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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity hit an all-time high in the first six months of 2021, with deals worth more than $2.6tn, up from $926bn years on year and surging past the pre-pandemic five-year average (H1 2015-2019) of $1.6tn.
According to a new analysis by EY, more than half of the activity was recorded in North America, which saw deals worth $1.4tn (up from $345bn in H1 2020) - almost double the average seen in the five years prior to the pandemic ($784bn).
North America was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, which saw M&A values of $446bn, a jump from $222bn in H1 2020, and an increase from an average of $317b in H1 2015-2019. Europe follows, recording $412bn, up from $245bn in H1 2020 and exceeding the H1 2015-2019 average of $356bn.
In spite of a fall in the total number of deals announced, a spike in billion-dollar deals is the key driver behind activity so far this year according to the analysis, with 479 such deals announced.
Though many parts of the world economy still operating under restrictions, cross-border transactions have also staged an impressive comeback, increasing to $688bn from $236bn in H1 2020.
M&A activity, despite the strong headline figure, is not evenly spread across the globe. When it comes to outbound and inbound transactions, North America and Europe are the main centers of activity.
According to EY, the US tops the list of countries with the highest outbound transactions v...................... To view our full article Click here
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