M&A surpasses global deals

By Tu Lei

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in China outperformed international deals in the first six months of the year, according to an industry report released yesterday.

The value and volume of M&A on the Chinese mainland and in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region during the first half of the year were significantly better than global M&A transactions, revealed a report from Mergermarket, a M&A intelligence service provider.

The value of M&A on the mainland and in Hong Kong fell to $58.9 billion in June, down 17.9 percent year-on-year, comparatively better than a 43.4 percent global slide.

Volume decreased to 286 announced transactions, down 21.9 percent year-on-year. The result was much better than global figures of a 46.6 percent drop in volume over the same period.

Inbound M&A activity also took a plunge in the aftermath of the financial crisis last year, according to the report.

Compared with the first six months of 2008, the value of inbound deals to the mainland and Hong Kong dropped by 66.4 percent to $2.9 billion, a level not seen since 2003.
Inbound volume decreased by 49.5 percent to 48 deals.

For outbound deals, energy, mining and utilities sectors accounted for an overwhelming 95 percent of the total, with 15 deals amounting to $17.8 billion.

Of the top 10 M&A deals involving Chinese companies, including lapsed and withdrawn bids, five were in the energy, mining and utilities sector, including China Yangtze Power’s $15.8 billion acquisition of China Three Gorges Project’s hydroelectricity assets on May 16.
 

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