Global mergers and acquisitions totalled USD1,420.2bn for the first three quarters of 2010, up 24.8 per cent from the same period in 2009, according to figures from mergermarket.
Deal count was also up by 16.7 per cent at 8,010 announced deals.
Goldman Sachs is the leading financial adviser, having advised on 208 deals worth a total of USD369.7bn in the first three quarters of 2010.
Private equity-backed buyouts reached USD69.1bn in Q3 2010, the highest quarter since Q2 2008. Activity for the first nine months of the year had a total value of USD150.6bn, 93 per cent more than the same time period in 2009.
Cross-border activity between regions has reached USD390.7bn so far this year, up 109 per cent compared to the first three quarters of 2009. Cross-border deal flow makes up 27.5 per cent of all global activity so far this year, the second highest percentage on mergermarket record.
The emerging markets saw USD357.3bn worth of deals announced in Q1 to Q3 2010, up 51.9 per cent from the same period in 2009. However activity dipped in Q3 2010, with only USD98.4bn worth of deals announced, the lowest since Q3 2009. European inbound and outbound M&A dominated the majority of activity in the emerging markets in Q1 to Q3 2010.
The average Ebitda multiple across global M&A for 2010 to date is 14.4x, the highest since 2008. The highest valuations have been seen in the Asia Pacific region, where the average Ebitda multiple is 18.5x.
A total of 6.4 per cent of announced deals in Q1 to Q3 2010 were valued over USD500m, the highest proportion since 2007. 515 deals with a deal value exceeding USD500m have been announced so far this year, compared to 323 for the same period in 2009, a 59.4 per cent increase.
European M&A rose by 50 per cent by value and 18 per cent by deal count from the same period last year.
US M&A is down one per cent by value and up 24 per cent by deal count from Q1 to Q3 2009.
Asia-Pacific M&A is up 23 per cent by deal value from the same period last year.
