Forum

XBMA – Quarterly Review for Q1 2011

The attached slides summarize trends in cross-border M&A and strategic investment activity throughout the first quarter of 2011.

 

Highlights:

  • Global M&A volume for Q1 2011 was US$671.8 billion, up 29.5% as compared to Q1 2010.
  • Cross-border transactions have rebounded substantially from 2009: 38% of Q1 2011 global M&A was cross-border — up slightly from 37% in 2010 and up significantly from the low of 26.8% in 2009.
  • Canada and Australia’s shares of global M&A each more than double their respective shares of world GDP, perhaps reflecting the large number of deals involving natural resources.
  • Distressed deals have exceeded US$75 billion per annum since 2009.
  • Energy M&A remains the most active among cross-border transactions – reflecting the ongoing pressure to acquire natural resources to fuel emerging economies and the churn created by political instability in the Middle East and by the widespread adoption of technological improvements in the natural gas industry – with Materials and Financials cross-border M&A in the second tier.

XBMA Quarterly Review for Q1 2011