A combined value of $91.9 billion in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) was announced in Q3 2018. This was an increase of 21% from the $75.9 billion in M&A deals announced in the previous quarter. The number of M&A deals decreased by 20% from 102 in Q2 2018 to 82 in Q3 2018, according to GlobalData.
The company’s latest report: ‘Quarterly Midstream Capital Raising Review – Q3 2018’ states that, of the total M&A deals, 58 deals, with a combined value of $83.6 billion, were domestic acquisitions and the remaining 24, with a combined value of $8.2 billion, were cross-border transactions. A quarter-on-quarter comparison shows a 12% decrease in cross-border transaction values in Q3 2018, compared to $9.3 billion in Q2 2018. However, domestic transaction values increased by 26% in Q3 2018 compared to $66.5 billion in Q2 2018.
Energy Transfer Equity’s (ETE) agreement to acquire the remaining stake in Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) for a purchase consideration of approximately $60.4 billion was the top deal registered in Q3 2018. Another landmark deal that was recorded in Q3 2018 was Enbridge’s agreement to acquire all of the outstanding public Class A common units of Enbridge Energy Partners, all of the public outstanding shares of Enbridge Energy Management, and all of the issued and outstanding shares of Enbridge Income Fund Holdings, for a purchase consideration of $7.1 billion.
Americas remained the front-runner for M&A registering 33 deals, with a total value of $82.1 billion in Q3 2018. Cross-border activity in the region decreased from nine in Q2 2018 to six in Q3 2018, while domestic acquisitions decreased by 43% from 47 deals in Q2 2018 to 27 in Q3 2018.The Europe, Middle East, and Africa accounted for 37% share in Q3 2018, comprising 31 acquisitions, of which 10 were cross-border and the remaining 21 were domestic acquisitions. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 20 global deals, or 24% in Q3 2018, of which 10 were cross-border acquisitions and the remaining 10 were domestic acquisitions.
