2014 deal values 30% higher than 2013

Total deal values in 2014  surpassed that of 2013 by a staggering 30%, making it the best year for deal values since 2007, according to the M&A Index from Deloitte.

 

On a global scale, businesses are in a much better position to acquire; they have built up greater cash reserves which they were reluctant to release during the financial crisis and they have since used this time to assess their own strategies as well as those of their competitors.

 

The recovery is looking resilient and optimism is high as the value of cross-border transactions has also reached a seven year high, with companies from the United States leading the charge followed by mounting activity from strategic investors within the United Kingdom, China, Germany and Canada.

 

An increasingly active deal pipeline can be attributed to companies slowly regaining their footing through inorganic growth opportunities. According to Mergermarket data, North America was at the forefront of the global deal-making market in terms of value, accounting for 48% of the total value of global M&A deals.

 

Europe, however, recorded the highest share of M&A deals with 5,266 transactions recorded as at 30^th November; 37% of the global total of 14,092 deals. By comparison, total M&A deals within North America reached 4,832, or 32% of the total number of transactions. Asia-Pacific accounted for around 23% of the global market with Latin America and the Middle East and Africa both accounting for roughly 3% of global market share.