Global M&A deals dip 15% to $1.8 tn in Jan-Sep

A downward trend was witnessed in the Asia Pacific region as well, where M&As worth $350.1 billion was announced

Global mergers and acquisitions volume dipped by 15% to $1.8 trillion in the first nine months of this calender year, a report says.

According to global deal tracking firm Dealogic, global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worth $2.14 trillion were struck during the same period in 2011.

A downward trend was witnessed in the Asia Pacific region as well, where M&As worth $350.1 billion was announced, a decline of 16% from the period under review in 2011.

A region-wise analysis shows that in the first nine months of this year, US targeted M&As totalled $617.9 billion while Europe's share stood at $504.5 billion and Asia Pacific excluding Japan M&A volume was at $350.1 billion.

According to market experts, the overall M&A landscape is witnessing moderation in the deal momentum due to the global economic concerns (mainly around Europe).

Sectorally, oil and gas led the global sector ranking with deals worth $222.6 billion, which amounted to a market share of 12% mainly driven by the $18.2 billion Nexen acquisition by CNOOC on July 23, Dealogic said.

Moreover, globally, M&As worth $555.5 billion was announced in the July-September quarter, which was the lowest quarterly total since the third quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, among the Asia Pacific excluding Japan region, China continued to lead the country-wise ranking for the fifth consecutive time as it clocked deals worth $133 billion.

At a time when most regions in the world witnessed a decline in M&A transactions, Southeast Asia was the only region to record an increase compared to 2011.

The Southeast Asia region attracted $65.6 billion worth of deals in the first nine months of 2012, up 26% from the corresponding period last year driven by the rise in volumes in Singapore and Indonesia, the Dealogic report said.

Goldman Sachs led the Global, US and Asia Pacific (ex Japan) volume rankings in the first nine months of 2012, while Deutsche Bank led in Europe.