0.7 billion) shows a considerable decrease of 36% when compared with the value reported at Quarter 3 2015 (£1.1 billion).

Domestic M&A activity showed a slight rise of 4% during 2015 (197acqusitions), increasing on the low number previously recorded in 2014(189 acquisitions) although remaining at lower levels reported during the years before the 2008-09 economic downturn.

The estimates for the total number of domestic M&A continued to be dominated by acquisitions of independently controlled companies. The acquisition of an independent company means the purchase of a company in its entirety, whereas the acquisition of a subsidiary means the purchase of only a part of a company, between 50.1% and 100%.

Of the total 197 successful domestic acquisitions 156 (79%) involved independent controlled UK companies, while 41 (21%) were for acquisitions of subsidiaries that were part of larger companies.

UK companies spent £6.2 billion when acquiring other UK companies during 2015. The vast majority of this expenditure (74%) involved cash transactions, while acquisitions involving the issue of ordinary shares accounted for 22%, with the remaining 4% representing issues of fixed interest securities (Table 9).

The number and value of acquisitions of UK companies by foreign companies (inward M&A) remained at flat levels of activity in all four quarters of 2015.

There were 24 successful inward acquisitions involving a change of majority share ownership in Quarter 4 2015, similar to the number reported in Quarter 1 2015 (28) and Quarter 2 2015 (29) However, Quarter 4 2015 recorded the lowest number of quarterly inward M&A since Quarter 1 2013 (19) and some 27% lower than the number recorded previously at Quarter 3 2015 (33 acquisitions).

During Quarter 4 2015, the total value for inward acquisitions also declined slightly, falling to approximately £8.0 billion, compared with £8.2 billion recorded in the previous quarter (Quarter 3 2015).

During 2015 there were a total of 114 acquisitions of UK companies by foreign companies, a small increase of 4 when compared with the number recorded in 2014 (110), although on a par with the number reported in 2009 (112 acquisitions) during the period of economic downturn.

The majority of the 114 inward acquisitions of UK companies which completed in 2015 were made by companies in The Americas (53%) and Europe (30%).

The number of completed acquisitions abroad by UK companies stayed consistent between Quarter 2 2015 and Quarter 4 2015, yet continued to show relatively low levels of outward M&A activity. There were 33 acquisitions abroad involving UK companies during the final quarter of 2015, broadly comparable to Quarter 4 2014 (35) and Quarter 2 2015 (32).

During the fourth quarter of 2015 UK companies spent £2.2 billion on acquisitions of foreign companies abroad, compared with previous quarter (Quarter 3 2015) when £1.8 billion was reported, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 22%.

Successful outward M&A activity experienced an upturn during 2015 for both the number and value of acquisitions involving a change of majority share ownership.

In 2015 there were a total of 136 acquisitions of foreign companies abroad made by UK companies, compared with 113 acquisitions recorded previously in 2014; a year-on-year increase of 20%. However, compared with both 2010 (199) and 2011 (286), the number of acquisitions have in fact fallen.

Of the 136 outward acquisitions which completed in 2015 the most noticeable countries in which UK companies undertook M&A were in Europe (44%) and The Americas (43%).

In Quarter 4 2015 there were 41 acquisitions of UK companies by other UK companies that involved a change in majority ownership, similar to the number of completed acquisitions recorded in Quarter 1 2015 (45). Comparison between Quarter 3 2015 and Quarter 4 2015 shows that domestic M&A has fallen representing a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 25%.

Of these 41 domestic transactions there were 37 acquisitions involving UK independent companies representing the majority (90%) of total acquisitions in Quarter 4 2015, while acquisitions of subsidiaries involving UK company groups (4) accounted for the remaining 10%.

During Quarter 4 2015 the total value of domestic M&A was reported as £0.7 billion, a decrease of 42% when compared with the value reported in the previous quarter (Quarter 3 2015) of £1.2 billion.

Notable domestic acquisitions, valued at £100 million or more, that took place during Q4 2015:

The Paragon Group Of Companies Plc of the UK acquired Five Arrows Leasing Group Limited of the UK.

Convivality Retail Plc of the UK acquired Matthew Clark (Holdings) Ltd of the UK.

Trinity Mirror Plc of the UK acquired Local World Holdings Ltd of the UK.

