Sovereign wealth funds ramp up deals in a period of low-interest rates and recession fears

Sovereign wealth funds injected $24.6 billion into deals during the third quarter, according to a report at Reuters. Citing data from Refinitiv, the author counted 49 deals. That figure is up from the 46 deals in the second quarter valued at $15.5 billion.

The capital figure is the highest since Q2 2018 when total deals hit a value of $35.8 billion. The report indicates that the fourth quarter will also be busy for sovereign wealth fund managers. The report referenced the planned purchase of Nestle Skin Health by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. That deal will cost roughly $10.3 billion, according to Reuters.

The Top Fund Deals of Q3 2019

According to Refinitiv data, a handful of big deals highlighted the quarter.

The largest deal of Q3 for these funds was the $8.7 billion deal by GIC and Brookfield Asset Management to purchase Genesee & Wyoming. The report also included GIC’s purchase of Tallgrass Energy – with the assistance of Enagas and Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. 

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is generating headlines with the planned Nestle Skin Health deal. But in the third quarter, the fund took a 30% stake in the home appliance care company Domestic & General. Another key deal for the quarter was Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s $550 million investment into Babylon Healthcare Services

[Related: Invesco Report: Sovereign Funds Adopting ESG Standards Quickly]