A total of 837 deals were announced globally during the week ended 29 March 2020, according to GlobalData’s deals database.
The number marked a decrease of 19.7% when compared with the 1,042 deals announced during the previous week.
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The subdued activity, which has been continuing over the past few weeks, might be attributed to volatile market conditions since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Most of the key markets experienced a plunge in deal activity during the week ended 29 March 2020 compared to the earlier week.
Deal volume declined by 21.5% in the US, while the UK and China saw volumes dropping by 32% and 4.4%, respectively.
With respect to sectors, travel and tourism witnessed decline in deal activity, while healthcare (including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment) and retail experienced improvement in deal activity.
There was also a decline in volume in most key deal types. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal volume decreased by 36.4%, and the number of private equity, venture financing and partnerships deals dropped by 52.7%, 22.5% and 7.6%, respectively.
The number of licensing agreements, however, increased to 25 from ten in the previous week.
