Dealmakers see Apac getting back on track after big M&A misses

[HONG KONG] Rainmakers in Asia-Pacific had a bumpy third quarter as some potentially huge deals failed to materialise.

Among them, Alimentation Couche-Tard abandoned its US$46 billion bid to buy the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven stores, and Abu Dhabi National Oil dropped a US$19 billion takeover of Australian natural gas producer Santos.

Despite the setbacks, companies are casting around for opportunities, encouraged by a dovish tilt on interest rates. Multinationals are reviewing their global assets, including in China, while private equity firms are under pressure to deploy capital and return money to investors. That may help put mergers and acquisitions activity back on track in the fourth quarter, advisers say.

“We have been very busy with financing deals, both debt and equity, to support companies strengthening their balance sheets and be ready for investments,” said Avinash Thakur, head of investment banking for Apac at Barclays.

M&A volumes

The volume of deals in Apac in the third quarter gained only around 1 per cent from the same period last year to US$319 billion. Conversely, Europe and the US saw increases of roughly 24 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, lifted by blockbusters such as the record US$55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts.

The weaker performance in Asia in the last three months compares with a strong first half of the year, when dealmaking unexpectedly outpaced Europe and the US.

The slowdown stemmed mainly from Asia’s more mature markets, where bigger deals tend to occur and advisers earn higher fees. Japan, one of the busiest markets for deals globally in the first half, saw a 15 per cent drop. South Korea had a 9 per cent fall, and in Australia the decline was 27 per cent.

China pull

While Apac showed tiny growth as a whole, dealmaking involving Chinese companies rose 22 per cent to nearly US$100 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s the country’s best third quarter in four years.

A surge in AI-driven security deals, supply-chain consolidation and policy-backed hard tech transactions helped lift M&A in China, said Sulan Yang, deputy chief executive officer of CGS International Holdings, a subsidiary of China Galaxy Securities.

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Highlights include Bain Capital’s US$4 billion sale of its data centres in the country and e-commerce giant JD.com offering to acquire Europe’s biggest retailer of consumer electronics, Ceconomy.

More deals are on the horizon as multinationals from Starbucks and GE Healthcare Technologies to Haagen-Dazs owner General Mills and Decathlon evaluate options, including selling stakes in their China operations.

China was not immune to failed deals either: Advent’s planned acquisition of the mainland China assets of contact-lens maker Ginko International also fell through with the finish line in sight. And CK Hutchison Holdings ruled out the likelihood of a sale of its global ports to a BlackRock-backed consortium this year.

India growth

India is also encouraging, having bucked the wider pattern with an acceleration in M&A. Unlike elsewhere in the region, deal activity was muted in the first six months of 2025 and then shot up by 19 per cent in the third quarter.

In July alone, Tata Motors acquired Iveco Group’s commercial trucks and buses business, French consulting company Capgemini bought IT outsourcing firm WNS Holdings, and Schneider Electric purchased Temasek Holdings’s stake in their Indian joint venture.

“India remains an attractive market for strategics, both from the perspective of catering to the local market as well as a global hub for exports,” said Rajat Sethi, a partner at law firm S&R Associates in Mumbai.

There are challenges too, not least from the US hiking tariffs on Indian goods. That’s had an impact on deals: TA Associates, for one, is delaying a planned sale of its majority stake in India’s OmniActive Health Technologies.

Elsewhere

Digital infrastructure was among the busiest sectors, with Singapore at the fore.

Vantage Data Centers secured a US$1.6 billion investment to help expand its Apac business. Stonepeak Partners agreed to invest US$1.3 billion in Princeton Digital Group. Also in Singapore, Keppel is looking to sell its interest in telecom firm M1 to a unit of Australia-listed Tuas.

“Across investment committees and board rooms, there is a sense of growing confidence to transact, and transact in bold, ever larger, transformative deals,” said John Lin, head of South-east Asia M&A at Bank of America.

Private equity is set to be another driver of M&A, according to Manas Chandrashekar, a partner at law firm Kirkland & Ellis in Hong Kong.

“Funds have record amounts of dry powder to invest,” he said, adding that they are also eager to sell portfolio companies and return capital to their backers. BLOOMBERG