LONDON (Reuters) – M&A activity across the corporate and private equity sectors in Britain picked up in September, although total deals completed in the third quarter fell sharply, business advisory firm Deloitte said on Friday.
“September traditionally bucks the summer trend with a revival of activity following the lull of the summer months. It is interesting that this was true in 2008, notwithstanding the ongoing difficulties in financing deals,” said Andrew Grimstone, head of corporate transaction services, in a statement.
“Whilst the landscape has changed and businesses are being more cautious, those with strong balance sheets will be looking to take advantage of lower prices, and others will be forced into disposals or mergers to survive.”
New M&A deals have slumped over the last year after availability of cheap debt from the banks all but dried up.
Deloitte said both completed and announced deals increased in September compared with August. However, the number of completed deals fell by 48 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period of 2007 and fell 41 percent on the previous quarter. (Reporting by Simon Meads; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
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