This week's $17.7 billion bid for Canada-based Nexen Inc by China's CNOOC, brings the weekly total of energy & power deals to $27.5 billion, the strongest week for deal making in the sector since October 2011 when Kinder Morgan announced its $36.2 billion bid for El Paso Corp. Year-to-date, the volume of M&A activity in the energy & power sector totals $240.9 billion, a decline of 23% compared to the year ago period.
Energy & Power M&A activity in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom account for 63% of the year-to-date totals in the sector. JP Morgan tops the list of financial advisors in the energy sector this year, up from fifth last year. Credit Suisse has moved from sixth place to second.
European Investment Grade Debt Volume Down 20%
The volume of investment grade debt issuance from European companies totals $610.5 billion for year-to-date 2012, a decrease of 20% compared to a year ago. This week's $2.1 billion offering from Heineken NV brings the volume of activity from European food and beverage issuers to $20.2 billion, nearly three times the level of issuance seen during year-to-date 2011. Financial issuers, which account for 38% of year-to-date activity, have registered a 42% decrease compared to the year ago period, when the sector accounted for 52% of issuance from European companies.
BNP Paribas tops the list for investment grade debt underwriting for companies in Europe with 7.4% share, on par with last year's share, when the firm also ranked first.
Inbound Canada M&A Hits Best Level since 2007
Cross-border M&A into Canada totals $47.2 billion so far in 2012, an increase of 84% compared to last year at this time and the best year-to-date period for inbound M&A in Canada since 2007 when Rio Tinto acquired Alcan for $43.0 billion. Energy & power targets account for 61% of inbound M&A activity so far this year, followed by consumer staples (17%) and materials (10%). China is the top acquiror of Canadian companies or assets this year with 41% of all inbound deals. Buyers in Switzerland and the United States account for 16% and 15%, respectively.
RBC Capital Markets tops the Canada Any Involvement M&A rankings so far this year, up from third place last year. CIBC has fallen eighth place this year from first.
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