Forging ahead: Global metals mergers and acquisitions analysis

Download Forging ahead: Global metals mergers and acquisitions analysis: First quarter of 2009 (3 mb)

Continued anxiety over the economy caused a significant decline in US deal targets; no deals were announced for US companies in the first quarter of 2009. This coincides with the decline seen in the fourth quarter of 2008, when only two deals for US companies were announced, and is notable especially because US targets accounted for 21 percent of the total deals announced in both 2007 and 2008. The region saw a lack of deals in 2009 because of the relatively consolidated state of the domestic metals industry, as well as a weak economic environment compared with several emerging markets.

Although the pace of deals overall is showing a decline in 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the average value for deals announced during the first quarter actually remained similar to the average value announced in 2008.

In addition to our analysis on mergers and acquisitions activity, we supplement this issue with a special report that addresses the effect of the national stimulus bill and the developments in the auto industry on the metals sector. Included in the discussion are ways in which automotive losses translate to difficulties for metals companies as well as their efforts for long-term restructuring.