M&A slumps as war in Ukraine rattles dealmakers
Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) slumped 35 per cent last month as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rattled global financial markets and caused a dealmaking boom to falter.
Deals valuing $296.7bn were announced by firms during February, down 35 per cent on the value recorded during February 2021, and 33 per cent down on January this year, according to data from Refinitiv.
Cross border acquisitions of European firms also plunged 26 per cent compared to February last year, the lowest monthly total in ten months, while Asia Pacific deal value fell 54 per cent compared to February last year, the lowest monthly total for the market in five years.
The monthly slowdown did not restrict M&A value soaring to record levels across January and February however, with cumulative deals soaring to $740.9bn, the highest value start to the year since records began in 1980.
Lucille Jones, Analyst at Refinitiv Deals Intelligence, said: “While this year’s global M&A stands at a value only exceeded once in more than 40 years, we did see the pace of deal making slow in February, cooled by volatile stock markets, high inflation, and impending interest rate hikes.”
Private equity-backed M&A deals totalled $88.3bn during February 2022, up 24 per cent from the previous month and 7 per cent more than the value recorded during the same month in 2021.