Investment bankers are forecasting a stellar year for mergers and acquisitions in Asia following a leap in the value of both inbound and outbound transactions in 2010.
Outbound M&A soared 166 per cent to a record $126.1bn in the region excluding Japan and Australia, according to Citigroup, with total deal flows including inbound and intra-regional transactions jumping 48.8 per cent to a record $470.5bn.
Significantly, deal flows were strongest in the last two quarters, giving bankers confidence that the bull run would continue in 2011. “We expect as much as a 30 per cent gain this year,” says Colin Banfield, head of mergers for Citigroup in Hong Kong.