BY Fraser Tennant
Developments and trends in the global M&A space for the first quarter of 2016 are at the heart of a preliminary report published this week by Dealogic.
In ‘Global M&A Review: First Quarter 2016’, Dealogic reveals that the total M&A value seen in 1Q 2016 was $701.5bn – a 25 percent year-on-year drop on the previous three quarters which saw $1 trillion volume.
In terms of the key regional headline data, the Dealogic review of global M&A in 1Q 2016 reports that US targeted M&A volume was $248.2bn (accounting for 36 percent of global M&A volume) – down 40 percent year-on-year and the lowest 1Q share since the 30 percent seen in 2012. Turning to Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), targeted M&A volume was $217.9bn – 31 percent of global M&A and the highest quarterly share since 2Q 2013.
Cross-border activity accounted for a quarterly record high of 43 percent share of global M&A, some $302.6bn, falling just short of the record $314.6bn seen in 1Q 2015. China outbound M&A volume was $104.3bn, again, just short of the annual record high of $106.4bn set last year.
Leading the M&A advisor rankings is Goldman Sachs with transactions totalling £214.2bn, followed by JPMorgan on $153.1bn and UBS with $98.7bn.
Technology was the top sector with a total of $100.3bn, the second highest 1Q volume on record behind 1Q 2000 ($190.8bn). Conversely, the healthcare sector saw the biggest drop among the top five sectors in 1Q M&A volume, down 56 percent year-on-year to $58.7bn.
The top 10 announced M&A transactions in the quarter were led by China National Chemical Corp’s $48bn acquisition of Syngenta in February. This was the largest agribusiness deal and China outbound M&A deal on record. A distant second on the list is the $16.6bn acquisition of Tyco International by Johnson Controls, the largest telecom deal in the US since the Time Warner/Charter Communications transaction in May 2015.
The final 1Q 2016 M&A figures are scheduled to be released by Dealogic in early April.
