After three consecutive yearly increases, global M&A fell to $2.50 trillion in January-September of this year, says a report. According to preliminary data from global deal tracking firm Dealogic, the figure so far this year is $2.50 trillion, down 24 per cent over last year when transactions worth $3.27 trillion were announced.
Moreover, 2015 remains the largest-ever for M&A volume as deals worth $4.68 trillion were struck. “This year, the UK Brexit vote in June, a turbulent election cycle in the US and a slump in equity capital raising globally have shadowed opportunities for companies considering acquisitions,” Dealogic said.
However, some ‘strong’ sectors stand out so far this year and big deals continue to come even if these are fewer than the 2015 peak, it added. Overall, the global cross-border M&A came in at $886.6 billion, down 11 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, US in-bound merger and acquisition (M&A), at $331.8 billion, has hit a record high for first nine months. China and Japan came up as the top acquiring Asian nations with US targets.
Chinese US acquisitions have already hit an annual record high with both volume and activity at $34.9 billion and 119 deals, respectively. All the largest European economies registered yearly declines in M&A volume.
The UK had a slow start, with $74.9 billion deals announced in the first half, down 57 per cent on year. SoftBank’s $31.6 billion bid for ARM Holding was a big mover, which boosted third quarter M&A volume to $ 61.1 billion, the highest third quarter figure since 2008 ($93.4 billion). In terms of M&A value, technology, at $465.3 billion, replaced healthcare this year as the leading sector, the report added.
