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1992 was the year of the Single European Market. By 31 December 1992, agreement should have been reached on some 286 directives, which aimed to dismantle physical, technical and fiscal barriers to trade. In so doing, it was expected that community businesses would become more integrated, allowing them to compete on more equal terms as Eurobusinesses with the global players of the US and Japan. It was predicted that greater intra‐Community competition would be a necessary precursor of this outcome, and that this will lead to industries restructuring through mergers and joint ventures to increase market share and economies of scale by reaching a “minimum efficient size”. Examines the trends in cross‐border mergers/acquisitions and joint ventures for the period 1986 to 1989 and concludes that, for both small and large firms, such activity has increased. Further, an analysis of EC material on the subject reveals that firms′ reasons for such developments appear to have become more market‐oriented over time.