Mining industry cross border M&A deals worth a total of $7.7 billion were announced globally in Q4 2020, according to UK-based analytics firm Global Data.
The value marked an increase of 593.7% over the previous quarter and a rise of 71.5% when compared with the last four-quarter average, which stood at $4.49 billion.
Comparing cross border M&A deals value in different regions, Europe held the top position with total announced deals worth $3.61 billion in the period. At the country level, the UK topped the list in terms of deal value at $2.46 billion.
In terms of volume, North America emerged as the top region for cross border M&A deals, followed by Asia-Pacific and then Europe.
The top country in terms of cross border M&A deals activity in Q4 2020 was the US with 17 deals, followed by the Australia with 17 and Canada with 12.
At the end of Q4 2020, cross border M&A deals worth $20.02 billion were announced globally in the mining industry in 2020, marking a decrease of 28.8% year-on-year.
Top deals in Q4 2020
The top five cross border M&A deals accounted for 79.3% of the overall value during Q4 2020. The combined value of these deals stood at $6.11 billion, against the overall value of $7.7 billion recorded for the quarter.
The top five cross border mining deals of Q4 2020 tracked by GlobalData were:
- Nova Resources’ $2.39 billion acquisition of KAZ Minerals;
- The $1.86 billion acquisition of Teranga Gold by Endeavour Mining;
- Sandvik’s $1.15 billion acquisition of DSI Underground;
- The $490 million asset transaction with Shanghai Decent Investment Group by Nickel Mines; and
- Orion Mine Finance’s acquisition of Greenstone Gold Mines GP for $225 million.
