Outbound M&A deal value crashes to 6-year low as firms pull the breaks on overseas acquisitions

Deal value crashed 78.1% in 1H15.

Singapore's outbound M&A deal value crashed to its lowest level since 2009 in the first half of 2015, data from Thomson Reuters showed today.

Outbound M&A totaled US$6.0 billion so far this year, a 78.1% decline in deal value after witnessing a record period in the first half of last year.

This is the lowest first half period for the city-state’s overseas acquisitions since 2009 when deal value dipped to US$608.7 million.

The Media & Entertainment industry captured majority of the outbound M&A activity with 23.7% marke share worth US$1.4 billion, up 14.1% in deal value from over a year ago. Energy & Power followed second with US$1.1 billion worth of deals, or 19.0% market share. Real Estate, which accounted took the lead during the same period last year for overseas acquisitions, reached US$856.9 million, an 88.1% drop from the first half of 2014.

In terms of deal value, United Kingdom is the most targeted nation with US$1.1 million, or 17.7% of Singapore’s outbound M&A activity. United States followed second with 13.8% market share worth US$821.6 million, down 17.3% from the first half of last year. Meanwhile, China saw the most number of acquisitions from Singapore with 19 announced deals so far this year worth US$246.4 million.