Throughout 2015 the estimates for the numbers and values of domestic acquisitions remained relatively stable, reporting similar levels of M&A activity between Quarter 1 and Quarter 3 2015.

Of the 197 acquisitions of UK companies by other UK companies during 2015, it was notable that Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 2015 saw the highest level of M&A activity, reporting111 acquisitions. In contrast, the number of domestic acquisitions in both Quarter 1 and Quarter 4 2015 reported a total of 86 reflecting a difference of 25 acquisitions.

The total value of domestic acquisitions for 2015 was £6.2 billion, with approximately £4.4 billion being reported between Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 2015. Quarter 2 2015 saw the highest level of domestic M&A, reporting £2.7 billion; a small number of successful acquisitions with values over £100 million accounted for the majority of this value.

There were 197 acquisitions involving a change of majority ownership in 2015, an increase of 8 on the previous year (189).

The total value of domestic acquisitions in 2015 was £6.2 billion. This shows a decrease of 22% when compared with the value of £8.0 billion reported in 2014 and remains well below the values reported before the 2008-09 economic downturn.

Overall UK domestic M&A activity during 2015 has continued to remain at low levels of activity, a trend which was first seen in 2009 when the total value of domestic M&A was reported to be £12.2 billion.

It is possible to split out the number of domestic mergers and acquisitions into those made by independently controlled companies and those which are subsidiaries. The acquisition of an independent company means the purchase of a company in its entirety, whereas the acquisition of a subsidiary means the purchase of only a part of a company, between 50.1% and 100%.

During 2015 there were 156 acquisitions of UK independently controlled companies worth £4.1 billion, compared with 150 acquisitions valued at £6.0 billion reported in 2014.

The number and value of acquisitions for domestic subsidiaries increased slightly in 2015 reporting 41 acquisitions worth £2.2 billion compared with 39 acquisitions worth £2.0 billion in 2014.

Notable domestic acquisitions, valued at £100 million or more, that took place during 2015:

Quarter 1 2015

TPG Capital LLP of the UK acquired Prezzo Plc of the UK.

Bridgepoint Advisers Group Ltd of the UK acquired Gondola Central Ltd of the UK.

Ophir Energy Plc of the UK acquired Salamander Energy Plc of the UK.

Coalfield Resources Plc of the UK acquired Harworth Estates Property Group Ltd of the UK.

Quarter 2 2015

Towry Finance Co Ltd of the UK acquired Ashcourt Rowan Plc of the UK.

Kier Group Plc of the UK acquired MRBL Ltd of the UK.

Circassia Pharmaceuticals Plc of the UK acquired Prosonix Ltd of the UK.

Greene King Plc of the UK acquired Spirit Pub Company Plc of the UK.

Quarter 3 2015

Polypipe Group Plc of the UK acquired Nu-Oval Acquisitions 1 Ltd (Nuaire) of the UK

Daisy Group Holdings Ltd of the UK acquired Phoenix IT Group Plc of the UK

Between Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 2015, the number of UK companies acquired by foreign companies (inward M&A) fell by approximately 27%. There were 24 completed inward acquisitions recorded in Quarter 4 2015, compared with 33 in the previous quarter, showing a continued decline for inward M&A activity since Quarter 3 2013 when 59 acquisitions were reported.

The value of acquisitions in the UK made by foreign companies (inward M&A) between Quarter 3 (£8.2 billion) and Quarter 4 2015(£8.0 billion) saw a slight decrease of 2%. However, the highest value for inward M&A was seen during Quarter 2 2015, when £9.8 billion worth of acquisitions were completed.

The following inward acquisitions, valued at £100 million or more, took place during Quarter 4 2015:

The Paragon Group of Companies of France acquired Five Arrows Leasing Group Ltd of the UK.

Nikkei Inc of Japan acquired Financial Times Group Ltd of the UK.

Platform Speciality Products Corporation of the USA acquired Alent Plc of the UK.

Marsh & Mclenna Companies Inc of the USA acquired Jelf Group Plc of the UK.

Terra Firma Investments (GP) 2 Ltd on behalf of funds of Guernsey acquired Infinis Energy Plc of the UK.

Entertainment One Ltd of Canada acquired Astley Baker Davies Ltd of the UK.

Steris Corporation of the USA acquired Synergy Health Plc of the UK.

Interoute Communications Holdings Ltd of Switzerland acquired Easynet Limited of the UK.

