Yesterday’s deals frenzy means M&A this year is already worth more than during the whole of 2013
UK mergers and acquisitions may be looking shakier than usual – but across the rest of the world, M&A is already worth more this year than during the whole of 2013.
According to data from Mergermarket, $18.1bn (£11.2bn) of deals took place yesterday (including Microsoft's $2.5bn agreement to buy Minecraft creator Mojang), the highest value "Merger Monday" since the end of July, when $16.1bn of deals were made.
That pushes the total for the first three quarters of 2014 up to $2.29tn – three per cent above 2013's grand total of $2.22tn. The third quarter alone saw global M&A deals worth $686.3bn go through.
But it wasn't just the likes of Microsoft boosting that figure – Mergermarket said a "large influx of deals involving a German bidder" made yesterday particularly exciting.
German manufacturer ZF Friedrichschafen spent $12.7bn buying out US-based TRW Automotive holdings, while German firm Tui AG bought the UK's Tui Travel for $3.1bn.
Will that help the UK?
Earlier this month the Office for National Statistics published figures showing just 73 mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies worth more than £1m had taken place during the second quarter, the lowest since figures began in 1987.
Although figures for the third quarter are yet to be published, the scuppered attempt by builder Carillion to buy rival Balfour Beatty, not to mention US firm Destination Maternity's ill-fated go at buying retailer Mothercare, suggest things are unlikely to have improved when the numbers do come out.
Here's how the UK's chart looks for the last few quarters. Those of a nervous disposition: look away now.