Ghana’s merger and acquisition market still in infancy – Ernst & Young

Global financial advisory firm, Ernst & Young (E&Y) is of the view that the merger and acquisition (M&A) market in Ghana is still in its infancy.

According to the accountancy group, there are no active M&A bid volumes during two quarters of the 2011 second half. But the market bounced back with nearly  a fourfold increase quarter on quarter and nearly twice the volume of a year earlier, E&Y said in its 2012 merger and acquisition (M&A) Maturity Index.

“Ghana’s M&A market remains in its infancy, although longer-term prospects are promising,” the report said.

The index, which ranked Ghana M&A deals 107 out of 148 countries, indicated that total deal values were up more than 500% quarter on quarter and average deal values for the 2011 second quarter were 62% higher compared with the previous quarter at $23 million.

Ghana is said to be one of the newest emerging markets, and E&Y says “its plentiful natural resources — including oil, gold and cocoa — and comparably strong regulatory and political systems are likely to help it attract more investor attention in the future”.

E&Y believes Ghana’s technological developments and socio-economic characteristics aof the most important factors that can drive M&A volume.

By Ekow Quandzie