Research and consultancy company GlobalData has reported that mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity in the global mining and metals sector during February was, in value, higher than in January, but still substantially lower than the average figure for the previous 12 months. It was also very far below the level of February 2019.
In monetary terms, the deals announced in February were worth $1.26-billion. This was 18.4% higher than the value for such deals in January, but 61.7% below the average value for the last 12 months, which came to $3.29-billion.
The region that saw the most M&A activity in value terms was North America, where the deals had a total worth of $400.66-million. The country which saw the most valuable deals was, however, South Africa, with a value of $300-million.
Regarding the number of deals, North America ranked first, followed by the Asia-Pacific, with Europe in third place. Regarding individual countries, Canada was first with 40, Australia second with 15 and the US third with 12.
The top five deals accounted for 74.6% of the total M&A value for February. In monetary terms, their combined value was $939.64-million.
The biggest deal was Harmony Gold’s $300-million purchase of AngloGold Security Services Limited, Covalent Water Company, First Uranium and Masakhisane Investments. In second place was Guerrero Ventures’ asset transaction with Orion Resource Partners, which was worth $268-million.
In third place was Mitsubishi Materials’ $263-million asset deal with Mantos Copper Holdings. Fourth place was held by GFG Alliance’s $59.5-million acquisition of Adhunik Metaliks and Zion Steel. Fifth place was occupied by an asset transaction between Guerrero Ventures and Yamana Gold, which was worth $49.13-million.