A second type of cross-border merger was a 'merger by formation of a new company'.

The second category gauges which companies have made the best use of the internal market and generated value through cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Only then was its power as a potential scuttler of cross-border mergers and acquisitions realised.

There have been several attempts at cross-border mergers and alliances between exchanges for more than a decade as profits from the business of running stock markets have fallen.

It added that cross-border mergers and acquisitions were particularly badly affected by the slowdown in investment, with only the oil, mining and agrifood sectors reporting a rise in such activity.