International M&A Boom Fueled by Global Currency War

A binge of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is being fueled by the global currency war, which has increased the value of emerging market currencies. The value of worldwide M&A totaled $1.75 trillion during the first nine months of 2010, a 21% increase from comparable 2009 levels and the strongest nine month period for M&A since 2008 , according to Thomson Reuters. But mergers and acquisitions involving companies located in the emerging markets skyrocketed by 62.9% during the same period over 2009, totaling $480.7 billion.  During the first three quarters of 2010, emerging markets accounted for 27.4% of worldwide M&A volume compared to 21% during the comparable period in 2009. And companies are showing more willingness to venture across borders to find the resources they're after. M&A activity in deals across international borders has surged during the first nine months of 2010, totaling $723 billion accounting for 41.2% of overall M&A volume, compared to 26.1% last year at this time.