UK public M&A rides scale wave as clouds obscure macro outlook – White & Case’s Patrick Sarch, with John West

While deal volumes reach significant highs in the UK, the numbers are largely being driven by big deals with expensive price tags. But these big-ticket transactions may not be the tide that lifts all boats.The lower-to-middle market segment in particular is seeing more muted deal activity. So why the surge of large-scale deals while the mid-market flounders? In this episode of Dealcast, White & Case partner and head of the firm's UK Public M&A practice Patrick Sarch joins Mergermarket’s global commentary editor John West to discuss what’s happening under the surface with the UK’s M&A landscape.Transformational deals are certainly skewing the overall M&A haul, public and private volume together arriving at GBP 128bn year-to-date, of which just 25 deals account for GBP 110bn, according to Mergermarket data. In public M&A, three deals – Schroders/Nuveen, Intertek/EQT, and Beazley/Zurich Insurance Group – account for 90% of volume.Smaller which deals have faced difficulties in the UK have had less spectacular progresss amid sponsor exit headaches, the fallout from “SaaSmageddon” and inflation pressures.This episode explores: why buyers and sellers in the middle market are failing to see eye to eye on pricing, which particular deals are driving up the numbers, how the stagnating buyout class from 2020/2021 is impacting activity, and how the Iran war is threatening further inflationary risks on dealmaking.Further insights will be discussed at Mergermarket’s UK M&A Forum on 23 June in London, where White & Case is lead sponsor alongside KPMG.