Duff & Phelps Publishes Transaction Trail 2017

Record level of deal value at over US$130 billion from M&A, PE/VC investments and IPOs in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia

• The total value of M&A, PE/VC investments and IPOs in Singapore exceeded US$100 billion, with a growth of over 15% compared to 2016, led by PE Buyouts. IPO capital raised in Singapore nearly doubled in 2017 over the prior year and is at a four-year high.
• Malaysia experienced the highest transaction value through M&A, PE/VC investment and IPO capital raised over the last five-year period.
• Indonesia sustained deal momentum and attracted significant technology investments.

SINGAPORE – Duff & Phelps, the premier global valuation and corporate finance advisor, today released key findings from its M&A publication, Transaction Trail Annual Report 2017. The report takes an in-depth look at transaction and capital markets activities, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments as well as initial public offerings (IPOs), in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia (the “region”) over the course of 20171.

In 2017, the region recorded total deal activity valued at over US$130 billion spread across 1,420 deals, with over 20 transactions valued at more than a billion dollars each. Globally, about 36,700 deals valued at over US$2.8 trillion were registered in the same period2 .

Singapore continues to have a lion’s share of the pie
Singapore recorded a total of 842 deals (M&A, PE/VC and IPOs) worth US$101.9 billion for 2017 as compared to 800 deals worth US$88.1 billion for 2016. M&A comprised the bulk of the deal volume in Singapore, constituting 698 deals valued at US$75.4 billion in 2017, compared to 684 deals valued at US$82.7 billion in 2016.

M&A deal values continued to be driven by sizeable outbound M&A transactions by Sovereign Wealth Funds (“SWF”), GIC and Temasek Holdings in consortium, complemented by other notable M&A deals such as Exxon Mobil Corp’s acquisition of InterOil Corp, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance’s acquisition of First Capital Insurance Ltd, Mapletree Investments’ acquisition of US Student Housing Assets, and Mercatus Co-operative’s acquisition of Jurong Point Mall.

Outbound deals continue to drive Singapore’s M&A deal value
In 2017, there were a total of 539 cross-border M&A deals in Singapore registering US$65.9 billion. The bulk of total deal value came from 357 outbound transactions (Singapore-based companies or SWFs acquiring overseas companies) worth US$54.6 billion contributing to over 72% of the total deal value in 2017 for M&A deals. Domestic transactions contributed to 13% of total M&A deal value with 159 deals valued at US$9.6 billion.

The largest contributor to M&A deal values in Singapore was the Real Estate sector which has remained the top sector since 2016. Real Estate contributed approximately 35% to the deal values, while it also contributed the most to deal volume, accounting for 25.8% of the deal volume in Singapore with a total of 180 deals. Based on M&A deal values, the top 3 sectors (Real Estate, Technology and Healthcare) accounted for over 70% of total deal values.

Highest yearly transacted value of PE/VC deals in Singapore in 2017
PE/VC investments in Singapore companies achieved record levels at US$22.8 billion in 2017 as compared to US$3.5 billion in 2016. This significant jump in value was attributable to some notable buyout / privatization deals such as the acquisition of Global Logistic Properties by China Vanke Co Ltd, Hopu Investment Management and other investors valued at US$11.6 billion; as well as Global Infrastructure Partners and other investors’ US$5.0 billion investment into Equis Energy. 

Technology sector continues to be a key driver of PE/VC deals in the region
Over the past three years, the technology sector has been one of the largest contributors to PE/VC deals in the region. PE/VC investments into tech companies has grown by about 9 times from US$672 million in 2015 to US$5,892 million in 2017. During 2017, the top deals in the technology sector included the US$2.5 billion investment into Singapore-based Grab by Softbank Group Corp, Didi Chuxing and Toyota Tsusho Corp, and the US$1.2 billion investment into Indonesia-based Go-Jek by Tencent Holdings Ltd, JD.Com Inc and other consortium investors, reflecting positive investor interest in transport-related tech startups. 

Four-year high in the Singapore IPO Market
The Singapore IPO market has witnessed a four-year high in value in 2017 with a total of 19 IPOs constituting US$3.7 billion raised on the Singapore Exchange, compared to 16 IPOs in 2016 raising US$1.9 billion. This strong performance in 2017 was mainly driven by the listing of Netlink NBN Trust which raised US$1.7 billion in IPO capital. Elsewhere, the Malaysia IPO market witnessed a significant growth in capital raised during 2017 with a total of 14 IPOs raising US$1.6 billion, compared to US$214 million for 2016.

Deal activity at a high in Malaysia and stable in Indonesia
Malaysia has seen a strong momentum in deal activity with total deals in M&A, PE/VC and IPO valued at US$20.3 billion in 2017 compared to US$15.6 billion in 2016. This is the highest deal value recorded in the last five years. Deal activity in Indonesia has maintained similar levels for 2017 with total deal values at US$ 9.6 billion, driven by sizeable transactions in the technology, materials and agriculture sectors. 

“It is encouraging to see the transaction values in the region tower over the historic highs in 2015. We are witnessing the lines between the M&A and PE/VC investments blur and notice that several transactions could fall in either category, as strategic investors make minority investments and financial investors take controlling stakes,” said Ms. Srividya Gopalakrishnan, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps.

“This year, we have seen several positive trends including an increase in overall transaction activity, large buyout deals, considerable PE/VC investments into several sectors, significant investment in the technology sector and a notable recovery in the IPO markets. It is heartening to see a pick-up in energy sector transactions, a continued trend of Singapore companies acquiring global businesses, three IPOs back-to-back in the same year in the new economy sector from Singaporean companies and many more other reassuring developments. With the strong regional demographics, increased globalisation, impetus by government bodies to encourage investments, and increased focus on intellectual property, we see the positive deal momentum continuing into the future,” concluded Ms. Gopalakrishnan.

1December 2016 to November 2017
2Source: Bloomberg (1 December 2016 to 24 November 2017)

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M&A advisory, capital raising and secondary market advisory services in the United States are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Pagemill Partners is a Division of Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC. M&A advisory and capital raising services in Canada are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Canada Ltd., a registered Exempt Market Dealer. M&A advisory, capital raising and secondary market advisory services in the United Kingdom and across Europe are provided by Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. (DPSL), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. In Germany M&A advisory and capital raising services are also provided by Duff & Phelps GmbH, which is a Tied Agent of DPSL. Valuation Advisory Services in India are provided by Duff & Phelps India Private Limited under a category 1 merchant banker license issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

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