Corporate merger and acquisition activity surged across Europe, Middle East and Africa

Deals completed last month in the region had a total value of $90.8 billion, the highest volume for any January since 2006

Globally, M&A activity hit $258.2bn in January, a 38 per cent surge on the same month last year and the highest level for the month since 2011 (AP)

The total value of mergers and takeovers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa surged last month, making it the busiest January for deals in the region in over a decade, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Deals completed last month in the region had a total value of $90.8bn, according to the company, which was the highest volume for any January since 2006.

Johnson & Johnson's takeover of Swiss biotech company Actelion and the merger of Italian eyewear group Luxottica and France's Essilor particularly boosted volumes.

Cross-border deals also rose to their highest January level since 2006 this year, hitting $106.8bn, up 31 per cent on January 2016.

Globally, M&A activity hit $258.2bn in January, a 38 per cent surge on the same month last year and the highest level for the month since 2011, according to Thomson Reuters. But deal volumes in the Asia slipped 12 per cent to $57.6bn from January last year. In America, deal volumes rose by 7 per cent to $109.8bn.

Over the last months, the UK has proved a particularly attractive location for takeovers by companies from abroad, as a result of the slump in the pound.

Blockbuster acquisitions of UK companies in 2016 included AB InBev’s $101bn takeover of SAB Miller, Shell’s takeover of BG Group for $69bn and Softbank’s acquisition of ARM Holdings for $32bn.

But in a report last month law firm Baker McKenzie predicted that the total value of M&A activity in the UK will reach just $125bn in 2017, a more than 60 per cent slump from the $340bn of deals seen in 2016.

"We expect weaker economic growth in the UK and uncertainty about the relationship UK companies will have with the rest of Europe to dampen M&A activity," the law firm wrote.