According to a PwC study, new buyers are coming from emerging markets. In 2012 alone, investors from high-growth economies made $32.6 billion worth of purchases in developed economies, three times more than in 2005.

Over the last 5 years, the flow of investment from emerging to developed countries has been greater than in the opposite direction.

Durante los últimos 5 años (2008-2012) las economías maduras han invertido 151.000 millones de dólares. Los datos engloban a los siguientes países: USA, Reino Unido, Alemania, Australia, Japón y Canadá. En cambio, los países emergentes (China, India, Rusia, Oriente Medio y Brasil) han invertido 161.000 millones de dólares en el mismo período, superando en 10.000 millones. «China e India lideran tanto en número de operaciones como en  volumen invertido, pero han tenido una evolución diferente cada uno de ellos. China partía en el 2006 de una situación inferior a India pero ha crecido de manera constante. En cambio India, ha tenido dos bajonazos tanto en el 2009 como en el 2012. Esperamos que en los próximos años India vuelva a recuperar posiciones equivalentes a China» comenta Diego Gutierrez, experto en finanzas corporativas en ABRA INVEST.

Motivations of companies in emerging countries in their purchases.

• They seek access to new sales channels for its products and services or strengthen its distribution channels. A good example is India's Wipro Technology Services, which in 2012 bought 100% from US-based Science Applications International for $105 million.
• Incorporate new technologies and know-how para ser más competitivas y aplicar a sus negocios domésticos. «Actualmente estamos cerrando la operación de compra por parte de una empresa china de una empresa española que a pesar de ser mucho más pequeña y tener poca cuota de mercado, tiene unas capacidades tecnológicas que atraen la atención del inversor» informa Diego Gutierrez.
• Access to already recognised brands in mature economies rather than having to build them from scratch. This is the case of China's Bright Food and its acquisition of the British company Weetabix, which has allowed it to enter fully into the European food market.
• Moving from being a company regional to global in a rapid manner. For example, the purchase of the US film company Entertainment Holding by the Asian group Dalian Wanda.

Investor profile changes

Traditional investors - sovereign wealth funds or state-owned companies - are being joined by large and medium-sized private companies in these markets. In China, for example, private equity and finance companies are showing the most interest in buying in developed markets. For Indian companies, for example, the UK market has become one of the most attractive in Europe. In Brazil, the moderation of economic growth in recent years is spurring large and medium-sized Brazilian companies to enter markets such as Europe and the United States, with which they have traditionally had very close ties, and in the Middle East, buyers will continue to be mainly sovereign wealth funds and state-owned companies.

«Esta tendencia parece estar en sus estados iniciales y se espera que tome mayor relevancia en los años venideros. Actualmente, el peso de estas transacciones es muy pequeño representando solamente el 1,5% del total de transacciones» augura Diego Gutierrez.