Europe's deals could surpass U.S.'s in value: report

Barring a sudden shift in deal making, the value of European corporate takeovers is on course to eclipse that of the U.S. market for the first time in four years, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

A surge in bids from emerging-market investors and a deluge in so-called infrastructure deals have fueled a mergers and acquisitions boom in Europe, said the report.

Four of the five biggest takeovers globally have targeted European companies, primarily in the utilities and steelmaking sectors, said the report, adding the heavy European bias in big- value deals reflects widespread fragmentation across many sectors.

With two months to go before the end of the year, European- targeted takeovers have totaled 1.15 trillion dollars through Monday, just ahead of 1.14 trillion dollars of deals involving U.S. companies, according to Thomson Financial, which tracks deals data.

The U.S. traditionally has outpaced Europe, but this year's European total nearly equals the record full-year total set of 1.2 trillion dollars in 1999.

Source: Xinhua