Worldwide M&A activity falls 23 percent, but U.S. has a flurry

By Anjuli Davies

LONDON (Reuters) - Worldwide mergers and acquisitions deals have fallen 23 percent to $336 billion so far this year compared with last year, but cross-border activity by amount targeting U.S.-based companies reached a record high, Thomson Reuters data shows.

After hitting a record high by deals value in 2015, worldwide M&A activity has been hurt this year by falling oil prices, worries about slowing growth in China and the health of the financial sector.

A trio of deals for U.S. companies topped the list of M&A announced this week, including Chinese company Tianjin Tianhai’s $6.3 billion offer for U.S.-based Ingram Micro, bringing year-to-date China outbound M&A targeting the U.S. to $23.3 billion.

China, Ireland and Canada account for 88 percent of cross-border acquirers in the U.S. so far this year.

European M&A activity, which lagged the U.S. in 2015, has hit $92 billion so far this year, up 4 percent compared with a year ago, after state-owned ChemChina announced it would buy Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for $43 billion in February.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) holds the top spot in the global M&A league tables followed by JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) and Barclays .

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(Reporting By Anjuli Davies)

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