72 Acquisition International - Issue 4 2019 The volume of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals announced worldwide in Q1 2019 was at a six-year-low while value remained on an even keel quarter-on-quarter, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. In all, there have been 20,966 deals worth a combined USD 1,144,673 million announced worldwide since the start of Q1, compared to 25,833 deals totalling USD 1,142,365 million in Q4 2018. he aggregate volume of deals announced over the three months under review fell back by almost a fifth, and was the lowest since Q1 2013 when 20,926 deals were announced, though there are still another three quarters of 2019 to go until it is known whether volume for the year will contribute to the continuing annual decline seen in the years since 2015, when volume peaked at 110,752 deals. Meanwhile, the aggregate value of deals announced in Q1 2019 remained fairly level over the three months, partly due to two acquisitions each valued at more than USD 50,000 million and a further four each worth more than USD 20,000 million. The largest deal by value announced worldwide during Q1 featured Bristol-Myers Squibb launching a USD 74,000 million public takeover of Celgene in an acquisition that Zephyr shows is the third-largest deal targeting the global pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences sectors on record, not to mention one of the top 20 biggest-ever M&A deals. Not to be outdone, the other deal worth more than USD 50,000 million announced in Q1 is also among the world’s 20 largest deals on record; Saudi Aramco has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 70 per cent stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) for USD 69,100 million after months of speculation which were confirmed in summer 2018, when Saudi Aramco confirmed it was in early stage discussions. The SABIC acquisition was one of only two non-US targets that featured in the quarter’s top ten deals by value: Newmont Mining announced a recommended public takeover that values Goldcorp of Canada at USD 9,426 million. Considering nine of the quarter’s top ten deals by value targeted companies based in the US and Canada, it is not surprising to find North America was the main target region of M&A, with USD 442,010 million- worth of deals, compared with just USD 247,856 million recorded for the second-placed target region by value, Far East and Central Asia. However, volume of just 5,391 deals recorded for North America indicates the region’s aggregate value was supported by individual deals with high values, rather than by prolific dealmaking, especially as Far East and Central Asia was the main target region by volume in Q1 (6,251 deals) and was followed by Western Europe (6,163). There are still another three quarters of 2019 to come, but Q1 value at least remained robust - due to eight M&A deals announced in Q1 worth USD 10,000 million or more - and provides a solid foundation for growth in M&A dealmaking for the rest of the year. It remains to be seen whether 2019 will surpass the aggregate USD 5,375,916 million- worth of deals announced in 2018, which is one of the highest recorded annual values during the period under review (2006 to 2019 year to date, as of 31st March 2019). Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail:
[email protected] Web: www.bvdinfo.com Q1 Round-up T The SABIC acquisition was one of only two non-US targets that featured in the quarter’s top ten deals by value: Newmont Mining announced a recommended public takeover that values Goldcorp of Canada at USD 9,426 million.