Providence Equity Partners VII-A LP/Providence VII Global Holding of the Cayman Islands acquired Chime Communications Ltd of the UK

Carlyle Group Management LLC (US) of the USA acquired The Innovation Group Plc of the UK.

The quarterly estimates for the number and value of disposals of foreign companies made by UK companies (inward disposals) during Quarter 4 2015 have been suppressed in this bulletin to avoid any potential disclosure in this type of M&A activity.

The comparison of yearly trends for inward M&A shows that the estimate for the number of completed UK acquisitions in 2015(114) reported a similar level to that seen during 2009 and 2014 when the numbers of acquisitions were reported as 112 and 110 respectively. Since 1988, inward M&A activity increased steadily until reaching a peak in 2007 (269 acquisitions) before then seeing a gradual decline of inward activity during 2008 (252 acquisitions) which has continued year-on-year through to 2015.

Further analysis of the trends in the value of inward M&A shows foreign companies spent £31.7 billion on acquisitions of UK companies during 2015.This represents a considerable increase of £16.5 billion when compared with the value of £15.0 billion previously reported in 2014.

Historically the values of inward acquisitions have recorded volatile levels of activity since figures were first published in 1986. The largest value for inward acquisitions (£82.1 billion) was reported in 2007 and thereafter a downward trend evolved with values gradually declining to the low values reported in 2012 (£17.4 billion) and 2014 (£15.0 billion).

During 2015, the number and value of disposals of UK companies by foreign companies involving a change in majority ownership saw an increase of activity, reporting 31 disposals valued at £7.0 billion.

Other inward notable transactions, valued at £100 million, which took place during 2015:

QUARTER 1 2015

Vidrala SA of Spain acquired Encirc Ltd of the UK.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) acquired Standard Bank Plc of the UK

Standard Bank Group Plc of Luxembourg disposed of Standard Bank Plc of the UK.

Fortune Dynasty Holdings Ltd of the British Virgin Islands acquired Fortune Oil Plc of the UK.

De Persgroep Publishing N.V. of Belgium acquired Mecom Group Plc of the UK.

Vista equity partners fund ULP of the USA acquired Advanced Computer Software Group Ltd of the UK.

Stork Holdco LP of Bermuda acquired Songbird Estates Plc of the UK

Quarter 2 2015

Nikon Corporation of Japan acquired Optos Plc of the UK.

Slater and Gordon Ltd of Australia acquired Professional Services Division of the UK.

Brother Industries Ltd of Japan acquired Domino Printing Sciences plc of the UK.

Verisk Analytics Inc of the United States acquired Wood Mackenzie Ltd of the UK.

Banco de Sabadell S.A. of Spain acquired TSB Banking Group Plc of the UK.

Frasers Centerpoint Ltd of Singapore acquired MHDV Holdings (UK) Ltd of the UK.

Associated Newspapers Ltd of Bermuda acquired Ulysses Enterprises Ltd of the UK.

Wumei Holdings Inc of China acquired CMW (UK) Ltd of the UK.

KSL Capital Partners International of The Cayman Islands disposed of MHDV Holdings (UK) Ltd of the UK

Actavis Plc of Ireland acquired Auden McKenzie Holdings Ltd of the UK.

Quarter 3 2015

Ferrero International SA of Luxembourg acquired Thorntons Plc of the UK

Qualcomm Incorporated of the USA acquired CSR Plc of the UK

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc of the USA acquired Liz Earle Beauty Co Ltd of the UK

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc of the USA acquired Alfa Aesar Research Chemical Business (UK) of the UK

JBS S.A. of Brazil acquired Moy Park Holdings (Europe) Ltd of the UK

Argyle Street Management Holdings Limited of the British Virgin Islands acquired Asia Resource Minerals Plc of the UK

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd of Canada acquired Brit Plc of the UK

Optimal Payments Plc of the Isle of Man acquired Sentinel Holdco 2 Ltd of the UK

The Middleby Corporation of the USA acquired AGA Rangemaster Plc of the UK

Sentinel Group Holdings SA of Luxembourg disposed of Sentinel Holdco 2 Ltd of the UK

Avon Products Inc of the USA disposed of Liz Earle Beauty Co Ltd of the UK

Marfrig Global Foods SA of Brazil disposed of Moy Park Holdings (Europe) Limited of the UK

Lafarge Holcim Ltd of Switzerland disposed of share interests in Lafarge Tarmac Holdings of the UK

CRH Plc of the Republic of Ireland acquired LarfargeTarmac Holdings of the UK.

