THE mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region has declined 26 per cent year on year to an 11-year low of US$179 billion between January and May 2024, despite a rise in global M&A activity.
This was dragged down by a 25 per cent decline in China M&A activity compared with the first five months of 2023, said a report by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) released on Tuesday (Jun 11).
Global M&A over the period, however, was up 23 per cent at US$1.3 trillion.
The deals involving US targets accounted for 56 per cent of overall global M&A activity, the highest share since 1998, LSEG noted.
“All but two of the largest 20 deals announced during the first five months of 2024 involved a US target, 16 of these were US domestic deals,” highlighted the exchange.
European M&A totalling US$259 billion over the period was up 37 per cent from last year. It was driven by the UK, which accounted for 34 per cent of the total, the highest share of dealmaking in the region since 2015.
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“M&A involving a UK target totalled US$88.3 billion during the first five months of 2024, making the UK the second most targeted nation for M&A globally so far this year,” said LSEG.
The energy and power sector led the rise in global M&A, accounting for 17 per cent of the overall activity. It was boosted by ConocoPhillips’ US$22.5 billion offer for Marathon Oil.
Some 45 deals worth US$5 billion or more were announced globally during the first five months of 2024, compared with 28 during the same period last year, and the highest January to May tally since 2021, said the exchange.
Meanwhile, private equity-backed M&A increased 30 per cent in value to US$289 billion, the fourth highest January to May total since LSEG’s records began in 1980.
In May 2024 alone, US$247 billion worth of M&A transactions were recorded, up 4 per cent from April and 1 per cent higher than May 2023.
