Global private equity-backed mergers & acquisitions (M&As) saw a strong show in April 2022 at $147.4 billion, up 43 per cent over previous month, revealed latest data from Refinitiv, an LSEG business.
In the first four months this calendar year, deals worth $442 billion were recorded. This was 28 per cent higher compared to the same period last year. The latest count of $442 billion is an all-time year-to-date high, according to Refinitiv.
Private equity deals account for 31 per cent of all deals by value this year, the highest year-to-date share, Refinitiv said.
Global M&As
In the first four months, M&A deals worth $1.4 trillion were announced globally. This was 21 per cent lower than the all-time high of $1.8 trillion recorded during the same period last year, Refinitiv data showed.
Deals totalling $378.4 billion were announced during the month. This monthly performance was down 25 per cent over April 2021, but up 23 per cent compared to the previous month.
Meanwhile, merger activity in Asia-Pacific totalled $128 billion, up 8 per cent compared to April 2021.
Technology sector
Deals in technology sector totalled $345 billion during the period. This was down 25 per cent compared to the same period last year. Technology deals account for 24 per cent of M&A activity so far during 2022.
Technology has been the most active sector by number of deals announced so far during 2022. Technology has been the leading sector by number of deals during each of the last 28 months.
Twelve deals worth $5 billion or more were announced globally in April. This was 50 per cent more than last month and the highest monthly mega deal tally so far this year. Four deals announced in April 2022 were worth more than $20 billion. The number of mega deals announced in the first four months of 2022 stood at 41. This was 17 less than the same period in 2021.
Cross border M&A
Cross border M&A totalled $423.6 billion during the first four months of 2022. This was 29 per cent down from the same period last year.
More than 5,000 cross border deals were announced till April 2022. Cross border transactions account for 30 per cent of all deals by value so far this year, compared to 33 per cent last year, according to Refinitiv.