April 23, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea saw a surge in information leaks on merger and acquisition deals in 2015, according to a secure enterprise solutions firm on March 16.

Such incidents in the country nearly doubled from 2.9 percent of total deals in the previous year to 5.3 percent, with South Korea ranking sixth globally, data by IntraLinks shows.

India topped the list with 20 percent, followed by Hong Kong, US and Canada at 12 percent each. The UK was next with 6.7 percent. By sector, real estate saw the most deal leaks at 12.9 percent, followed by health care (12.5 percent) and energy and power (9.3 percent).

Although authorities around the world have strengthened enforcement and imposed harsher penalties, the data illustrates that the benefits of leaking deals far outweighs the risks. Overall 8.6 percent of all M&A deals that year were leaked prior to a public announcement, an increase from 2.6 the previous year.

IntraLinks has been publishing its annual M&A leaks report since 2009. Data is collected by analyzing the significant pre-announcement trading across a large sample by comparing the expected returns with the daily returns prior to the public announcement. 

South Korea saw 9.3 percent of its M&A deals leaked between 2009 and 2015, ranking fifth globally.
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By Alex Lee (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)