• Global deal activity down 27.5% M-o-M and 46.7% Y-o-Y in January 2023
• All the deal types under coverage witnessed massive double-digit decline
• Most of the key global markets registered subdued deal activity

Global deal activity is off to a slow start in 2023 as the first month of the year itself saw a significant contraction in deals volume. A total of 3,667 deals* were announced globally during January 2023, which is a decline of 27.5% compared to 5,055 deals announced during the previous month and a massive 46.7% Y-o-Y decline over January 2022, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Several global headwinds such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflationary pressures, macroeconomic challenges and recession fears disrupted deal-making activities in 2022 and these factors also seem to have a spillover effect in 2023.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database revealed that all the deal types under coverage also witnessed a massive double-digit decline in deals activity in January 2023, thereby contributing to the overall decline. The number of private equity deals, venture financing deals, and merger and acquisitions deals declined by 54.2%, 51.8%, and 40.9% Y-o-Y in January 2023 over January 2022 and 26.5%, 25.2%, and 29.1% compared to the previous month, respectively.

Deals activity in all the regions also saw a slowdown as most of the key global markets witnessed a decline. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South & Central America region registered 48.9%, 39.6%, 50.5%, 32.9%, and 54.4% Y-o-Y decline in deals volume in January 2023 and M-o-M decline of 12.3%, 27.6%, 44.9%, 10.2%, and 47.3%, respectively.

The US, which is the top market in terms of deal activity, witnessed a massive 50.4% Y-o-Y drop in deals volume in January 2023 and an 11% decline compared to the previous month. Similarly, China, the UK, India, Canada, Japan, and Germany registered 46.2%, 28.2%, 51.6%, 29.3%, 50.7%, and 48.2% Y-o-Y decline in deals volume in January 2023 and M-o-M decline of 49%, 6.7%, 20%, 23.4%, 44.4%, and 36.6%, respectively.

*Comprising mergers & acquisitions, private equity, and venture financing deals

(Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain)