(Australia) Australian involvement in mergers & acquisitions activity has risen 51 percent to more than US$46 billion in the first nine months of 2003 compared with US$30.5 billion during the same period in 2002.However, according to figures released by Thompson Financial, completed deals for 2003 are less than they were in 2002 with transactions down 15 percent.
Deutsche Bank finished top of the league for completed transactions involving Australian companies both locally and overseas, having advised on 20 deals amounting to US$10.05 billion. Macquarie Bank came second in the rankings followed by ABN Amro.
The biggest transaction involving an Australian company was News Corp’s US$6.6 billion purchase of a 34 percent stake in Hughes Electronics, announced last April.
JPMorgan was the top M&A adviser for the Asia region despite deal activity dropping by one fifth on the 2002 figure. Not including Japan, the value of M&A deals across Asia dropped 23 percent to just under US$61 billion.
M&A deals worldwide dipped four percent to US$853.6 billion.