January-September global M&A deal tally at $2.2 trillion: Mergermarket

NEW DELHI: Following a strong showing in the first half of this year, global merger and acquisition activity suffered in the third quarter with deals worth just USD 674 billion, says a report.

According to global deal tracking firm Mergermarket, the third quarter of 2017 has seen just USD 674 billion, the lowest quarterly value since the first quarter of 2016 when 4,349 deals worth USD 623.4 billion took place.

Following the poor showing in the third quarter, the deal tally for the first nine months of this year stood at USD 2.2 trillion, down 1.7 per cent over the corresponding period last year when transactions worth USD 2.25 trillion were announced.

"As firms attempt to adapt to ever-changing political and technological circumstances, global M&A has stuttered over the summer following a strong showing in the first half of the year," Mergermarket said the report.

The largest deal of the quarter (July-September) saw the tie-up of aerospace firms United Technologies and Rockwell Collins for USD 29.9 billion.

This became the second largest deal in the US in 2017, only behind the mammoth USD 60.6 billion BAT/Reynolds announcement in January, and forms the largest US domestic deal so far this year, the report said.

The report further noted that the US M&A accounted for 40.9 per cent of global M&A in the July-September quarter by value.

Meanwhile, Europe has faltered in the July-September period with its lowest quarterly value since the October- December quarter of 2012 at USD 158 billion.

"This left Europe with a 29.8 per cent share of the global M&A value the lowest quarterly share of 2017 so far...," the report added.