M&A dealmakers survey reveals concern over Brexit

A global survey of dealmakers involved in the business of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) has revealed widespread concern over the value of European assets if the UK leaves the EU in June.

The ‘Brexit: An Economic Crisis’ survey, carried out by Intralinks, polled 1,421 global dealmakers. It revealed that the majority (65 per cent) of M&A professionals believed that the value of European assets would suffer in the event of the UK voting Leave in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016. More revealingly, the survey found that 92 per cent of British dealmakers believed that the UK leaving Europe would have a negative impact.

Furthermore, 87 per cent of those surveyed in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) foresaw a negative impact on the European and British economies in the event of a British exit (‘Brexit’). In terms of the direct impact on M&A deals across the continent, 88 per cent of UK dealmakers and 73 per cent of European dealmakers thought that Brexit would have a negative economic impact.

Regarding the likelihood of a British exit occurring in late June, 80 per cent of global dealmakers believe that it won’t happen, while the percentage is high, in the UK it is higher, with 84 per cent of British dealmakers believing that Britain will not exit the EU later this month.

Philip Whitchelo, the vice president of product marketing and strategy at Intralinks, said of the survey results: “There’s clearly a consensus among dealmakers that a ‘Brexit’ will lead to chaos for European M&A.

“A ‘Leave’ vote from the UK could severely impact all of Europe’s assets, with foreign buyers bidding less for them if the UK pulls out of Europe. This could have drastic consequences on the European economy — and of course the UK economy — for a number of years.”

For more information about M&As, see the Business Sale Report guide to Post Merger Integration.

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