AI Magazine Issue 10 2018

76 Acquisition International - Issue 10 2018 Q3 has been relatively quiet in terms of the volume and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals announced worldwide, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. In all, there have been 20,170 deals worth a combined USD 1,054,385 million announced worldwide since the start of Q3, marking the lowest value since Q3 2017 and the lowest volume since Q3 2013. t the time of writing, there are still a couple of days to go until the end of Q3 2018, meaning there is still time for a number of sizeable deals to be signed off and push both volume and value closer to the levels recorded in previous quarters. If things do not change by the end of the week, Q3 will represent a 17 per cent decline in volume on Q2 2018’s 24,312 deals, while value will have slipped 24 per cent from USD 1,381,023 million over the same timeframe. However, value has still broken the all-important USD 1,000,000 million-barrier; the last time it failed to do so was in Q2 2016, when deals worth USD 884,937 million were announced. With that being said, there have still been a number of sizeable transactions announced worldwide during Q3 2018. The largest of these featured a UK target as broadcasting giant Sky was the subject of a takeover war between multiple suitors. Ultimately, Comcast won the war with a USD 47,879 million bid, which accounts for 5 per cent of total value in Q3. This was followed by a USD 27,000 million acquisition of Energy Transfer Partners by Energy Transfer Equity, which was announced in early August and is slated to close during the fourth quarter of this year. In all, seven deals broke the USD 10,000 million-barrier and, aside from the Sky deal and one transaction with a Russian target, all of these featured US targets. Taking this into account, it is unsurprising to see North America top the world region rankings by value, having been targeted in deals worth a combined USD 363,000 million. This placed it ahead of second-placed Western Europe, which featured in deals worth USD 288,022 million, while the Far East and Central Asia came next with USD 244,828 million. These three regions also topped the volume rankings, albeit in the reverse order, as Far East and Central Asia led the way with 6,283 deals, followed by Western Europe (6,185) and North America (4,863). In terms of 2018’s overall performance, there have been 68,380 deals worth a combined USD 3,812,191 million announced worldwide across all sectors since the 1st January. Although value is still lower than in the last few years, if dealmaking continues on this trajectory, 2018 could be one of the highest years on record by value and it has already surpassed every year from 2008 to 2013, despite there still being three months to go until it reaches its conclusion. With this in mind, there is plenty to be positive about as we move into the final quarter of 2018. Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail: bvd@bvdinfo.com Web: www.bvdinfo.com Q3 Round-up A