CNBC 14 August 2012
Mergers and acquisitions activity in China plunged by a third in the first half of the year, as companies held back on deals amid uncertainty over the world’s second-largest economy. Still, the number of deals is expected to pick in the second half and set a new record for the full year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The biggest drag on M&A activity was a 42 percent fall in the number of inbound deals into China by foreign buyers and a 25 percent decline in domestic deals, compared to the same period a year ago, the accountancy firm said on Tuesday. If not for the number of outbound deals – or Chinese firms seeking acquisitions overseas – which dipped just 6 percent, the fall would have been steeper, said David Brown, Great China Private Equity Group Leader, PwC.
According to the firm, the value of outbound deals tripled to $23.9 billion in the first half of the year from $7.9 billion in the year before, PwC said.
“The China outbound (activity) has stayed at the high levels we saw in 2011, and in our pipeline, we see a lot of activity coming through,” Brown told CNBC Asia’s “The Call” .“So, for 2012 full year, we actually see a record year for M&A.”
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