Singapore firms' M&A deals plunged 13.5% to US$6.4b

Slowest year-starter since 1Q09.

According to Thomson Reuters first quarter preliminary M&A data for Singapore, deal activity for announced M&A involving Singaporean companies started slow this year as deal value reached US$6.4 billion, a 13.5% decline from the first quarter of 2012, and the slowest start to a year since 1Q 2009 when deal value dipped to US$2.4 billion.

Despite the 25.6% decline in number of deals, the value of cross-border activity increased 19.0% to US$4.0 billion compared to the first quarter of 2012. Inbound acquisitions grew 301.1% to US$911.3 million after witnessing one of the slowest first quarter level in 2012 (US$227.2 million).

Here's more from Thomson Reuters:

Domestic M&A activity also improved 32.7% to US$1.5 billion from the comparable period last year. Meanwhile, outbound M&A activity slightly fell by 1.4% so far this year with transactions amounting to US$3.1 billion compared to 1Q 2012.

In broader Southeast Asia, deal value fell to US$13.5 billion, down 43.6% from the first quarter of 2012 and 67.7% lower from 4Q 2012. Inbound acquisitions in Southeast Asia reached US$2.3 billion with Singapore accounting for 39.6% of the market activity, followed by Indonesia with 20.8%.