36 Acquisition International - Issue 1 2020 Both the volume and value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) announced worldwide declined during 2019, when compared to the previous year, according to Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. There were 95,866 deals worth a combined USD 3,978,254 million signed off over the 12 months, compared to the USD 4,519,504 million injected across 99,767 transactions in 2018. espite the decline year-on-year, growth was not entirely stripped away as the year’s value surpassed both 2016 and 2017, when deals worth USD 3,575,186 million and USD 3,282,013 million, respectively, were signed off. In fact, 2019’s value is the fourth-highest for any year on record, while 2018’s is the largest to date. Other years to have topped 2019 are 2007 (USD 4,301,319 million) and 2015 (USD 4,299,356 million). The volume result is actually even more positive, with 2019 proving to be the second- most prolific year on record, surpassed only by 2018 and coming in significantly higher than 2015’s 86,057 transactions. Value for the year was boosted by a number of sizeable deals as 33 transactions broke the USD 10,000 million-barrier over the 12 months, while the largest of all topped USD 70,000 million. By contrast, 2018’s top deal was worth USD 85,100 million and 41 transactions were valued at in excess of USD 10,000 million. The most valuable deal to have been announced worldwide during 2019 featured a US target as Bristol-Myers Squibb completed its takeover of New Jersey-headquartered biopharmaceuticals maker Celgene for USD 74,000 million. This deal was one of three worth in excess of USD 60,000 million to have been signed off over the 12 months and was followed by a USD 69,700 million transaction in which Saudi Arabian Oil Company acquired 70 per cent of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. This deal has the honour of being the largest on record to target a company based in the Middle East region by some distance – it is ahead of a 2017 purchase of First Gulf Bank by National Bank of Abu Dhabi, worth USD 14,852 million – and accounts for 54 per cent of total value for the Middle East in 2019. The other 2019 deal worth over USD 60,000 million is AbbVie’s USD 63,533 million takeover of Irish pharmaceuticals player Allergan, which it is conducting via its Venice Subsidiary vehicle. The top deals had an undoubted impact on regional results in the 12 months under review. For example, the Middle East was bottom of the list by volume, with just 678 deals, but placed fifth by value, with USD 127,098 million. Unsurprisingly, North America led the rankings by both volume and value, with companies in the region having been targeted in 34,857 deals worth an aggregate USD 1,654,894 million. In terms of value, it was followed by Western Europe, with USD 981,273 million. This result was boosted by the aforementioned Allergan transaction, while two other deals targeting the region (worth USD 27,000 million and USD 22,500 million, respectively) featured in the year’s top 20 by value. The Far East and Central Asia placed third by value, with USD 803,451 million and was second by volume (25,736 deals), ahead of Western Europe (23,875). In terms of the sectors targeted during 2019, the computer software segment was the most frequent, having featured in 16,113 deals, followed by business services with 11,222 and banking, insurance and financial services with 9,671. By contrast, the latter topped the rankings by value, with USD 557,354 million. This put it slightly ahead of the USD 519,938 million targeting chemicals, petroleum, rubber and plastics companies, while computer software was close behind in third, with USD 519,104 million. The banking, insurance and financial services’ segment’s position at the head of the value rankings is not surprising given that it was targeted in six of the year’s top 20 deals by value. The most valuable saw Fidelity National Information Services close the USD 43,000 million purchase of US- based Worldpay, while Fiserv bought First Data for USD 39,000 million in the second-most valuable. Although 2019 represents a decline on 2018, the year has still performed very strongly in a wider context and activity has been markedly higher than most other years on record, while the abundance of sizeable deals is encouraging as we move into 2020. Company: Bureau van Dijk E-Mail:
[email protected] Web: www.bvdinfo.com Round up of 2019 D “The most valuable saw Fidelity National Information Services close the USD 43,000 million purchase of US-based Worldpay, while Fiserv bought First Data for USD 39,000 million in the second- most valuable.”