Strong momentum in deal activities
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has seen a strong momentum in deal activities with total deals in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity (PE)/venture capital (VC) and initial public offering (IPO) valued at US$20.3 billion (RM82.8 billion) this year.
Global valuation and corporate finance adviser Duff & Phelps in its Transaction Trail Annual Report 2017 said this was higher than the US$15.6 billion deals recorded last year and the highest deal value recorded in the last five years.
Duff & Phelps said the energy sector in Malaysia continued to witness high deal value activity for inbound M&As in Malaysia, with real estate being the top sector for domestic M&As.
The two largest M&A transactions this year for Malaysia were the acquisition of 50 per cent stakes in Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development and PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd.
Regionally, Singapore recorded a total of 842 M&As, PE/VC and IPOs deals worth US$101.9 billion for this year compared with 800 deals worth US$88.1 billion last year.
M&As comprised the bulk of the deal volume in Singapore, with 698 deals valued at US$75.4 billion, compared with 684 deals valued at US$82.7 billion last year.
In Indonesia, deal activity had maintained similar levels this year with total deal values at US$9.6 billion, driven by sizeable transactions in the technology, materials and agriculture sectors.
“It was encouraging to see the transaction values in the region tower over the historic highs in 2015. We are witnessing the lines between the M&As and PE/VC investments blur and notice that several transactions could fall in either category, as strategic investors make minority investments and financial investors take controlling stakes,” said Duff & Phelps managing director Srividya Gopalakrishnan.
“With the strong regional demographics, increased globalisation, impetus by government bodies to boost investments, and increased focus on intellectual property, we see positive deal momentum continuing into the future,” she said.