U.S.-based companies increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in emerging and high-growth markets in the first half of 2013 amidst a slowdown in overall developed-to-high-growth market (D2H) deal volumes, according to KPMG International’s latest High Growth Markets Tracker study.

The semi-annual KPMG study, which tracks completed deals in which an acquirer took at least a 5% shareholding interest, found that U.S. companies completed 116 emerging and high-growth market acquisitions in the first half of 2013, up from 110 in the second half of 2012. Overall, D2H deal volume dropped 13% — from 607 in the H2/12 to 526 in the H1/13.

“U.S. companies are exhibiting higher levels of confidence domestically and we’re starting to see this translate into increased acquisition activity in emerging markets,” said Mark Barnes, national leader of KPMG’s U.S. High Growth Markets practice. “But the United States was one of only a few developed economies to have an uptick in D2H deals, as overall D2H deal activity was at its lowest since 2009.”

The most popular geographic targets for U.S. companies in the first half of 2013 were Brazil (25), India (18), South American countries excluding Brazil (15), South and East Asia (15), and Central America and Caribbean (14). South and East Asia (88) and China (69) were the most popular targets for D2H deals overall.

High-Growth-to-Developed (H2D) Deal Volumes Drop Too

Overall, H2D deal volume dropped 26% — from 228 acquisitions during the second half of 2012 to 169 in the first half of 2013.

U.S. companies remained the most popular targets for emerging and high-growth market companies with 31 acquisitions made in the United States in the first half of 2013, down from the 52 deals completed in the second half of 2012. South and East Asia (9) and India (7) accounted for the majority of acquisitions made in the United States in the first half of 2013.

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