During 2015 the number of successful inward M&A acquisitions (114) reported was broadly in line with the number reported in the 2014 (110); the Americas (60) and Asia (14) were the two continents which showed increases year-on-year of 20% and 17% respectively. In contrast the value of inward acquisitions saw a considerable increase between 2014 and 2015; the majority of this increase was seen in the Americas with £7.6 billion reported in 2014 compared with £20.1 billion in 2015.

In Quarter 4 2015 there was a 50% increase in activity of the number of acquisitions abroad (33) made by UK companies compared with Quarter 3 2015 (22). The number of outward acquisitions has remained stable to the numbers previously reported in Quarter 4 2014 (35) and Quarter 2 2015 (32).

During Quarter 4 2015 the value of outward acquisitions was recorded as £2.2 billion, an increase of £0.4 billion on the value reported at Quarter 3 2015 (£1.8 billion). In Quarter 2 2015, there was a noticeable increase in the value of acquisitions abroad by UK companies( £11.0 billion) that can be explained by a few acquisitions which were successfully completed with values over £100 million.

There were 136 successful outward acquisitions for the whole of 2015 and although this shows an increase of 23 since the previous year (2014) the levels of outward M&A activity have continued to fall since 2011 when 286 completed outward acquisitions were reported.

The following outward notable transactions, valued at £100 million or more, took place during Q4 2015:

Tesco Plc of the UK disposed of Homeplus Co Ltd of South Korea.

Diageo Plc of the UK disposed of GAPL Pte Ltd of Singapore.

Diageo Plc of the UK disposed of Udiam Holdings Aktiebolag of Sweden.

GKN Plc of the UK acquired Fokker Technologies Group B.V. of the Netherlands.

Clinigen Group Plc of the UK acquired Link Healthcare Private Ltd of Singapore.

Markit Group Holdings Limited of the UK acquired Coreone Technologies Holdings LLC of the USA.

Intertek Group PLC of the UK acquired Professional Service Industries Acquisitions Inc of the USA.

Rentokil Initial Plc of the UK acquired The Steritech Group Inc of the USA.

Benchmark Holdings Plc of the UK acquired INVE Aquaculture Holding B.V. of the Netherlands.

Royal Bank of Scotland of the UK disposes of INVE Aquaculture Holding B.V. of the Netherlands.

The total value of completed acquisitions made abroad by UK companies for the whole of 2015 was £24.4 billion, similar to the value of £20.6 billion reported in the previous year (2014). 2000 saw the highest recorded value on record of £181.0 billion. Since 2007, when the value of acquisitions made abroad by UK companies was £57.8 billion, the presiding years saw a decrease in the value of acquisitions to £10.1 billion in 2009. In 2010, there was a slight increase in the value of acquisitions to £12.4 billion, and subsequently a larger increase to £50.2 billion in 2011. The 2015 figure of £24.4 billion represents a 58% decrease compared to the figure recorded in 2007.However year-on-year comparison shows that the value of outward M&A between 2014 (£20.6 billion) and 2015 (£24.4 billion) has increased by 18%. Although the number and value of outward acquisitions have increased during 2015, the level of outward M&A activity is still lower than that reported before the economic downturn of 2008-09.

Outward notable transactions, valued at £100 million, which took place during 2015:

Quarter 1 2015

InterContinental Hotels Group Plc of the UK acquired Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC of the USA.

Standard life plc of the UK disposed of Standard Life Financial Inc and Standard Life Investments Inc of Canada.

Essentra Plc of the UK acquired Blue NewCo 1 BV of the Netherlands.

IMI Plc of the UK acquired B&R Holding GmbH of Germany.

Barclays PLC of the UK disposed of Barclays Bank S.A.U of Spain.

RPC Group Plc of the UK acquired Promens Group AS of Norway.

BTG PLC of the UK acquired PneumRx Inc of the USA.

Old Mutual Plc of the UK acquired Penrose Topco Ltd of Jersey.

Clarkson plc of the UK acquired RS Platou ASA of Norway.

Quarter 2 2015

Aviva Plc of the UK acquired Friends Life Group Ltd of Guernsey.

