M&A volume touches 10-yr high at $74.5 bn

As the global economy recovers from recession blues, more companies are going shopping abroad leading to the merger and acquisition (M&A) volume touching a 10-year high of $74.5 billion till date in 2010.

"So far in 2010, 610 deals worth $74.5 billion have been announced. This is the next highest Year To Date (YTD) level since 2000," deal tracking firm Dealogic said.

Till date in 2000, there were over 1,000 M&A deals on the streets measuring an aggregate of $171.5 billion.

This year's figure is 79 per cent larger than $41.7 billion announced in 2009 till date.

The largest deal so far in 2010, is Novartis' $28.1 billion acquisition of eye-care company Alcon.

The drug major last week agreed to pay $28.1 billion for raising its stake in Alcon to 77 per cent.

The deal has been advised by Credit Suisse, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, Dealogic said.

In terms of the sector witnessing maximum deal flow, healthcare remained at the top accounting for 54 per cent of the 2010 volume so far.

It was followed by Food & Beverages, Oil & Gas, Finance and Mining, it added.