British Took a Breather From Buyouts of U.S. Companies After Stock Plunge

The October stock market crash appears to have caused British takeover bids across the Atlantic to dry up, a published report says.

An early edition of the Sunday Times said a recent study showed that in the 19 days before the collapse began, British companies made U.S. acquisitions worth more than $1 billion. The figure for the remaining 11 days of the month was only $196 million.

For the fourth quarter of 1987 overall, British takeovers in the United States totaled $1.9 billion--or 87% below the busy July-September period, the study by the British-American Deal Review said.

It said that in the third quarter, the British were spending an average of $162 million per day on buying U.S. firms, versus $12 million since the October crisis.

The study attributed the drop to problems in raising cash through rights issues in Britain and concern about the U.S. economy and dollar.