M&A on cusp of post-COVID-19 surge
20:00 | 20/04/2021
Global M&A dealmaking has got back its momentum in the first quarter. Photo: Shuttlerstock
According to the first-quarter global review by Refinitiv, a global provider of financial market data, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity hit $1.3 trillion globally in the period, an increase of 94 per cent compared to the same period in 2020. Cross-border activity more than doubled and was the strongest opening quarter for cross-border deals on record, with the technology, financial, and industrial sectors accounting for almost half of cross-border M&A.
Meanwhile, an EY Global Capital Confidence Barometer survey of more than 2,400 executives in 52 countries found that over half of corporates are looking to actively pursue M&A in the next 12 months â the highest since 2012 and beating the 11-year average of 44 per cent. In particular, almost half (46 per cent) of corporates expect that Southeast Asia will generate the most growth prospects and opportunities for their organisation in the next three years.