VIDEO: Deutsche Bank sees strong pipeline in Asia Pacific M&A
A challenging market backdrop offers scope for increased M&A activity in Asia Pacific in 2025. Rohit Satsangi and Zi-Kuan Lim, Co-Heads of M&A for Deutsche Bank in the region, talk to FinanceAsia about the key opportunities, and why the...
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A challenging market backdrop offers scope for increased M&A activity in Asia Pacific in 2025. Rohit Satsangi and Zi-Kuan Lim, Co-Heads of M&A for Deutsche Bank in the region, talk to FinanceAsia about the key opportunities, and why the firm is well-positioned to capitalise on them.
April 01, 2025
In today’s challenging economic and political environment, uncertainty is a consistent theme. Multiple geopolitical forces are contributing to this dynamic – from rising tensions amid new tariffs, to increasingly common protectionist policies, to alliances being formed and broken. For M&A deals, however, there are positive repercussions, especially for cross-border activity.
“Inflation rates and interest rates came down in 2024, also helping the environment for dealmaking in 2025,” explained Rohit Satsangi, Co-Head of M&A for Deutsche Bank in Asia Pacific.
The bank, which won an array of awards and accolades from FinanceAsia for its M&A, private equity, infrastructure and property expertise across the region in 2024, is eyeing a new wave of activity.
“We continue to see a strong pipeline coming to market, especially for sponsor driven [deals],” explained Zi-Kuan Lim, Deutsche Bank’s other Co-Head of M&A in Asia Pacific.
Regional hotspots: three key themes to watch in 2025
Among the many emerging opportunities in the region this year, three broad trends stand out for Deutsche Bank to pursue.
Firstly, the year-on-year growth in financial sponsor activity continues to garner attention. More specifically, from the supply side, these firms have opted to not sell their assets, instead waiting for a more stable environment and more robust performance, explained Satsangi. “We’re seeing a lot of assets being brought back to market.”
Meanwhile, on the demand side, he sees a lot of dry powder, describing it as “the highest there’s ever been”. As a result, firms need to deploy these funds as soon as they can.
A second key theme is take-private transactions. This stems from what Satsangi has observed as a convergence in valuation expectations between buyers and sellers, in particular in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. In relation to this trend, the bank advised on multiple award-winning deals last year, and expects this will continue in 2025.
Another trend is digital infrastructure, a sector in which Deutsche Bank saw some of the largest deals in 2024 as key players underwent consolidation – a trend which is continuing. “We're seeing that activity run into 2025, [and it is] expected to heighten over the course of this year,” added Satsangi.
Leadership and innovation
In looking to capitalise on the pipeline of deals across Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank is leveraging its track record. “Clients are not only looking for local, in-country experts, but also trusted advisors that can deliver the regional and global expertise and experience,” explained Lim.
This also means tapping into global partners to bring the execution capability of the entire bank to clients – not just M&A, but also financing and FX. “[Our] ability to run differentiated, tailored and focused sales processes has led to successful outcomes for our clients,” he added.
This approach has benefitted companies in various markets. Some Chinese clients, for example, have found it hard to manage their businesses abroad, turning to Deutsche Bank to help them exit. And in Japan, where growth at home has been muted, companies have been looking for cross-border acquisitions, especially as activists enter their shareholder list.
“As deals get more complex and cross border, we have been able to be the trusted APAC M&A adviser given our track record across all these key markets in the region,” said Lim.
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