U.S. Acquisitions In Europe Lag Year-Ago Activity

U.S. Acquisitions In Europe Lag Year-Ago Activity by Richard Peterson, S&P Global Market Intelligence

U.S. announced merger and acquisition activity in 2016 involving the purchase of European businesses or assets is experiencing a decline from year ago activity. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, the aggregate disclosed value of announced U.S. M&A transactions to date this year involving European targets stands at under $54 billion, off almost 49% from the year ago deal value of $105.2 billion. In terms of announced deal account, this year’s volume is off by 10% as 730 deals have taken place to date in 2016 compared to 814 a year ago at this time.

With regard to specific sectors,...