Singapore M&A deals reach the strongest volume since 2008

The value of M&A activities year-to-date surged 43.8% to US$51.3 billion.

According to Thomson Reuters, overall Singapore M&A activity continued to increase quarterly since the start of 2012 pushing total value of announced M&A deals this year to US$51.3 billion, up 43.8% from the first nine months of 2011, and the strongest year-to-date volume since 2008 (US$53.6 billion).

Here's more from Thomson Reuters:

Despite the increase in deal value, the total number of announced M&A deals dropped 17.6% to 609 from the first nine months of 2011. Third quarter this year volume reached US$26.2 billion, up 49.2% from the second quarter of 2012 and a 151% increase over third quarter of 2011. This is the highest quarterly volume since first quarter of 2008 (US$36.5 billion).

Total cross-border activity reached US$38.5 billion in the first nine months of 2012, up 101.4% from the first nine months of 2011, driven by acquisitions in Singapore’s Food & Beverage sector. The value of inbound acquisitions escalated to US$23.3 billion, a four-fold increase over the first nine months of 2011.

Outbound M&A also grew 11.1% to US$15.3 billion from the same period last year. Meanwhile, domestic M&A activity declined 57.1% to US$3.2 billion compared to the first nine months of 2011.