Some of the world’s top business leaders are reversing plans for mergers and acquisitions due to a sharp deterioration in confidence over the past month amid fears of the uncertain macroeconomic outlook.
Austerity measures, increasing taxes, currency conflicts and regulatory concerns, among other issues, are undermining confidence in the global economy and reducing appetite for M&A, in spite of improved funding availability.
A number of mooted deals have collapsed in the past week. On Friday, HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, ended talks to buy a £5bn ($7.3bn) majority stake in South Africa’s Nedbank, while attempts by Sinochem of China to put together a rival bid for PotashCorp are faltering.
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