Analysts predict slowdown in M&A activities next year.

Byline: Maisara Ismail

MERGER and acquisition (M&A) activities next year are unlikely to match the flurry of deals seen early in the second half of this year.

Analysts said it is likely that the pace of M&A transactions will not pick up even if the economy experiences a tamer-than-expected downturn and recovers faster than earlier predicted.

Delloite & Touche Corporate Advisory Services executive director Eugene Wong said the impact of even a shallow recession will already be in place.

"The first six months of next year will not be good," he said in an interview with Business Times.

While falling share prices have made companies more attractive to buyers, they are unlikely to act as the uncertain market environment has dampened sentiment.

The rollercoaster ride in the US stock market, as well as the bleak outlook for regional economies such as Singapore and Hong Kong, has added to the bearish mood.

This kind of uncertainty is what holds corporations back from undertaking M&A as they fear seeing a reduction in the value of their transactions, Wong said.

"Mergers and acquisition basically mean investment and …