China Financial M&A Breaks Out
NEW YORK (
) -- While financial sector merger and acquisition activity has virtually ground to a halt, deal makers in China have never been so busy, according to a recent report from
Dealogic
.
The investment banking number cruncher has tallied up $36.2 billion worth of deals so far this year targeting Chinese financial companies, the highest total ever. Meanwhile, deals targeting U.S. financial companies add up to $26.2 billion, the lowest total since at least 1995--which is as far back as
Dealogic
's data go. It is the first time financial deals in China have outpaced those in the U.S.
Taking advantage of the trend are
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Free Report
and
Credit Suisse
(CS) - Get Free Report
, respectively ranked first and second among advisors to Chinese financial companies being acquired, according to
Dealogic
's analysis.
The top Chinese financial deal so far this year was
China Mobile
(CHL) - Get Free Report
's purchase of a 20% stake in
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank
for $5.8 billion. In the U.S., it was
Bank of New York Mellon
(BK) - Get Free Report
's $2.3 billion acquisition of
PNC Financial
(PNC) - Get Free Report
's global investment servicing business, though a
involving
Citigroup
(C) - Get Free Report
,
Discover Financial Services
(DFS) - Get Free Report
,
SLM Corp.
(SLM) - Get Free Report
and the federal government would have been worth more if it were all counted as a single deal instead of three separate ones.
--
Written by Dan Freed in New York
.
Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks.
