The first half 2008 M&A Asia-Pacific league tables from MergerMarket saw global investment banking and securities firm, Goldman Sachs, lead by clinching 112 deals worth $566.55 billion, followed by investment bank JP Morgan with 140 deals worth $561 billion. Citi secured a third position with 116 deals worth $523.91 billion. However, Deutsche Bank has taken the top spot in financially advising global buyouts in the first half 2008 with 12 deals worth $19.79 billion, followed by Merrill Lynch with 10 deals worth $14.15 billion. Morgan Stanley secured a third position in the category with nine deals worth $12.80 billion.
Meanwhile, global advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Fin Corp grabbed the top slot in the league table of financial advisors to global buyouts by volume with 23 deals worth $7.49 billion. KPMG Corp Fin secured a second position with 23 deals worth $1.67 billion, Deloitte stood third in the category with 21 deals worth $2.98 billion.
Meanwhile, the list saw the emergence of China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) in the 20th position ? the first time a Chinese firm has ever appeared in the upper echelons of the M&A league tables. This means M&A activity continues to grow in regions outside of Europe and North America. China makes up a growing portion of Asian M&A nowadays, in contrast with the recent past which has seen Australian deals dominate the market.
Likewise, the global M&A markets have been affected by the de-leveraging of the banking system in the form of a severe decline in the leveraged buy-out market, leaving strategic buyers to fill in the void in a variety of sectors. And while cross-border M&A has yet to seriously take off to the extent it had been expected, encouraging signs have recently emerged in key sectors.
The best example was seen at the beginning of June when the Japanese pharmaceuticals giant Daiichi Sankyo surprised the market with a $4.6 bid for India?s Ranbaxy. Activity in the Asia-Pacific is up 65% by value compared to Q1 2008, but down 13% by volume.
Compared to the same period last year, deal value is up 56% and volume is down by 14%.