Singapore M&A activity up 3.9% to $119.82b in 2017

18 deals above US$1b had a total value of US$46.2b.

Singapore's overall merger & acquisition (M&A) activity in 2017 rose 3.9% YoY to $119.82b (US$89b), the highest so far since 2014.

According to Thomson Reuters data, the average M&A deal size for disclosed deals grew from US$138.4m last year to US$139.5m, which comprised 18 deals above US$1b, including a US$16b jumbo deal, with a combined value of US$46.2b and an increase in mid-market deals that ranged from US$50m to less than US$1b deals.

Total cross-border deal activity jumped 58.6% YoY from US$37.3b to US$59.1b. Singapore’s inbound M&A activity surged by 115.6% in deal value, whilst outbound M&A activity climbed 10.5% YoY.

Domestic M&A activity also improved by 29.9% YoY and reached US$15.4b, despite a 6.6% decline in the number of domestic transactions.

Three sectors took up an 84.4% market share of domestic M&A activity, comprised of real estate took with 41.7%, financials with 24.3%, and technology with 18.4%.

Completed M&A deals involving Singapore amounted to US$69.7b so far this year, a 40.6% increase in value compared to 2016, and the highest annual period in terms of deal value since 2014.

Here's more from Thomson Reuters:

The Real Estate sector took the lead and accounted for 47.3% market share worth US$42.1b, up 195.7% in terms of deal value from 2016. This is the highest-ever period for the sector in terms of value, surpassing the record annual set in 2014 (US$35.2b).

This was driven by the announcement of Singapore’s largest deal on record: Nesta Investment Holdings Ltd of China agreed to acquire the entire share capital of Global Logistic Properties Ltd (GLP), from GIC Pte Ltd for a total of US$16.4b (including net debt). Upon completion, GLP will be delisted from the mainboard of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.

Financials took second place with 11.9% market share worth US$10.6b, a 122.4% increase from a year ago, and saw the highest annual period since 2008 (US$12.5b). Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd of Japan, a unit of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc, agreed to acquire a 97.7% interest in Singapore-based First Capital Insurance Ltd, from Fairfax Asia Ltd, ultimately owned by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, for US$1.6b ($2.2b).

Buyside Financial Sponsor M&A activity in Singapore reached US$7.9b so far this year, up 130.4% in deal value compared to 2016, as the number of PE-backed acquisitions grew 22.2%. An investor group led by Global Infrastructure Partners LLC, CIC Capital Corp, and Public Sector Pension Investment Board agreed to acquire the entire share capital of Equis Energy Developments Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based alternative energy sources establishment, from Equis Pte Ltd, in a deal valued at US$5b ($6.8b).