SAO PAULO, April 2 (Reuters) – Mergers and acquisitions activity in Brazil this year got off to its worst start since 2005 as buyers, fretting over growing state intervention and a weak economy, held off on some sizeable deals to get better terms.
- Conclusion of key deals put off on price disagreements
- Six local banks join top-ten M&A ranks for first time
Companies announced $6.069 billion worth of deals in Brazil between January and March, down about 79 percent from a year earlier, according to a quarterly Thomson Reuters report on M&A activity. That’s the lowest total for the first quarter since $4.68 billion in M&A deals were announced eight years ago.
Some transactions that were slated to close early this year, like the sale of the local units of ThyssenKrupp AG and media giant Vivendi SA, were put off after bids came in below the asking price. The number of deals fell to 121 from 189 in the last quarter of 2012, the report said.
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