The Bigger Picture: What is the impact of the M&A boom for UK investors?

Worldwide M&A breaks $2trn barrier

The recent spate of merger and acquisition activity has prompted market commentators to call the start of a boom in the space, with data from Thomson Reuters showing that worldwide M&A soared past $2trn on 21 May, furthering the all-time record pace set in Q1.

In April, IA UK All Companies was the second best-performing sector on the back of the FTSE 100 climbing 6.84% over the month, making it one of the best-performing global indices, supported by takeover talk, namely the surprise announcement of supermarket giant Sainsbury's agreeing a merger with Walmart-owned Asda as well as Takeda's £46bn purchase of Shire. Since then, the FTSE 100 has been in touching distance of the 8,000 mark, reaching a fresh record high of 7,896 points on 22 May. Ben Yearsley, director at Shore Financial Planning, called "the start of an M&A boom", adding: "Will...