Brexit Jitters Drag UK’s Share of M&A to Record Low

The slowdown is a contrast to 2015, when the UK was home to a number of large takeovers including Royal Dutch Shell’s $52bn purchase of BG Group, the oil and gas company. The biggest deal struck this year, the £21bn all-stock merger between the London Stock Exchange Group and Germany’s Deutsche Börse, does not hinge on the outcome of Thursday’s referendum. However, shareholders are set to vote on it next month, and analysts believe a British exit from the EU would hurt the prospects of the combination winning approval. “Brexit has had a real impact on M&A activity in the UK and also in Europe more broadly,” said a senior M&A adviser at one of Europe’s largest investment banks. “Nobody wants to do deals when they don’t know whether their target will be in or out of the world’s largest single market.”