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.
全球宏观经济和货币担忧正在冷却寻求短期回报的机构投资者的投资。普华永道表示，更多的战略投资者可能已经准备好进行长期投资。在过去几年中，在经济不确定的情况下，公司一直在储备现金并提高运营效率，这可能为长期投资者和行业中坚分子推动的并购活动增加创造环境。
资料来源：普华永道，由 FCI 编辑 David Frabotta 编辑