Mining M&A slowdown likely a blip on the radar--China positioned to make opportunistic buys and lead a rebound in deal-making

摘要

What a year of two different halves. The first half of 2011 was the busiest half year of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the mining sector's history, but the summer saw the flurried pace of activity virtually grind to a halt. A recent PwC Mining Deals report documented the recent slowdown: deal values and volumes decreased by 32% and 19% respectively month-over-month in July and a further 25% and 7% in August. Since June, aggregate deal values and volumes declined a whopping 49% and 25%. For the near term, jittery global equity markets will likely continue to put downward pressure on most mining company valuations.