A surge in Emea (Europe, Middle East and Africa) deal volumes led to a 7 per cent rise in global debt restructuring market in the first nine months of this year, according to Thomson Reuters' Distressed Debt and Bankruptcy Restructuring Review.In the first nine months of 2010, the completed debt restructuring market grew 6.6 per cent over the same period in 2009, totalling $188.58 billion.
The 389 deals closed over this period represent a 26.3 per cent increase over the first three quarters of 2009.Overall growth was largely due to surging deal volume in the Emea region, which saw $128.36 billion – more than 68 per cent of the global total – on 189 completed transactions in the first nine months of 2010. There were 230 debt restructuring deals announced in EMEA during the first nine months of 2010, representing a 63.1 per cent increase over announced deal counts in the first nine months of 2009.
US and Asia volume totals shrunk in the first three quarters 2010 by 12.6 per cent and 74.8 per cent, respectively, with smaller declines – of 3.5 per cent and 18.6 per cent – in the number of completed deals.
Announced transactions in the US decreased even further, down 33.3 per cent to 120 transactions in the first nine months of 2010.Media and Entertainment eclipsed Materials as the leading industry in terms of completed value, with two first quarter transactions – R.H. Donnelly ($9.67 billion) and Education Media & Publishing ($4 billion) – remaining the largest closed Media and Entertainment transactions of the first three quarters of 2010.