April 1, 2008 For Immediate Release mergermarket league tables of fi nancial advisers to global M&A for Q1 2008 Contacts: Mergers and acquisitions experienced something of a ‘death rattle’ in the fi rst quarter of 2008 as large transac- tions in the commodities sector - typically the last sector to fall in a general cyclical downturn - comprised 40% Europe of all announced global deals in the fi rst quarter of 2008. In fact, if the USD 211bn bid for Rio Tinto by BHP Hannah Bagshawe Billiton is stripped out, as well as the Philip Morris demerger, Europe saw its slowest quarter by value since Q3
[email protected] 2004. The US M&A market saw its slowest quarter since Q3 2003, with the complete absence of any major Tel: +44 20 7059 6118 head turning deal announcement so far*. North America And with the wholesale deleveraging taking place in the global fi nancial services sector, it should come as Karishma Thakkar no surprise that no debt was available to put even a single buyout on the list of the top 10 of global deals this
[email protected] past quarter. By contrast, no less than seven of the top 10 deals announced in the fi rst half of 2007 comprised Tel: +1 212 686 6305 LBOs. Meanwhile, the fi nancial services sector, which had consistently been the hottest single sector for M&A in recent years, made up just 12% of all M&A activity by value. Asia-Pacifi c Seye Im But it is always darkest before the dawn.