US M&A Market

M&A volume was down by 30 per cent in Asia-Pacific and 25 per cent in Europe. Globally, dealmakers struck $642bn worth of deals in the third quarter, breaking a historic run for M&A in which transactions exceeded $1tn for eight consecutive quarters. «As serious headwinds have hit the global economy, M&A activity has been a prime casualty,» said Frank Aquila, senior M&A partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. However, guy Hayward-Cole, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa advisory at Nomura, said the sharp drop in sterling in recent weeks had created an opportunity for many US buyers.

«If you thought that UK stocks were cheap beforehand, well then for anyone who’s got US dollars to spend, it’s become very cheap,» he said. But he cautioned that buyers might want to bide their time. «For strategic buyers, this could be an exciting and opportune time to make a move on companies that they’ve always liked,» he said. David Mussafer, a managing partner at Advent International, said he had asked companies to outline M&A targets by their next board meeting.

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