Mexican M&A activity picks up in March

After a slow start, Mexican M&A activity picked up a little in March, as the number of transactions in the first quarter increased 6.67% to 64.

The disclosed value of 23 deals at US$6.704bn represented a 21.24% decrease from the reported total in the same period of 2016.

Nevertheless, adding in March activity, the sum of disclosed values for the quarter reflects a strong upturn from the total for the first two months of 2017, where the annual comparison showed a 57.5% drop.

Activity in finance/insurance and real estate stood out in the quarter, generating 11 and 8 deals, respectively, according to Transactional Track Record (TTR).

From January to March, 13 Mexican deals had a disclosed value at under US$100mn, five between US$100mn and US$500mn, while five others came in above US$500mn.

Mexico also saw seven private equity deals in the first quarter, matching the figure from 1Q16. The number of venture capital deals rose to 11, up 57% year-on-year.

Looking at cross-border activity, Mexican firms showed the greatest interest in carrying out deals in the US, completing six transactions with the total disclosed value reaching US$2.410bn. Mexico-based firms also completed deals in eight South American nations – the largest being in Peru with a price tag of US$759mn.

US and Spanish firms showed the strongest private equity activity in Mexico, completing eight and five transactions, respectively, in 1Q17. US transactions in Mexico totaled US$1.279bn, according to the report.

"The United States will continue to be very relevant for Mexico's transactional market," said Begoña Cancino, a partner at Mexican legal firm Creel, García Cuéllar, Aiza and Enríquez, in an interview with TTR.