Privatization Trends and Major Deals in 2010 and 1H2011

Abstract

This article details major privatization deals executed during 2010 and the first half of 2011 and surveys trends shaping the privatization landscape worldwide. We document several important facts, including the following: Governments raised a record $213.6 billion (€159.9 billion) through privatization sales of common stock in state owned enterprises during 2010; Share issue privatizations (SIPs) accounted for over three-fourths of this total, and included history’s largest ever stock offering and the largest corporate security offering of any kind--the $70 billion (€52.4 billion) Petrobras seasoned equity offering - and the largest initial public offerings in world and U.S. financial history, the $22.1 billion (€16.5 billion) IPO of Agricultural Bank of China and the $20.1 billion (€15.0 billion) General Motors IPO, respectively; For the second year running, the United States raised more proceeds through privatization sales than any other country, followed by China, Brazil, France, Turkey, Poland, India, and the U.K. and; The €33.1 billion ($44.2 billion) raised by EU governments represented only 20.6% of the worldwide total, far lower than the long-run average EU share of 43.6%, but European sales may well surge during 2011-12 in response to fiscal challenges.

Keywords: privatization, government ownership

JEL Classification: G32