The value of M&A deals in 2012 totaled nearly $250 billion compared with a total of around $136 billion in 2013. In the three years from 2010 through 2012 more than $600 billion in M&A deals were completed.
No corporate merger valued at more than $5 billion occurred in 2013, while there were several deals valued at more than $10 billion in 2012. Two of 2012’s biggest deals were Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.’s (NYSE: FCX) acquisition of McMoRan Exploration and Plains Exploration & Production for a total of about $20 billion. Another big acquisition in 2012 was Cnooc Ltd.’s (NYSE: CEO) $15 billion deal for Nexen Energy.
2012’s biggest deal, of course, was Rosneft’s $60 billion buyout of TNK-BP, and there was no deal anywhere near that size in 2013.
Last year’s largest deal was the $6 billion acquisition of Eagle Ford assets from privately held GeoSouthern Energy by Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN). Only 3 of the 20 largest global deals involved North American acquisitions and North American deals totaled less than 45% of global deals, down from around 50% in 2012.
According to IHS, half of 2013’s 10 biggest deals were completed by national oil companies from China and the Caspian region. Other areas where M&A activity grew were West and East Africa and Latin America.
While M&A activity may have slowed, capital spending did not. IHS notes, “[T]he total global upstream capital investment increased by approximately 10 percent in 2013 due to the significant growth in exploration and development spending.” Considering that the three-year spending total on M&A was $600 billion, it makes sense that companies would slow down their buying and spend some time developing their new assets — or in the case of sellers, spending their new money.
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)
Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.
Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.
Click here now to get started.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.