Slowdown dents October M&A deal activity: Report

Slow economic growth, amid prevailing uncertainties have dented the volume of 'Mergers and Acquisitions' activity in the country which declined by 40 per cent to 28 deals last month from 47 reported for the corresponding month of last year, a report showed on Thursday.

According to Grant Thornton's M&A Dealtracker report for October 2019, a total of $1.53 billion worth of transactions were spread across 28 deals from a year-on-year level of 47 deals worth $2.81 billion.

However, the report revealed an increase in the deal values despite 22 per cent fall in deal volumes as compared to September 2019, showing signs of improved sentiments and appetite for big ticket deals.

"This was driven by the corporate tax cut, which has improved both investor sentiment and confidence. This also resulted in the average deal size more than doubling from $24 million in September 2019 to $55 million in October 2019," the report said.

Besides, the report disclosed that while domestic deal segment saw a downtrend in terms of both volumes and value, the cross-border deals value almost doubled.

"The month also displayed great potential in the automotive and infra space, attracting big cheques of over $100 million each amid the recent slowdown in the auto sector," the report said.

"Consolidation in these sectors was driven by strategic reasons to access combined market potential and gain sizeable market share."IANS