Investment banking M&A hits $470b as target value slips

Announced transactions rose 9.4%, with mid-market activity driving much of the increase.

Deal-making by investment banks in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan rose to a four-year high in the year to date, with announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reaching $469.5b. 

That was 12.4% higher than the same period last year. The number of announced deals also increased, rising 9.4% year-on-year, helped by stronger activity in mid-market transactions.

Large deals were more active than a year earlier. M&A transactions valued at $5b or more totalled $105.4b, compared with $118.3b during the same period last year. 

Smaller transactions still made up most of the increase, with deal value below $1b rising 22.6% and deal count up 9.4%.

M&A involving APAC targets reached $359.9b, down 2.5% from a year earlier, despite an 11.8% increase in the number of deals.

High technology was the largest sector for deal-making, accounting for 24.8% of total activity. 

The sector recorded $116.6b in deal value, more than double last year’s level and the highest first-half total for the sector since 2022

Industrials followed with $68.7b, up 67.4% year-on-year. Materials accounted for $67.0b, down 14.3% from a year earlier but still representing 14.6% of total market share.

Private equity-backed activity in APAC reached a four-year high of $69.8b, an increase of 90.4% from the previous year. The number of private equity-backed transactions also more than doubled, rising 109.2%.