M&AS soar 44% to $49 bn in H1CY21 despite pandemic

Despite the second wave scuppering normal life, the Deal Street was busy in the first half of 2021, closing 44 per cent more deals (worth $49.34 billion), than the same period in 2020, shows an industry report.

M&A deals worth $34.3 billion were closed in H1CY20. Deal volume grew 5 per cent to 730 from 693, according to the latest data from Refinitiv.

Of the total, cross-border M&AS amounted to $21.73 billion across 210 deals, up from $16.02 billion across 195 deals in the same period in 2020.

Globally, quarterly M&AS surpassed $1 trillion for the fourth consecutive quarter, making it the strongest yearon-year percentage growth on record.

Worldwide M&AS totalled $2.8 trillion during the first half, up a record 132 per cent compared to the same period last year.

This is the strongest opening for deal making since records began in 1980. Of these, deals bigger than $10 billion have increased 94 per cent, while deals of $1-5 billion have registered triple-digit percentage Worldwide M&AS totalled $2.8 trillion during the first half, up a record 132% since last year gains.

US deals jumped to an alltime high of $1.4 trillion, up 264 per cent compared to last year, European deals rose 33 per cent to $556 billion, and those in APAC rose 83 per cent to $551.6 billion to an all-time high.