Worldwide M&A activity falls 23%, but US has a flurry

[LONDON] Worldwide mergers and acquisitions deals have fallen 23 per cent to US$336 billion so far this year compared with last year, but cross-border activity by amount targeting US-based companies reached a record high, Thomson Reuters data shows.

After hitting a record high by deals value in 2015, worldwide M&A activity has been hurt this year by falling oil prices, worries about slowing growth in China and the health of the financial sector.

A trio of deals for US companies topped the list of M&A announced this week, including Chinese company Tianjin Tianhai's US$6.3 billion offer for US-based Ingram Micro, bringing year-to-date China outbound M&A targeting the US to US$23.3 billion.

China, Ireland and Canada account for 88 per cent of cross-border acquirers in the US so far this year.

European M&A activity, which lagged the US in 2015, has hit US$92 billion so far this year, up 4 per cent compared with a year ago, after state-owned ChemChina announced it would buy Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for US$43 billion in February.

Goldman Sachs holds the top spot in the global M&A league tables followed by JPMorgan and Barclays .

REUTERS