Deal volume slowed significantly in 2022 as several global headwinds disrupted deal-making activities. A total of 66,155 deals* were announced globally during 2022, which is a decline of 9.9% over the 73,447 deals announced during the previous year, finds GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflationary pressures, macroeconomic challenges and recession fears contributed towards making 2022 a troubled year for deal activity as dealmakers were forced to reevaluate, postpone or terminate their investment decisions.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database revealed that all the deal types under coverage witnessed a decline in deal activity. The number of private equity deals, venture financing deals and merger and acquisitions deals declined by 14.4%, 12.7% and 6.7% during 2022 compared to 2021, respectively.

Although North America continued to account for the highest share of global deal activity, the region experienced a notable decline during 2022. Deals volume in North America declined by 17.6% in 2022 compared to 2021.

Bose adds: “In fact, it was the only region to witness a double-digit decline. This could be attributed to weak deal activity experienced in the US, which saw a 17.8% decline in deals volume in 2022 compared to 2021.”

The Europe, Asia-Pacific and South & Central America regions witnessed a decline in deal activity by 3.8%, 4.3% and 2.4% during 2022 compared to 2021, respectively. Meanwhile, deal volume for the Middle East and African region for 2022 mostly remained at the same level as of 2021.

Akin to the US, several other key global markets also witnessed a decline in deal activity. China, the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia and France recorded a decline in deals volume by 16.5%, 7.7%, 16.2%, 4.4%, 8% and 4% in 2022 compared to 2021, respectively. However, some of the markets such as India, Japan, South Korea, and Italy showcased resilience, registering growth in deal activity by 6.8%, 13.7%, 3.1% and 0.7%, respectively.

Bose concludes: “Deal makers are likely to wait for these uncertainties to fade before making any further deals and it would be interesting to see how deal activity shapes up in 2023.”

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