UK ranked fifth in 'attractiveness' to M&A investors
The UK is behind only Germany as the most attractive destination in Europe – and fifth globally – for inbound and domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) investors, according to annual rankings published by Bayes Business School.
The United States again tops the global list, while Singapore, Germany and Canada are ahead of the UK. Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, France and South Korea complete the top ten.
The Mergers and Acquisitions Research Centre (MARC) at Bayes Business School (City St George’s University of London) has produced the ‘attractiveness index’, which scores 148 countries, for the last 16 years.
The index assesses countries against 19 indicators grouped in six categories, ranging from ‘Regulatory and Political’ to ‘Infrastructure and Assets’.
The MARC M&A Attractiveness Index Score (MAAIS) was first published in 2009. It records both annual movements up and down the league table and changes over the last five years.
Who's up, who's down?
Big changes revealed in the latest index include:
- China fell three places to 23rd
- India fell out of the top 50, sliding five places to 52nd
- Russia fell seven places last year to 54th
- Big movers inside the top 50 last year include Brunei (up 18) Lithuania (up 14), Kuwait (up 11), Malta (up 10) and the Czech Republic (up 9).
- The big gainers since 2019 included Lithuania which rose 20 places, followed by Brunei (up 19), Kuwait (up 13), Czech Republic (up 8) and Romania (up 8).
The indicators can tell governments, firms and investors about the challenges and opportunities facing each nation. In recent years, for example, environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become increasingly important for investors considering a deal, as has the presence of strong national infrastructure. It remains to be seen what impact the move to dilute diversity, equity and inclusion arrangements in several western nations will have.
Lead author Dr Naaguesh Appadu, Senior Research Fellow at Bayes, said: “As the global economy continues to recover from a series of massive shocks, the nature of both the opportunities and challenges facing different countries face varies widely.
"This year, the biggest market challenge for nine of the countries in the top ten are socio-economic factors linked to an ageing population, unemployment and the lingering impact of Covid on labour markets.
“By contrast, the nature of the main market opportunities and strengths in the top ten is more diverse: in half it is the strong infrastructure and assets, with one benefitting from strong ESG, three from their political and regulatory environment and one from the financial and economic indicators.”