Singapore M&A deal value plunges 17.1% to US$37.5b in the first nine months of 2016

This is the lowest since 2013.

The overall value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of Singapore firms in 2016 dropped 17.1% YTD to S$51.1 billion (US$37.5 billion) against the first nine months of 2015. This is the sharpest decline in the city-state’s M&A activities since 2013.

According to data from Thomson Reuters, dealmaking among Singapore firms slackened in 3Q16 with M&A value at about S$16.4 billion (US$12 billion), a 27.2% sequential decline from 2Q16 (~S$22.3 billion) and down 26.7% compared to 3Q15 (~S$22.2 billion).

“The average M&A deal size for disclosed deals dropped to S$136.9 million (US$100.5 million) thus far, compared to S$141.9 million (US$104.2 million) in the first nine months of 2015, as fewer transactions above S$1.4 billion (US$1 billion) were witnessed by Singaporean companies this year compared to the same period last year,” Thomson Reuters revealed.

The total cross-border deal activity amounted to S$30.8 billion (US$22.6 billion) from year to date, a 15.6% slump from the same period last year. Inbound M&A activity contracted 18.6% in deal value compared to the first nine months of 2015. Outbound M&A reached S$17 billion (US$12.5 billion), but this is 13.1% lower in value from over a year ago. Domestic M&A was the only gainer, growing to 19.1% to S$12.5 billion (US$9.2 billion) in deal value from the previous corresponding period.