Global M&A activity involving SWFs surges

DUBAI (Reuters) - Global corporate mergers and acquisitions activity involving sovereign wealth funds increased by six-fold to nearly $22 billion in the third quarter with 37 deals completed, Thomson Reuters data showed on Wednesday.

Global announced M&A volumes involving state investment vehicles stood at $21.8 billion in the third quarter, up from $3.6 billion in the previous three months.

The number of deals more than doubled from 17 in the April-June period, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Only two weeks into the fourth quarter, there were 5 pending and completed deals with the value of $164.7 million.

At the height of the boom in the first quarter of 2006, sovereign wealth funds sealed 35 deals worth $45.7 billion.

Sovereign wealth funds have been on a rollercoaster since the start of the credit crisis. They poured some $80 billion into banking shares before the peak of the crisis, only to see value of their investments implode within months.

Many funds have shifted focus away from aggressive investment abroad and instead put money into assets at home or into "strategic" foreign assets, such as food and energy, that fit in with national economic policy.

(Reporting by Natsuko Waki; Editing by Inal Ersan)