The global mergers and acquisitions market grew by 30% in the first quarter – Kommersant

In the first quarter, the volume of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) increased by 30%, reaching $690 billion. Financial Times with reference to London Stock Exchange Group data. The number and volume of large M&A (amounting to more than $10 billion) increased especially noticeably: 11 transactions for a total of $215 billion versus five transactions for $100 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

Over the past two years, M&A volume has been fell after 2021’s record numbers. This was due to geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, rising interest rates and other negative factors. Now the indicators are being restored. “We are back to average or back to normal. We are seeing a real rebound after the exceptionally low level at this time last year,” said Andre Kelleners, head of M&A for Europe, Africa and the Middle East at Goldman Sachs. One of the factors behind the recovery is the expectation that the Fed will cut its key rate this summer. At the same time, as observers note, investors still remain somewhat cautious.

The largest transactions were merger for $35 billion of American banking groups Capital One and Discover Financial Services and purchase for $35 billion by the American developer Synopsys of the software engineering company Ansys. The volume of M&A in Europe grew by 60% in the first quarter, to $127 billion, and in the Asia-Pacific region decreased by 28%, to $90 billion.

Previously reportedthat the IPO in the first quarter remained at the 2023 level. At the same time, analysts expect a recovery in activity in this market in the next quarters of this year.

Yana Rozhdestvenskaya