Coronavirus pandemic drags global M&A to lowest level since 2012

Coronavirus pandemic drags global M&A to lowest level since 2012

The value of mergers and acquisitions fell 50 per cent in the first half from the year-earlier period to the lowest level since the depths of the debt crisis, as the coronavirus pandemic brought global deal-making to an abrupt halt.

Every region was hit by the economic impact of Covid-19, which gripped markets in March and sparked countrywide lockdowns. This situation has made face-to-face meetings, a lifeblood of M&A, all but impossible. Little more than $1 trillion of deals have been announced this year, making for the slowest first half since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The sharpest fall has been in the Americas, where the value of deals is down 69 per cent in the first half.

While every major industry has been hurt, the financial sector fared better than most. It was boosted by insurance brokerage Aon Plc's $30bn offer for Willis Towers Watson and Morgan Stanley's proposed $13bn acquisition of E*Trade Financial Corp.

The top three advisers on deals targeting the Americas so far in 2020 were Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the Bloomberg-compiled data show.

Deals involving targets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are down 32 per cent. Large transactions that helped