On 30 January, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) indicated in its lastest report M&A 2012 Review and 2013 Outlook that China M&A deal activity of strategic investors in domestic and inbound space plunged to a five-year low in 2012, a drop sharper than that resulted from the global economic crisis in 2009. Overall China M&A activity declined by 26 percent in announced deal numbers and 9 percent in deal value in 2012, with only outbound deal volume still on the rise.
As shown in the report, excluding private equity and venture capital deals, there were 2,953 domestic and foreign-inbound M&A deals by strategic investors in China in 2012, compared to 3,744 deals in 2011, a 21 percent drop. In value terms, these deals in 2012 totaled USD 97.1 billion, down 28 percent from USD 134.9 billion in 2011. Although China outbound deal volumes showed a small decline from 206 deals in 2011 to 191 deals in 2012, the value of these deals reached a record high, up 54 percent from USD 42.4 billion in 2011 and USD 65.2 billion in 2012.
(Source: CEINET)