Asia ex Japan M&A Report – January 2018

M&A value falls back for second consecutive month

　The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals targeting companies based in Asia, excluding Japan, declined for the second consecutive month to 1,807 deals worth USD 95,246 million in January. In terms of volume this represents a 15 per cent decrease from 2,131 deals in December, while value slipped 9 per cent from USD 105,191 million month-on-month.

　However, value fared much better on 12 month comparison, increasing 35 per cent from USD 70,327 million in January 2017, despite volume declining 5 per cent year-on-year (January 2017: 1,907 deals).

　While deal-making decreased for the second month in a row, value was not completely stripped away as seven deals were worth in excess of USD 2,000 million and January 2018 recorded value higher than October 2017 (USD 82,597 million), July 2017 (USD 92,095 million), April 2017 (USD 79,579 million) and February 2017 (USD 55,668 million).

Top deal targets Indian oil and gas company

　Despite 12 of the top 20 deals by value targeting companies in China only one of the four largest deals involved a business in the country as Chengdu Qianfeng Electronics agreed to acquire Beijing Electric Vehicle for USD 4,508 million. This deal placed third by value, behind January’s largest deal in Asia, excluding Japan, as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation acquired a 51 per cent stake in India-based Hindustan Petroleum from the Government of India for USD 5,790 million.

　The second largest deal involved Singapore Life acquiring Singapore-based Zurich Life Insurance’s business portfolio for USD 4,524 million. The fourth largest transaction involved CJ O Shopping picking up CJ E&M, a South Korean media and entertainment service provider, for USD 3,423 million.

　In total 18 of the top 20 deals were worth USD 1,000 million, or more, and while Chinese targets dominated, companies in Malaysia, India and Hong Kong also featured.

Top Deals in Asia ex Japan Markets by Deal Value (USD million) in January 2018

China leads the way by both volume and value

　China was once again the most frequently targeted country in January and also led the way by value, having featured in 1,108 deals worth USD 54,015 million in the month under review. This represents a month-on-month decline by both volume and value for China from 1,373 deals worth USD 57,559 million in December.

　In terms of value, India placed second with USD 11,505 million, although it is worth noting that half of this amount can be attributed to the Hindustan Petroleum deal, South Korea placed a close third with USD 11,275 million.

　By volume, South Korea was the second most prolific target with 204 deals, with India (105), Singapore (74) and Malaysia (67) also featuring in a sizable amount of deals.

　Report notes

　Activity is based on the activity of the target company.

　Deal status is announced within the time period.

　The sector breakdown uses targets’ activities as defined to be ‘Major Sectors’ by Zephyr.

　You are free to use any data or commentary from this report in your articles as long as the source is cited as “Zephyr published by Bureau van Dijk”.