M&A volume down 32pct, Goldman top dealmaker -data
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Global M&A volumes were down 32 percent so far this year, Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) data for August showed, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) topped league tables as the world's largest dealmaker.
Syndicated loans issuance dropped 47 percent compared with the same period a year before, while debt and equity issuance dropped 35 and 36 percent respectively -- though last week was the busiest for euro-denominated bonds from non-financials since November 2006.
Large euro-denominated issues from E.ON AG (EONGn.DE), Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N) and Daimler Chrysler AG (DAIGn.DE) contributed to the increased debt volume during the last week of August.
The data underscore how badly investment banking is being hit by the credit crisis, as access to leveraged finance has shut for private equity firms -- a major driving force of deals last year -- and corporate buyers have become more cautious.
In one particularly telling example, the volume of withdrawn initial public offerings (IPOs) so far this year already exceeds the full-year level of pulled flotations in 2007.
JP Morgan (JPM.N) consistently topped league tables for capital markets, coming first in syndicated loans, equity capital markets as well as debt capital markets.
Benefiting from the weaker dollar, European companies scooped up more rivals in the United States than last year, with hostile deals reaching $82.1 billion, the highest level since 1999 when the number stood at $100.7 billion.
Top deals include the acquisition of Genetech DNA.N by Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX), NRG Energy Inc's (NRG.N) offer for Calpine Corp (CPN.N) and the proposed acquisition of Alpharma Inc ALO.N by King Pharmaceuticals Inc (KG.N).
Chinese companies bulked up in Europe, being responsible for 14.4 percent of all deals in which a European company was approached, up from only 2 percent a year ago.
Overall acquisitions from so-called BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- were also on the up, accounting for 9 percent of overall deal volume.
The data also showed the trend of the dollar's diminishing importance of debt issuance, with the euro gaining in importance.
Only 40.3 percent of investment-grade debt was issued in dollars so far this year, down 4 percent from the full-year 2007 and a full 14.2 percent lower than in 1999. (Editing by David Holmes)
