Russo-Ukraine war: Hundred companies signed deals worth $45 billion since the war

These include initial public offerings, bonds or loans, and acquisitions. we equity market deals The first quarter was hit hardest by global volatility, as a crop of firms postponed listings, while Japanese and European credit market There were also delays.

The disruption comes when struggling funding markets hurt investors’ appetite for risk and growth, rising interest rates and increasing uncertainty over the supply chain. Pulled deals mean the fee feast that bankers experienced last year could turn into a famine.

Marco Baldini, head of the EMEA bond syndicate at Barclays plc, said: “Volatile markets mean it has become harder to execute deals. Sales of high-grade bonds have declined as the war in Ukraine slows, but in a promising sign. “The quantity is picked up significantly as we move towards Easter,” he said.

time problem

About 50 companies have postponed their IPO plans since late February, of which about 30 were US listings, including Bioxtran Inc., Crown Equity Holdings Inc. and Sagimet Biosciences Inc. It is difficult to estimate the total value of the delayed IPO, as the size of most transactions is not disclosed.

The most prominent delays have come from Asia and Europe, with the amount disclosed. Olam International Ltd postponed a primary listing of its food unit on the London Stock Exchange, which would have a turnover of 13 billion pounds ($17.1 billion), while Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Co put on hold its planned Hong Kong IPO. The shopping mall entity that was aiming to raise around $3 billion.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdowne plc, said, “Many of the latest offering plans are likely to be postponed until measures for more calm returns.” “Timing is everything for an IPO.”

M&A Hits

Mergers and acquisitions have not been completed, with about 10 deals worth more than $5 billion stalled since the war. Global M&A is down 15% in the first three months of the year to $1.02 trillion, the lowest since the third quarter of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. was one of the few megadeals as the companies mostly stayed away from large transactions.

The worst fall was in Europe, where acquisitions targeting companies in the region fell 38%. The UK’s Spectris plc ended talks in March to buy Oxford Instruments plc in a deal that would be valued at £1.8 billion. Peel Hunt Ltd said the delayed deals would dent its investment banking revenue, while peer Numis Corp also warned of a hit.

The impact of the war has been felt in global bond markets, where issuances have declined 14% so far this year, according to data from Bloomberg. Eight issuers in Europe, including the Slovak Republic, utility Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG, and French financial firm Coface SA, shelved bonds worth more than $5 billion.

In Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., Ltd., Tohoku Electric Power Company Inc. And seven companies, including Oryx Corp., have issued domestic bonds totaling $800 million. And in India, even the state-owned Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd could not avoid delaying its sale.

Other debt markets, including leveraged loans and asset-backed securities, are also struggling.

Callaway Golf Company was marketing a $950 million loan before putting it on hold indefinitely in early March, citing market conditions. German eye-care firm Veonet Group deferred a loan of 795 million euros, which was in syndication on 24 February, on the day of war.

Even electric car giant Tesla Inc. had to delay the sale of more than $1 billion in asset-backed securities to mid-March, while halting commercial mortgage-backed deals to the likes of Deutsche Bank AG fell.

“The war in Ukraine is exacerbating existing supply chain constraints and increasing input costs for corporate borrowers, as central banks prepare to tighten financial conditions in response to the worst inflation figures in decades,” Scope Ratings said. Said in a recent report.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.