Since the beginning of the year, the number of mergers and acquisitions, either the marriage between two companies or the acquisition of one by the other, has fallen by 20% compared to 2021. (Photo: 123RF)
Paris — The cumulative amount of mergers and acquisitions in the world amounts to more than 3,000 billion dollars since January, down 36% compared to the record year of 2021, under the effect of the rise in interest rates of interest, according to figures released Friday.
From January to November, 47,922 transactions were announced worldwide, which remains the second best performance calculated on the cumulative first eleven months of the year since the beginning of the statements in 1980, according to the specialist in financial data Refinitiv, which belongs to the LSE, the London operator.
This sum of operations represents a total of 3,300 billion dollars, a decrease of 36% compared to the record year of 2021 which had accumulated 5,200 billion dollars.
And since the start of the year, the number of mergers and acquisitions, either the marriage between two companies or the takeover of one by the other, has dropped by 20% compared to 2021.
In detail, compared to the first eleven months of 2021, mergers and acquisitions fell by 39% in the United States and by 33% in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Among the significant acquisitions, that of the “liberation” of the blue bird, the highly publicized takeover of the global information and influence platform Twitter by the multi-billionaire Elon Musk, for the sum of 44 billion dollars.
It is also the technology sector that represents the largest volume of mergers and acquisitions, accumulating a total of 696.6 billion dollars, even if it fell by 32%.
If the year 2021 had smashed all the records for the cumulative amount of mergers and acquisitions, in line with the economic rebound initiated in the summer of 2020, following the confinements linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2022 marked the end of free money.
In question, a succession of factors that are overwhelming the global economy and creating a climate of uncertainty: inflation which is accelerating month following month, a disruption of global supply chains, confinements in China, a war in Ukraine which is igniting energy prices…
The institutions guaranteeing price stability are forced to act, and in a very marked way: almost all the main central banks have made significant increases in their key rates.
As a result, interest rates jumped very quickly and available liquidity in the market drastically reduced.
