Issue 10 2020

50 Acquisition International - Issue 10 2020 The value of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) announced worldwide reached its highest level for over a year during the third quarter of 2020, despite volume declining quarter-on-quarter, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. There have been 19,104 deals worth an aggregate USD 1,197,532 million announced globally in the three months under review. 3 represented a significant improvement in terms of value, which increased 31 per cent from USD 913,449 million recorded in Q2 2020 and 38 per cent from USD 870,412 million in Q1 2020. In fact, value is the largest for any quarter since USD 1,376,970 million-worth of deals were recorded in Q2 2019. In terms of volume, Q3 declined 21 per cent from 24,310 deals in Q2 and 26 per cent from 25,751 deals in Q1. In a year-on-year comparison, volume fell 34 per cent against a 12 per cent increase by value from 28,769 deals worth USD 1,072,669 million in Q3 2019. A sizeable number of the deals signed off in Q3 took the form of an acquisition, with 5,292 such deals valued at a combined USD 624,228 million, including each of the top six transactions by value in the three-month period. In total, seven of the top 20 deals topped the USD 20,000 million-barrier, 15 were worth in excess of USD 10,000 million and the remaining five were worth USD 8,000 million, or more. In the largest of these, NVIDIA agreed to acquire UK-based computer hardware manufacturer ARM for USD 40,000 million. This transaction accounts for 3 per cent of total global M&A value in Q3 alone. China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network has agreed to acquire majority stakes in PetroChina Pipeline and others from PetroChina for a total USD 30,072 million, in the second largest of these. This was followed by four more acquisitions that topped USD 20,000 million: Motherson Sumi Systems buying India’s Samvardhana Motherson International for USD 22,000 million, Gilead Sciences picking up Immunomedics for USD 21,000 million, 7-Eleven purchasing Speedway for USD 21,000 million and Analog Devices acquiring Maxim Integrated Products for USD 20,913 million. In terms of value, companies based in North America topped the regional rankings with USD 424,191 million-worth of deals announced in Q3, the Far East and Central Asia placed second with USD 375,799 million, followed by Western Europe with USD 279,381 million. However, by volume, targets based in the Far East and Central Asia were the most prolific with 7,002 deals, followed by North America with 5,112 deals and Western Europe with 4,075 deals. While Q3 has shown a positive turnaround for the year to date, following nine months of uncertainty – mainly caused by the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic – 2020 still has some way to go before reaching the 122,247 M&A deals worth an aggregate USD 4,920,332 million recorded in the entire 12 months of 2019. To date, there have been 69,165 deals valued at USD 2,981,393 million in 2020 and as a result, a large number of sizeable transactions will need to be announced in Q4 in order to achieve similar dealmaking levels as seen in recent years. Computer software and industrial, electric and electronic machinery have been positive sectors in the third quarter, which may continue into the final three months of the year. The industries have recorded deals worth USD 189,121 million and USD 138,620 million, respectively, in Q3, both of which represent an increase from USD 125,582 million and USD 67,100 million, respectively, in Q2. Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail: bvd@bvdinfo.com Web: www.bvdinfo.com Q3 Round-up Q