APAC outbound deal activity sets record with US$166.9bn total in Q3

There were 434 deals in Q3.

Asia-Pacific (excl. Japan)’s outbound activity (434 deals, US$ 166.9bn) achieved a new record during Q3 by overtaking 2015’s annual
total, and thereby overtaking all annual deal values on Mergermarket record.

According to a research note from Mergermarket, activity was heavily bolstered by Chinese activity, with 201 deals worth US$ 141.2bn accounting for a record 84.7% of Asia’s outbound deal value and 46.3% of deal count.

M&A activity targeting Asia-Pacific (excl. Japan) has remained robust, despite experiencing a decrease compared to a record 2015. A total of 2,557 deals worth US$ 485.0bn have been announced so far in 2016, which although representing an 18.3% decrease by value compared to Q1-Q3 2015 (2,717 deals, US$ 593.9bn), still reached the second highest year-to-date period on Mergermarket record (since 2001).

Asian dealmakers have continued to be dominant on the global scene, with deal value targeting the region accounting for 22.0% of global M&A, its highest share on record.

Here's more from Mergermarket:

In an attempt to snap up Western technologies, Chinese dealmakers spent the majority of their investment in Europe (112 deals, US$ 80.1bn) and the US (60 deals, US$ 40.5bn), posting year-on-year value increases of 173.3% and 244.5% compared to FY 2015, respectively.

The most targeted sectors for European and US assets were Industrials & Chemicals (60 deals, US$ 63.1bn), and Technology (27 deals, US$ 19.3bn), both already overtaking all annual values on Mergermarket record.

India’s M&A activity (278 deals, US$ 46.0bn) has reached its highest on record, up 36.2% by value compared to the whole of 2015 (US$ 33.8bn, 419 deals), with Q3 alone (98 deals, US$ 27.7bn) reaching the highest quarterly value on record.

The highest valued deal of the year – Grasim Industries’ US$ 8.0bn acquisition of Aditya Birla Novo – resulted in Telecommunications (five deals, US$ 16.0bn) overtaking all annual deal values targeting the sector on record. According to Mergermarket intelligence, targeted government policies have led to consolidation within the sector.