The number of mergers and acquisitions that spanned an international border surged in the first half of the year, reaching the highest level since the financial crisis, according to a study by law firm Baker & McKenzie.
The first half saw a total of 2,537 cross-border mergers or acquisitions, with activity in the second quarter rising by more than 100 percent from the same period last year, the study reveals, as reported by research partner the Financial Times. Deals totaled $753 bn in the first half and $476 bn in the second quarter.
More than a third of the companies surveyed by FT Remark say they plan to undertake another cross-border merger or acquisition in the next two years, indicating a likely rising trend in the sector through 2016.
Europe was the main target for takeovers in the first half, accounting for 42 percent of all inbound deals in the period by value, compared with 38 percent in the same period last year. The value of deals outbound from Europe also increased, to 33 percent from 29 percent.
Deals inbound to North America increased to 34 percent in the first half of this year from 27 percent in the same period last year, while the continent’s share of outbound deals increased to 40 percent from 39 percent. The biggest drop in activity came in Africa, which saw its share of inbound deals decline to just 1 percent from 7 percent last year.
Overall global M&A activity – including domestic and cross-border deals – has declined over the past year in terms of the number of deals even as it increased in terms of total value, according to a study by KPMG.
In the 12 months through July, deals totaled more than $2 tn in value, with a 26 percent increase in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, KPMG says. The number of deals in the first half dropped 2 percent from a year earlier.
