Intersections: Transportation and logistics industry merger & acquisitions
Intersections is a quarterly analysis of global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the transportation & logistics industry. Each edition includes a review of overall deal activity for the quarter and year-to-date, as well as a summary of large deals.
Our analysis reveals that the number of deals announced during the first quarter is on par with the previous quarter; however there has been a big jump in total and average deal values. This is mainly due to five mega-deals announced this quarter, defined as announcements with a disclosed value of at least $1 billion. There were 11 total mega-deals announced last year.
The transportation and logistics sector continues to be highly cyclical, and European sovereign debt issues, a tepid US recovery, and a hard landing in emerging markets, among other factors, could affect the pace of M&A activity. Still, many factors are expected to drive deal activity over the rest of 2012. Overall transportation and logistics deal activity over the balance of 2012 seems more likely to rise than fall.