In 2018, the scale of global energy industry mergers and acquisitions fell by 20% to $255 billion

A new report by world-renowned international law firm Baker McKenzie shows that M&A activity in the energy sector fell by 20% in 2018 and is expected to decline further in 2019 before picking up
in 2020.

The report revealed that the size of M&A deals in the energy sector fell from a peak of $306 billion in 2017 to $255 billion
in 2018.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) in the energy sector also fell to $8 billion
from $10 billion a year earlier.

Baker McKenzie expects energy mergers and acquisitions to plunge further to $171 billion this year, then start rising again in 2020 and stabilize in 2021
.

However, M&A and IPO activity in the renewable energy segment is likely to increase
.

"As the world's energy mix shifts to electricity, electric vehicles and batteries proliferate, sustainability becomes a more critical focus, and we expect more energy companies to invest in the renewable energy sector to generate new business or build organic growth in renewable energy," said
Jose Moran, chairman of Baker McKenzie's Global Energy, Mining & Infrastructure Group.

Paul Curnow, Partner and Head of Renewable Energy and Cleantech in Asia Pacific, added, "Corporations, especially large multinationals, will be the enablers of a new round of renewable energy investment
.
Globally, we expect energy-related IPOs to decline slightly in 2019 and then rise
again in 2020.
But that's still the opposite of
the overall strong mood for IPOs this year.
For renewables, there will be a strong IPO market, especially in EMEA
.
”

But in Latin America, energy M&A activity is expected to increase to $94 billion in 2019 and $98 billion
in 2020.
Developing economies such as Asia will face high levels of economic activity
over the next five years due to increasing energy demand.