Global mergers and acquisitions fell short of previous years, as geopolitical uncertainty took a toll on investments. Asia however held firm, with China showing little sign of slowing.
Dealmaking in Asia-Pacific without Japan rose 4.5 percent in transaction value to $673.5 billion last year, Mergermarket wrote in an annual mergers and acquisitions report.
China, despite concerns about its slowing and debt-laden economy, made for nearly half of the region's 3,750 deals – or 49.1 percent by deal value.
Overall global M&A fell just short of previous years, falling 3.2 percent to $3.15 trillion, from $3.26 trillion in 2016. This makes the fourth consecutive year that dealmaking has broken the $3 trillion barrier.
Last year ended on a high for investment bankers, with December seeing the year's largest monthly total of mega-deals – five, including the two largest deals of the year.
The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s entertainment assets was the largest deal of the year worth $68.4 billion. American investment bank Goldman Sachs led the financial advisor rankings, advising on 315 deals globally worth $878.1 billion.
