Normal are different after Merge Actor on scaled objects. If the actors aren't scaled, the issue doesn't seem to occur.
A licensee is trying to use the Merge Actor tool to optimize their entire project but this issue is keeping them from using the tool.
This is a regression:
Working in 4.17.2-3658906
Not working in 4.18.3-3832480
Results: In 4.18+ the normals will be different after the merge
Expected: The same behavior as 4.17 where the normals are identical
There's no existing public thread on this issue, so head over to Questions & Answers just mention UE-54996 in the post.