Global M&A endures headwinds with pickup in first-quarter deal closures - Seite 2

The M&A market in North America experienced a challenging first three months of the year, with acquirers underperforming their regional index for the fifth consecutive quarter, following 97 completed deals. The level of underperformance (–14.1 percentage points) was the region’s third worst ever since the WTW study began in 2008.

European dealmakers also struggled to generate value from transactions. Having not outperformed their regional index since 2021, they underperformed during the period January to March 2024 by –9.2 percentage points, with 37 deals completed.

M&A performance was more robust in the Asia Pacific region, where more positive results have been achieved during the past two years, leading acquirers to record a first-quarter performance of +3.0 percentage points, with 31 deals completed. Notably, deals over $100 million completed in China — the world’s second largest economy — slumped to just nine during the first three months of 2024, the country’s lowest level in over a decade and a fall of over 90% since Chinese corporate M&A deals peaked in 2015.

“It’s too soon to say whether there will be a full market recovery, but conditions for M&A activity are improving. Interest rates have stabilized and may decline at some point this year, and there is less competition for deals. As a result, last year’s wait-and-see attitude to dealmaking may soon be in the rearview mirror,” said Dean.

WTW QDPM methodology

• All analysis is conducted from the perspective of the acquirer.
• Share-price performance within the quarterly study is measured as a percentage change in share price from six months prior to the announcement date to the end of the quarter.
• All deals where the acquirer owned less than 50% of the shares of the target after the acquisition were removed; hence, no minority purchases have been considered. All deals where the acquirer held more than 50% of target shares prior to the acquisition have been removed; hence, no remaining purchases have been considered.
• Only completed M&A deals with a value of at least $100 million that meet the study criteria are included in this research.
• Deal data are sourced from Refinitiv.