Mergermarket has released its Global M&A trend report for the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, including its league tables for financial advisors.
A few key US findings include:
- US M&A in Q1-Q3 claimed the highest share in total global M&A on record at 44.5%
- Summer deal making hit its highest value on Mergermarket record at US$ 411bn, up 32% compared to Q3 2013
- The 3,433 deals announced during Q1-Q3 was the third highest Q1-Q3 period on record with 636 more transactions than the same period in 2013
- Outbound M&A worth US$ 282.3bn has already reached the highest annual value on Mergermarket record, up 62.3% compared to the whole of 2013
Regional M&A: financial advisor league tables
The top three advisory firms (Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)) gained positions compared to the same time last year after they all achieved values higher than the whole of 2013.
Leading financial advisor Goldman Sachs saw deal values surpass the annual total in 2013 (US$ 597.2bn) by 30.5% with mandates on US$ 779.4bn-worth of deals.
The biggest mover in the top ten was Citi with deals valued at US$ 581.4bn boosting its position from tenth place last year into third position in 2014 – total deal value was more than double (113.6%) the value accumulated during the whole of 2013 (US$ 272.2bn) with just four fewer deals.
Morgan Stanley’s US$ 684.8bn-worth of deals put the firm in second position at the end of Q3, up from third place during the same period in 2013, as deal value increased 35.9% from the whole of last year (US$ 504bn).
Jefferies Group LLC (NYSE:JEF), Perella Weinberg Partners, Allen & Company, Societe Generale SA (EPA:GLE) (OTCMKTS:SCGLY) and Zaoui & Co entered into the top twenty after they all advised on more deals than the same period in 2013.
Global M&A Overview
- Soaring global M&A value in 2014 sees Q1-Q3’s US$ 2,486.1bn-worth of deals already 11.7% higher than the whole of 2013
- Lead global financial advisor by value was Goldman Sachs with deals valued at US$ 779.4bn increasing 30.5% above the whole of 2013 (US$ 597.2bn)
Global M&A has accumulated US$ 2,486.1bn-worth of deals up to the end of Q3 making 2014 the third highest annual value on record after 2006 (US$ 3,295.4bn) and 2007 (US$ 3,669.7bn), 11.7% above 2013’s annual total (US$ 2,224.7bn).
Every quarter during 2014 has topped corresponding quarterly values in every other year since 2007. The third quarter’s US$ 877.4bn-worth of deals was the second highest valued quarter post-2007 after Q2 2014, and up 35.1% compared to Q3 2013.
Europe saw the most deals above US$ 10bn since 2007, and in Asia where deals are historically smaller, the region saw the most deals above US$ 2bn on record.
The global average value of a single transaction during 2014 has already surpassed 2007’s annual average (US$ 350.1m) and hit the highest on record at US$ 406.4m.
The proportion of cross-border M&A between countries accounted for almost half (45.6%) of global M&A, the highest share on Mergermarket record. Global cross-border deal value worth US$ 1,134.9bn is already the second highest value on record.
Private equity buyout activity in Q3 dropped below US$ 90bn for the first time this year but the US$ 89.3bn-worth of deals didn’t hinder the year-to-date value of US$ 277.9bn surpassing 2013 by 20%.
The energy, mining & utilities sector regained its pole position after pharma, medical & biotech’s hyper activity overtook it in previous quarters. Up to the end of Q3 deals amounting to US$ 423bn increased 35.6% versus the same time last year and down just 1.3% from the whole of 2013.
A vast increase in the number of Technology deals saw 1,363 transactions amount to US$ 167.7bn. The extra 278 deals contributed to a 27.5% increase by value.
Inversions, consolidation and competition to keep up with the abundance of M&A announcements has amassed the pharma, medical & biotech industry this year – the outcome is the highest total deal value on record at US$ 352.5bn, already over double 2013’s yearly sum.
The big ticket inversion deals in the pharma, medical & biotech sector resulted in US$ 278.9bn-worth of cross-border deals – over three times higher than the whole of 2013.
Take a look at the report HERE and learn how US M&A has reached pre-crisis levels with US$ 1,106.1bn-worth of deals during Q1-Q3, surpassing the same period in 2006 by 13.6%.
