However, for the first nine months of the year, the market registered sound growth, amounting to $9.2 billion (€7.1 bln), higher than total deals made in 2007, according to the survey.

“Although valuations fell and the emerging markets are full of acquisition opportunities, investors applied a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, which should remain in place until the credibility of the financial market is completely restored,” said Jakub Siekierzynski, Head of DW M&A research. Most deals closed in the third quarter were controlling interest acquisitions (50 deals), almost similar to Q3 2007. Only one privatization was made during July-September, compared to seven privatizations year-on-year. Of the total 67 deals carried out in Q3, 22 were in the real estate sector and 13 in the production sector. The finance and insurance, transportation, and construction sectors registered one deal each. “In terms of deal value, real estate keeps the top spot, though it shows a significant 61.5% drop to $414.42mln (€321.8 mln), with just two deals above $100 mln. For comparison, in Q3 2007 there were five deals worth more than $100 mln and the total went up to $1.076 bln,” the survey shows.