In line with prior trends North America remains the most active M&A sector with 170 targets acquired which is a 37% reduction in volumes for the same period last year.
Western Europe was the second most active target market with a 32% reduction in volume to 97 deals. French deal volumes actually increased from 31 to 36 targets acquired but deal volumes across Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden all roughly halved in line with the UK where 41 targets were acquired – a 52% fall from the same period last year.
Interestingly the number of APAC targets acquired stayed flat on the comparative period with 103 deals completed. The number of targets acquired in Japan increased by around 50% to 35 with China also showing increased volumes with 18 deals. This is likely a reflection of the earlier impact and quicker trajectory out of the initial stages of Covid witnessed in the region.
In the first nine months of 2019 almost a quarter of deals were cross border and this level has fallen to 20% in the current period. Virtual deal-making has become a necessity in recent times and this may well have impacted cross-border deal levels to a certain extent.