Office for National Statistics
Printable version E-mail this to a friend

Mergers and Acquisitions Involving UK Companies, Q4 2012

Key findings

  • The values of inward, outward and domestic acquisitions all decreased in Q4 2012 compared with the previous quarter.
  • Expenditure on acquisitions abroad by UK companies (outward acquisitions) decreased to £1.3 billion in Q4 2012 from £8.2 billion in the previous quarter. For 2012 as a whole the total value of outward acquisitions was £16.4 billion, down from £50.2 billion in 2011 and similar to the levels seen in 2009 and 2010.
  • The value of acquisitions in the UK by foreign companies (inward acquisitions) was £1.6 billion in Q4 2012, falling from £8.2 billion in Q3. In 2012, the annual value for inward acquisitions was £16.7 billion, the lowest value reported since 2003 (£9.3 billion).
  • Mergers and acquisitions between UK companies (domestic M&A) in Q4 2012 was £0.6 billion, on a par with the value reported in the previous quarter. For 2012 overall, the total value of domestic acquisitions fell to £3.3 billion, its lowest level since 1983 (current price basis).

Get all the tables for this publication in the data section of this publication.

Free, Secure, Compliant UK Public Sector IT Recycling Service