How APAC M&A advisers ranked as BofA topped $28b in deals

Rothschild & Co and BNP Paribas followed closely behind the leader in total value.

Mergers and acquisitions activity involving Asia-Pacific (APAC), excluding Japan, slowed over the past year.

Total deal value fell 6.3% year on year to $212.5b, even as the number of announced deals rose 3.4%, according to the Investment Banking Review by LSEG Data & Analytics.

The decline was largely due to fewer large deals, with transactions below $1b making up a greater share of activity. Deals valued above $5b dropped sharply, falling 44% to $86.5b compared with $89.1b a year earlier. 

Overall APAC M&A totalled $143.4b, down 31.1% from the previous year.

By sector, high technology led activity with $86.0b in deals. Materials followed at $28.7b, ahead of industrials at $28.3b and energy and power at $28.0b. 

Financials recorded $13.1b, whilst healthcare reached $10.1b. 

Telecommunications, media and entertainment, real estate, consumer staples, retail, and consumer products and services each accounted for smaller shares, ranging from about $7.1b down to $5.5b.

Private equity-backed deals rose strongly despite the overall decline in value. 

These transactions increased 74.9% year on year to $31.9b, alongside a 104.6% rise in the number of deals.

Amongst financial advisers, BofA Securities ranked first by deal value, working on transactions worth $28.4b for a 13.4% market share, followed by Rothschild & Co with $23.8b and BNP Paribas with $23.2b. 

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley completed the top five, with $21.8b and $15.5b, respectively. 

Morgan Stanley advised on the highest number of deals amongst the top firms, with 16 transactions, whilst JP Morgan handled 12 deals.

Several banks recorded sharp changes in activity, with BNP Paribas and Barclays showing strong increases in deal value, whilst Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan saw declines compared with a year earlier.