HORIZONS | BDO'S GLOBAL VIEWOF MIDMARKET DEAL ACTIVITY 01
GLOBALVIEW
PRIVATE EQUITY CONTINUES TO BE A GROWING FORCE INTHE M&A MARKET IN 2021
After the strong recovery of global mid-market deal activity following the onset of the pandemic, the M&A market took a slight pause for breath in Q3. However, it still recorded a very respectable deal activity in excess of 2,100 deals that was on a par with pre-pandemic levels. That pause for breath was more evident with trade acquirers while private equity continued to invest at near record levels. It is noticeable how the mix has changed. In the two or three years before the pandemic, the split of trade vs private equity deals was typically 85:15. In the first three quarters of 2021, the split has been more like 75:25. Whilst trade acquirers have re-entered the M&A market in good numbers, private equity has been increasingly active in closing deals.
Looking around the world, there was a mixed pattern of gains and falls in the quarter. Greater China and Latin America saw an uptick in deal activity. The majority of regions were on a par with the previous quarter. The biggest falls were in North America, Southern Europe and the Nordics. North America was only 60% of the prior quarter but closer to historic levels. Africa and Israel also saw noticeable falls in activity. Between them, North America and Greater China represented nearly half of global deal activity.
Average deal value remains above USD 100m, which is well above historic levels. We believe this reflects high current valuations and in turn a record supply of money to invest compared to the supply of suitable target companies. We do not see this picture changing in the immediate future. In terms of sectors, Industrial &Chemicals andTMT remained the most prolific, representing around 20% and 30% respectively of total deal activity. Most sectors were down a little on activity on the quarter with Energy, mining and utilities holding up best.
That trend is even more marked, when you look at aggregate deal value. In Q3, that was running at USD 216bn, which was only slightly down on the first half of 2021 and still well ahead of pre-pandemic amounts. Looking at the split of trade vs private equity aggregate deal value, it is currently under 70% trade and over 30% private equity. Pre-pandemic it was more like an 80:20 split. So, private equity now represents over 25% of deals and over 30% of value.
GLOBAL MIDMARKET M&A
3,000
300,000
2,500
250,000
2,000
200,000
150,000
1,500
100,000
1,000
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50,000
0
0
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