Worldwide
The decline in global M&A values paused in the second
quarter of calendar year 2012, with an increase of 13.9% over
Q1/2012. This reversed five consecutive quarters of falls in global
M&A totals, according to mergermarket's M&A
Round-up for the first half of 2012.
However, the overall M&A picture remains uncertain. The
value of deals done in the first half of 2012 was a near 22%
decline on the same period in 2011. On current form, full-year 2012
is set to post the second lowest yearly total for M&A activity
since 2004.
Asia-Pacific
Introduction
Despite recent instability in financial markets, there are some
signs of optimism regarding M&A activity in 2012. According to
Bloomberg's 2012 Asia Pacific M&A Outlook, 70% of
respondents expect an increase in M&A deal count over the
course of this year compared to 2011. But investors see slow
economic growth and ongoing market volatility as the most
significant obstacles to closing M&A deals in 2012.