Global Mergers and Acquisitions up Eight Percent in 1H10
Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) totalled US$881bn in 1H10, up 7.8% from 1H09, according to a new report from Mergermarket. The deal count was also up by 13.3%, at 5,026 announced deals. Despite the strong start to the year, the second quarter (2Q) only saw $US403bn worth of deals, the second lowest 2Q period in the last five years.
The largest deal announced in 2Q was CenturyLink’s agreement to acquire Qwest Communications (both US-based companies) for $US22.2bn. The largest deal so far this year remains Novartis’ 52% stake acquisition in Alcon from Nestle for $US26.3bn.
Cross-border transactions between regions made up 25.6% of global M&A by value in 1H10, the highest half-year percentage since 1H08. Emerging markets saw $US241.1bn-worth of deals announced in 1H10, up 58.8% compared to 1H09. The average EBITDA multiple across global M&A for 1H10 was 14.7x, the highest since 2008. The average premium paid was 20.4%, the lowest since 2007.
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