Zephyr Reports on M&A and Private Equity Activity in FY 2012

LONDON, January 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Weaker M&A deal value in developed markets during 2012

Mixed results for BRIC countries

Click here to see the full 2012 Global M&A Report

Global: page 1-14

Western Europe: page 15-25

North America: page 26-35

Asia/Asia Pacific: page 36-48

Middle East: page 49-59

Russia/CEE: page 60-71

Global League Tables: page 72-74

The value of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fell for the fifth consecutive year with 65,060 transactions worth a combined USD 3,144 billion, according to the latest M&A report from Zephyr, the M&A database published by Bureau van Dijk. The result marks the lowest level for both volume and value since 2004.

Weaker deal value in North America and Europe, most notably Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, together with a marked decline in deal-making value in the Far East and Central Asia, suppressed the overall figure. In North America, value fell 7 per cent year-on-year to USD 1,033 billion, while Western Europe was down 5 per cent at USD 798,122 million. The Asia-Pacific region suffered a 15 per cent drop in deal value, pegged back by declining values in China and Australia, and deal-making in Russia and CEE hit a low not seen since the onset of the global financial crisis, as value halved from USD 208,248 million to USD 101,198 million, while volume slipped 13 per cent.

There were varying results for the BRIC countries - while deal value in Brazil and India rose by 19 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively, China and Russia both experienced a decline compared with 2011, with value sliding by 27 per cent in the former and halving in the latter, from USD 144,621 million to USD 72,942 million.

Of all the regions examined in the year under review, the Middle East was the only one to enjoy an upturn in deal value, as the figure jumped to a four-year high of USD 25,346 million despite continuing political tension in the region.

Meanwhile, global private equity activity remained buoyant in 2012 as both volume and value increased for the third year in a row.

A total of 7,793 private equity and venture capital-backed transactions worth a combined USD 321,270 million were signed off, compared with 7,752 deals worth USD 300,924 million in 2011, a 7 per cent increase in value year-over-year and in monetary terms the best performance since 2008, when the financial crisis struck.

Notes to Editors:

1. Activity is based on the activity of the target country
2. The date range for 2012 is deals announced between 01/01/2012 - 31/12/2012 inclusive
3. The sector breakdown uses targets' activities as defined to be 'Major Sectors' by Zephyr
4. The Western Europe region covers target companies in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
5. The Asia/Asia Pacific region covers target companies the Far East, Central Asia and Oceania.
6. The Middle East region covers target companies in Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. It excludes Israel.
7. The Russia/CEE region covers target companies in Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

About Zephyr

Zephyr is an information solution containing M&A, IPO and venture capital deals and rumours with links to detailed financial company information. Zephyr covers various deal types including M&A activity, IPOs, joint ventures and private equity deals. It's published by Bureau van Dijk (BvD). The deals on Zephyr are linked to the company financials and peer reports on BvD's product range, which includes Orbis, Amadeus and Fame, for company valuation and benchmarking.

Zephyr contains information on over one million deals. Approximately 75,000 deals are added each year depending on levels of deal activity. Zephyr has no minimum deal value. All deal information is translated into English.  Zephyr's UK-based researchers speak 35 languages and use native language and English sources in their deal enquiries. http://www.zephyrdealdata.com

About Bureau van Dijk

Bureau van Dijk (BvD) is one of the world's leading publishers of electronic business and company information. The company has 33 offices worldwide. BvD is best known for its range of international company information products that combines multiple high-quality data sources with flexible software to allow users to manipulate data for research, marketing intelligence and analysis. Products include Fame, Orbis, Amadeus, Bankscope, Isis and Osiris. BvD also publishes the global M&A database, Zephyr. http://www.bvdinfo.com

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For further information, please contact:
Zephyr Editorial
+44(0)161-838-9554
zephyreditorial@bvdinfo.com

SOURCE Zephyr and Bureau van Dijk