Global mid-market M&A deals dip 40%

The global mid-market merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is still struggling to overcome the effects of the economic downturn as the M&A value of this segment has fallen to $316.3 billion, the lowest since 2003 level, a report said.

Mid-market merger and acquisition (M&A) deals are those transactions which are valued between $100 million and $1 billion.

“Global mid-market volume has fallen to $316.3 billion so far this year, the lowest since August 2003,” global deal tracking firm Dealogic said in the report. The mid-market deal volume, which constitutes about 20 per cent of the overall M&A volume, has registered a decline of 40 per cent over its corresponding period last year.

Real estate has emerged the most targeted industry in the mid-market M&A segment and has cornered deals worth $48.5 billion so far this year.

Finance was the second most targeted industry with $37.4 billion deals, while the oil and gas segment accounted for $30.1 billion transactions.

Similar gloom is being witnessed in the overall global merger and acquisition activities as well, with the M&A volume till August standing at $1.3 trillion — down 38 per cent from the year ago period.

There was a downturn in terms of value as well as volume. The global M&A deal count hit 20,000 on August 5.