Royal Dutch Shell’s £7.5bn (€8.3bn) joint venture with Brazilian counterpart Cosan, announced last month, could be the first of many such deals, according to a new report that predicts companies will forgo traditional M&A in order to share the risk of new ventures with competitors.

In its study 'Sharing Risk: A study of Corporate Alliances,' the M&A research team at the Cass Business School predicted joint venture volumes will rise to 20% above average levels in the aftermath of the financial crisis.