Britain avoids M&A collapse as foreign buyers go Brexit bargain hunting

By Pamela Barbaglia and Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) – Britain avoided a collapse in mergers and acquisitions activity after the shock Brexit vote as foreign companies used sterling's spectacular devaluation against the U.S. dollar to snap up British companies, Thomson Reuters data shows. British M&A totalled $177.5 billion (145 billion pounds) in 2016, down sharply from the record $394.8 billion reached in 2015 – a year when the UK data was skewed by two of three biggest global deals – but was in line with the longer 5-year trend. Britain also retained its place as the third largest M&A market after the United States and China.

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Britain avoids M&A collapse as foreign buyers go Brexit bargain hunting