The UK is still attractive to US dealmakers following the Brexit vote, according to figures from Deloitte.
Deals struck between the two countries hit $126bn (£100.6bn) in the second half of 2016, which represented an increase of 3.6 per cent.
The Deloitte US/UK M&A Deal Monitor found that during the same period UK outbound deals were down by 20.4 per cent.
To December 2016, 254 transactions were made and 172 of these were struck by US investors.
Despite this, some UK dealmakers have put mergers and acquisitions on hold.
Most of these were concentrated in London, where just shy of 100 transactions took place.
California and New York remain the primary location for UK outbound M&A.
Deloitte UK partner and vice-chairman Cahal Dowds said: “Interest rates are low, corporate cash reserves are high, and the supply of capital for corporates and private equity is massive.
“In a world where there is a scramble for market share, the fundamentals for M&A have never been better.”
Dowds told City AM: “Widespread expectations of a collapse in US outbound dealmaking following the UK’s vote to leave the EU has not come to pass.
“On the contrary, US buying of UK assets has outperformed the previous six months.”
The technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector was the busiest – 37 per cent of deals were concentrated in this area.
According to the Deloitte report, the manufacturing sector also performed well.
The report also found quantitative easing continues to support low cost capital-raising in Europe, with Euro-denominated “Reverse Yankee” bonds driving US dealmaking.
Corporate buyers are bidding more aggressively, taking the lion’s share of M&A deals whereas private equity has taken a lower share of dealmaking.
The Deloitte US/UK M&A Deal Monitor follows trends and analyses underlying driving forces in the most active merger and acquisition arena in the world economy.
Now in its third edition (July 2016 to December 2016), it observes M&A activity and developments within the most active business sectors, and the relative volumes of corporate backed and private equity together with the regional dimensions of M&A within both the US and the UK.