International Game Technology Plc of The UK acquired International Game Technology Inc of the United States.

Old Mutual Plc of the UK acquired UAP Holdings Ltd of Mauritius.

Circassia Pharmaceuticals Plc of the UK acquired Aerocrine AB of Sweden.

DS Smith Plc of the UK acquired Sulipo Zweite Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH (Duropack GmbH) of Austria.

Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc of the UK disposed of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance (Singapore) Plc.

Direct Line Group Ltd of the UK disposed of Direct Line Vesicherung Aktiengesellschaft of Germany.

Direct Line Group Ltd of the UK disposed of Direct Line Insurance SPA of Italy.

Imperial Tobacco Group Plc of the UK acquired Assets of Reynolds and Lorillard Inc of the United States.

Just Eat Plc of the UK acquired Menulog Group Ltd of Australia.

BG Group Plc of the UK disposed of QCLNG Pipeline Pty Ltd of Australia.

Quarter 3 2015

British American Tobacco Plc of the UK acquired TDR d.o.o. of Croatia.

Bridgepoint Advisers Group Limited of the UK acquired Nordic Cinema Group Holding AB of Sweden.

Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc of the UK acquired the Electronics Products Division of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc of the USA

Zegona Communications Plc of the UK acquired Telecable de Asturias S.A. of Spain

D S Smith Plc of the UK acquired Grupo Lantero's Corrugated Business of Spain

Anglo American Plc of the UK disposed of Anglo American Norte S.A. of Chile.

Bridgepoint Europe IV Nominees of the UK disposed of Infront Sports and Media AG of Switzerland

Between Quarter 1 and Quarter 4 2015 the numbers of completed outward disposals reported were relatively flat and broadly in line with the numbers previously reported during Quarter 4 2014 (4). In Quarter 4 2015 there were 9 successful outward disposals which completed valued at £4.7 billion compared with 4 disposals valued at £1.3 billion that completed in the same quarter of the previous year (Quarter 4 2014).

Between 2014 and 2015, successful outward M&A saw an increase in the numbers and values of acquisitions activity in both Europe (60 acquisitions valued at £15.1 billion) and the Americas (59 acquisitions valued at £7.6 billion). However, the numbers continue to remain much lower than those previously reported for both continents in 2011 when Europe recorded 104 acquisitions (£23.4 billion) and the Americas reported 113 acquisitions (£11.7 billion).

The M&A data and information published in this release only includes data for acquisitions, mergers and disposals which are successfully completed. As part of the production process we also identify announced and agreed M&A transactions. The following notable M&A will feature in future releases.

ARRIS Group Inc of the USA acquiring Pace Plc of the UK.

Smith & Nephew Plc of the UK acquired Bluebelt Technologies Inc of the USA..

BT Group Plc of the UK acquiring EE Ltd of the UK.

The ONS estimates for domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, during Q4 2015 and for 2015 as a whole, appear to be in line with the views of some external commentators.

Global merger, acquisitions and disposals activity can be driven by the availability of credit. Therefore, when credit conditions deteriorate, as happened in the 2008 to 2009 economic downturn, M&A activity declines. M&A activity can also be interpreted by the economic outlook and company profits, in addition to a range of other economic factors. The process of completing an M&A transaction takes time and sometimes there may be a lag between improving economic conditions and any quarter-on-quarter increase in M&A activity.

The Bank of England Credit (BOE) Conditions Review- Q4 2015 reported that net lending to UK businesses had picked up in the three months to November 2015. There was evidence of an increase in demand from large and medium sized corporates with lenders reporting that a significant driver of this increase was a growing appetite for mergers and acquisitions. Most major UK lenders noted that the increase was driven by a number of large deals and that the demand for credit from small firms had fallen.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and fiscal outlook November 2015 stated business investment grew relatively strongly in the first two quarters of 2015. However, bank lending to non financial corporates has generally fallen on an annual basis over the past 6 years. Restricted credit appears to have hit smaller firms harder, although recently net lending growth to SMEs has turned positive in the 12 months to September 2015.

Experian MarketIQ in its UK Regional Report for Quarterly M&A, stated that despite a slight lessening of activity in the final quarter of the year, 2015 saw a definite upturn in the UK deal market, as increased confidence at both ends of the market finally translated into increased numbers on the board.