Global deals fall 12.9% as COVID-19 keeps markets volatile

GLOBAL DEALS VOLUME fell 12.9 percent in a week as activity remained inconsistent due to market conditions remaining volatile as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, reports GlobalData, using its deals database.

The total number of deals recorded for the week ending May 24, 2020 were 1,030, declining from 1,183 deals recorded in the previous week.

“Global deal activity has remained inconsistent due to volatile market conditions since the COVID-19 outbreak and this decline came after growth in deal volume witnessed during previous week. The number of deals announced during the week was also lower than the Q1 2020 and April 2020 weekly average levels,” said Aurojyoti Bose, GlobalData’s lead analyst.

Bose said deal activity has also remained inconsistent across geographies since the COVID-19 outbreak.

For instance, deal volume declined in markets such as the United States by 17.5 percent; Australia by 24.6 percent; South Korea by 57.1 percent; Germany by 57.5 percent; and France by 15.8 percent, in the week under review, compared to the previous week.

However, growths were recorded in the number of announced deals China, where in grew by 11.4 percent; in the United Kingdom, where it grew by 21.1 percent; and in Canada, where it grew by 2.1 percent.

GlobalData stated that deal activity in sectors such as retail and travel and tourism fell during the week under review, but that the healthcare sector witnessed marginal improvement.

It also reported that deal types such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity and licensing agreements witnessed decline in deal volume by 17.4 percent, 42.2 percent and 40.9 percent, respectively in the same week, while the number of venture financing, partnership and equity offering deals increased by 0.7 percent, 10.4 percent and seven percent, respectively.