Research Methodology
The Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 370 companies that have executed, or are planning to execute, a cross-border M&A deal, from across a wide range of industries and regions. All individual respondents are familiar with their company’s M&A strategy. About two-fifths (39%) are based in Europe, one-third are from the Asia-Pacific region, nearly one-fifth (16%) are from the US and the remainder are based in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Just over one-half (53%) of companies represented in the survey have annual revenue in excess of US$1bn, and the remainder have annual revenue between US$500m and US$1bn. To supplement the survey, the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a series of in-depth interviews with senior business executives and other experts.
