MiningWeekly报道，一季度全球采矿和金属行业并购额为33亿美元，较去年同期下降45%。
周一，安永公司最新发布的全球融资和并购报告显示，一季度全球并购案件72起，而2015年第四季度为90起，继续呈现下行趋势。
一季度金并购案件数为31件，并购额为17亿美元，分别占全球并购的46%和一半以上。
大型矿业公司剥离资产过程已近尾声，占2016年一季度三大并购案件之首。
澳大利亚一季度采矿业和金属工业融资额为9.31亿美元，同比下降58%；并购案件依然接近历史低位，只有17起。
一季度澳大利亚全部并购额达到14亿美元，其中两个交易额占全部交易额的3%。
安永公司大洋洲采矿和金属行业交易部主管保罗·墨菲（Paul Murphy）表示，企业财务困难，特别是美国煤炭工业的困境使得矿业企业不得不对资产重新整合和剥离以筹集经营资金。投资和维持经营成本依然是该行业大多数企业面临的主要困难，而手中握有资金的企业则继续考虑并购机会，现在私人投资有望进入这个行业。
墨菲指出，私营投资活动是并购活动增长的先行指标，如果私人投资者能看到希望，那么并购活动将增强。市场低迷、金融机构投资兴趣增加使得销售者准备的资产迅速成为焦点。为吸引和保护买方利益，出售者必须能够说明价格竞争力的理由，所以必须掌握销售技巧，这样才能确保交易成功，并为股东带来最佳投资回报。
报告称，超出三分之一或者36%的公司高管认为，缺少深入的尽职调查是公司资产缩水的主要原因。这已成为私募股权买家降低报价或退出竞标的因素，44%的管理人员认为，他们不太相信这些资产信息。
墨菲认为，澳大利亚和全球的剥离资产现象在未来几个月还将出现，主要目的是去杠杆，并在市场波动时作出困难的决定。由于电动车和动力电池的发展，一些“技术”金属行业，比如铜、钴、石墨、锂和钒，将吸引更多关注。
安永预计，公司还将继续保留核心资产，除非出现商品或地区的结构性变化。另外，安永希望企业能跳出当前商品经营的范围去寻找其他机会。
Global merger and acquisition (M&A) deal value in the mining and metals sector fell by 45% during the first quarter of 2016, to $3.3-billion, compared with the previous corresponding period.
Advisory firm EY revealed in its latest global capital raising and M&A report on Monday that global deal volumes during the same period experienced a similar downward trend, with only 72 deals struck in the first quarter of the year, compared with the 90 struck in the last quarter of 2015.
Gold deals comprised over half of the quarter’s deal value globally at $1.7-billion and 46% of the volume at 31 deals. Divestment processes from a number of diversified miners started to close out and accounted for the top three deals of the first quarter in 2016. In Australia, the overall value of the capital raising in the mining and metals sector fell by 58% on the previous corresponding period, to $931-million, while deal volumes remained at near record low levels, with just 17 deals reported in the quarter.
The overall value of M&A deals in Australia reached $1.4-billion during the first quarter, with two transactions accounting for all but 3% of the total deal value. “Financial distress, particularly in the US coal industry, continues to weigh on many companies across the mining and metals industry and it’s playing out in the form of portfolio realignment and divestments to raise capital,” said EY Oceania mining and metals transaction leader Paul Murphy.
“Cash and sustaining costs continue to be the focus for most players in the sector, and while well capitalised miners will continue to consider acquisition opportunities, we are now starting to see the much anticipated foray of private capital into the sector.” Murphy noted that private capital activity was a lead indicator for growing deal activity, adding that if private investors were seeing value it was a sign that the deal cycle would begin to pick up.
He added that the tough market and increasing interest by financial investors had put a sharp focus on the level of preparation by sellers.
“Sellers must be able to tell a credible and compelling value story to attract and retain buyer interest, they need to prepare more and sharpen their sales skills if they want to secure a deal and secure the best outcome for shareholders.”
The report noted that over one-third of executives, or 36%, saw a lack of fully developed diligence materials as the main cause of value erosion in corporate divestments.
When it came to factors that induce private equity buyers to reduce offer prices or drop out of bidding, 44% of executives cited lack of confidence in information.
Murphy said that divestment programmes in Australia and globally would pick up over the coming months, with the need to reduce leverage and make difficult decisions to withstand ongoing volatility. “We are also seeing increasing interest in the ‘tech’ metals sector – copper, cobalt, graphite, lithium and vanadium – driven by anticipated demand for inputs into electric motors and battery storage.”
EY expected companies to retain their core, low-quartile asset, unless there was a commodity or regional restructure. The advisory firm was also expecting to see companies looking outside of their existing commodity focus or leveraging existing operations to explore other opportunities.
