Singapore's inbound M&A volume drops 86.9%

This is the lowest since 2004.

According to Thomson Reuters, foreign acquisitions targeting Singapore-based companies reached US$2.7 billion so far this year, down 86.9% from the same period of 2012, and the lowest first nine-month period since 2004 when deal value for inbound acquisitions fell to US$2.3 billion.

The lack of billion-dollar inbound transactions this year significantly lowered the deal value compared to the same period last year when at least four announced deals were valued above two-billion lead by acquisitions from Fraser & Neave and Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd.

Here's more from Thomson Reuters:

Acquisitions from China captured majority of Singapore’s inbound M&A activity with US$664.3 million, a five-fold increase from the first nine months of 2012, and accounted for 24.4% of the market share.

The bulk of the inbound transactions targeted Singapore’s Energy & Power sector with 15 announce deals worth US$893.5 million, more than triple the value during the comparative period in 2013.

This year’s biggest Singapore inbound deal – Farmstandart of Russian Federation's acquisition of Bever Pharmaceutical's entire share capital from Bristley Enterprises Ltd, for US$590 million (S$747.7 million) – bolstered the healthcare sector to witness a nine-fold increase compared to the first nine months of 2012.