The cooling world economy will drive the value of merger and acquisition deals down in the next two years to below 2018 levels, a new study found.
The value of M&A transactions across the globe is expected to fall to $2.9 trillion (Dh10.64tn) in 2019, down from $3.1tn this year. It is excepted to decline further to $2.3tn in 2020, the fourth Global Transactions Forecast, released by consultancies Baker McKenzie and Oxford Economics, said.
With some major initial public offerings scheduled for 2019, total IPO proceeds are projected to reach $232 billion, higher than the $220bn achieved in 2018, but sliding to $154bn in 2020, according to the report.
However, in 2021 and beyond, with borrowing costs settling at their neutral rates and equity markets enjoying better growth, Baker McKenzie and Oxford Economics see potential for the start of a new upturn in both M&A and IPOs.
"We remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, as we believe deal-makers will continue to take the long view in a world where sitting on your hands and waiting for the volatility to die down is not an option,” Paul Rawlinson, global chair of Baker McKenzie, said in a statement on Thursday.
“However, as we identified 12 months ago, there are still real threats to free trade and investment flows and there remains potential for a much more serious outbreak of protectionism and isolation that business, regulators and government must try and guard against," he noted.
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Read more:
Global M&A appetite ‘at four-year low’, says EY
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Within the Middle East and Africa, a recovery in oil prices has helped the hydrocarbon-dependent economies through 2018, although the global oil market has become more volatile heading into 2019. The continued gradual progress towards more diversified economies should help build confidence and deal-making from 2019 onwards in the Middle East, while in Africa signs of financial and economic stability will do likewise, according to the report.
The value of announced mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East and North Africa more than doubled to $10bn in the third quarter from a year earlier, amid expectations of slower activity in 2019, consultancy EY said in a November report.
The GCC accounted for 79 per cent of the value of announced deals and 73 per cent of deal volume in Mena. The number of big ticket transactions grew to eight from two in the year-earlier period because of increased participation of sovereign wealth funds and activity in the oil, gas and petrochemicals sector.
The biggest deal during the quarter was Saudi Aramco’s $1.6bn acquisition of Arlanxeo, a chemicals company in the Netherlands, according to EY.
Overall, McKenzie and Oxford Economics expect another strong year in North America in 2019, particularly if trade talks become less contentious and partisan, but with lesser activity expected in the second half of next year.
With the Eurozone economy entering a cyclical slowdown, the report suggested a further reduction in deal activity in 2019.
“In selected European economies including Spain and the UK, the market has remained robust and prospects for 2019 look fair, especially if, and it's a big if, Brexit is managed relatively smoothly.”
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
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The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Common%20symptoms%20of%20MS
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EFatigue%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3Enumbness%20and%20tingling%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ELoss%20of%20balance%20and%20dizziness%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStiffness%20or%20spasms%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETremor%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPain%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EBladder%20problems%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EBowel%20trouble%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVision%20problems%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EProblems%20with%20memory%20and%20thinking%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Maestro
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
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Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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The%20specs
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Stars: 3
