M&A activity in Latin America saw a sizeable 23% drop in total disclosed deal values to US$88.3bn from January to November, dragged lower as investors opted to close smaller deals in multiple markets, including Mexico, Chile and Colombia.

Though deal values were down, Latin America generated 1,887 M&A transactions from January to November, 3.7% more than in the same period of 2016, according to a report from research firm Transactional Track Record (TTR) in collaboration with international law firm Ontier.

Latin American M&A activity was particularly weak in November, when the region closed 144 operations, 65 of which disclosed values totaling US$7.42bn. The figures represent a 22.6% decline in the number of transactions and a 51.0% drop in disclosed deal values.

Deals outbound from the region were minimal last month, with three transactions targeting Europe and one to the US. Inbound deals were stronger, as North American firms targeted Latin America with 21 operations and European firms closed 10 deals in the region.

COUNTRY BY COUNTRY BREAKDOWN

Still far and away the largest M&A market in Latin America, Brazil has produced 974 transactions, up 6% y­o­y, in the first 11 months of 2017, with total disclosed deal values rising 6% to US$53.2bn.

The No. 2 market, Mexico, generated 265 operations, 2% less than in January to November 2016. Its disclosed total value reached US$17.0bn, down 40%. Mexico has faced and continues to confront deep investor uncertainty tied to ongoing Nafta renegotiations and a potential change in the political status quo with the July 2018 presidential elections approaching.

Activity in Chile over the first 11 months produced 217 deals with total disclosed values of US$8.6bn, reflecting a 17% increase in the number of operations but a 36% decline in reported deal values.

Likewise, Colombia saw transactions increase 3% to 149 in the period, though total deal values were down 81% to US$3.6bn. In contrast, Peru saw both a 14% increase in number of deals (118) and a 9% increase in disclosed capital moved in these transactions to US$5.8bn.

PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL

TTR reported that 141 private equity transactions took place from January to November in Latin America, 54 of which disclosed a total of US$8.7bn in capital. This represented 12% fewer transactions, while total reported value was flat. Venture capital deals continued to offer a bright spot with respect to business operations in the region.

TTR recorded 261 VC deals from January to November, up 20% over the same period in 2016, when reported values were up a 61%.

Source: Business News Americas / BN Americas - Chile