 |
|
| Best Emerging markets M&A house: Goldman Sachs |
|
| Also shortlisted: Citi, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank |
Since emerging markets M&A is a relatively capital-light business, the competition between global investment banks for a piece of the action remains fierce, even as many international banks are forced to reassess the value of maintaining on-the-ground sales and trading operations.
What’s more, with slower global growth, softer commodity prices, macro volatility, and the effects of quantitative easing inflating equity prices – vexing corporate valuations – M&A deal volumes have been challenged in both developed and developing markets.
Nevertheless, emerging market deal volumes continue to constitute around a third of the global M&A market – compared with under 10% a decade ago – and plenty of companies from the Gulf and Asia, in particular, demonstrated their financing firepower power and appetite for deals over the past year. What’s more, evidence abounds that the much-vaunted jump in south-south flows is providing banks with plenty of lucrative M&A advisory opportunities.
Nevertheless, for all the talk among multi-product international banks of the importance of having a deep local presence and providing banking facilities for clients as they grow from small enterprises into large corporates seeking capital market solutions, Goldman Sachs remains the natural M&A adviser from the perspective of emerging market corporate chieftains.