Foreign deals could ease the downturn

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Buy-out levels in the UK have dropped to their lowest for four years according to Centre for Management Buyout Research, indicative of the global slowdown, but emerging markets could provide some respite.

Deals to and from emerging markets are expected to climb. Dutch bank ABN AMRO’s head of its Fixed Income Capital Markets division in Asian, Choo Hak Lee, said growth in Asian-led buy-outs would eventually generate a higher value than in Europe or the US.

Philip Cracknell, global head of Syndications and co-head of Capital Markets at Standard Chartered Bank, said he expected a continued increase in deals from Asia. He singled out India and China, pointing out that there have already been several larger acquisitions from the former, such as Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals acquiring assets in the UK and the US.

Eastern Europe has also been attracted UK firms, such as ITE Group’s recent acquisition of Siberian Fair for $12.1 million (£6.1 million), and Inchcape’s majority stake buy in its Lithuanian counterpart, UAB Vitvela, for £13 million.

Deutsche bank’s co-head of global M&A sounded a note of caution that emerging markets would abate the slowdown to an extent, but “not nearly enough to reverse the decline.”

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