Mexican M&A activity posted a solid start to 2018, following a lackluster year in 2017. A total of 25 deals closed in January, 19 of which disclosing values totaling US$1.582bn.

The operations, reported by research firm Transactional Track Record (TTR), represent a 19.1% increase in the number of transactions over January 2017 and an 80% increase in terms of the disclosed capital moved in M&A deals.

Of the 15 transactions reporting deal values, 11 were small market ­ valued below US$100mn ­ and four were mid­market, coming in between US$100mn and US$500mn, said TTR.

Looking at the most active sectors, both real estate and the financial and insurance sectors saw four deals each, followed by Internet with three operations and other tech with two.

The US continued to be the principal target of outbound deals from Mexico, producing four transactions last month with other operations targeting Argentina, Spain, Brazil and Chile. The largest disclosed value for outbound activity occurred with Argentina, totaling US$360mn.

US and Spanish companies dominated inbound transactions, closing two deals in Mexico apiece. By value, the largest inbound deal came from Canada, at US$320mn.

TTR reported eight total venture capital deals in Mexico totaling US$165mn, reflecting a 60% increase in the number of operations and a 12.7% increase in VC capital movement compared to January 2016.

Source: Business News Americas / BN Americas - Chile