Five deals worth about $10 billion anchored chemical company merger and acquisition activity in the first quarter of 2012, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The mega deals, defined by a value of $1 billion or more, drove the lion’s share of the first quarter’s $12.7 billion in reported M&A activity, representing an increase in large deals compared to previous quarters.
The target companies of the large deals were all from North America, furthering the trend of consolidation among distributors there. Only one acquirer, Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corp., was from outside North America. In the only large agriculture deal, Canada-based Agrium bought the majority of Viterra Inc’s agri-products business from Glencore International for $1.81 billion plus working capital. The deal gives Agrium immediate access to Viterra’s 258 Canadian retail locations, a move that would have taken a decade through organic growth or through buying smaller chains, according to PwC.
Despite the rise in large deals, the volume and value of deal activity fell steeply, a decline that began in the second half of 2011, according to the report. As in 2011, China was responsible for most of BRIC-related activity. Of the five deals announced for BRIC targets, four involved Chinese companies. However, the volume of Chinese deals fell to 41, down 52% compared to the first quarter last year. Deal values declined, too, indicating a possible cooling of the country’s economic growth.
Los temores macroeconómicos y monetarios globales están enfriando la inversión de los inversores institucionales que buscan rendimientos a corto plazo. Los inversores más estratégicos podrían estar bien preparados para invertir para obtener resultados a más largo plazo, según PwC. En los últimos dos años, las empresas han acumulado efectivo y han reforzado la eficiencia operativa en medio de la incertidumbre económica, lo que podría crear un entorno para una mayor actividad de fusiones y adquisiciones impulsada por inversores a largo plazo e incondicionales de la industria.
Fuente: PricewaterhouseCoopers, editado por el editor de la FCI, David Frabotta