Irish M&A activity back at pre-crisis high

Activity in Ireland’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market reached levels not seen since before the crisis, according to a new report which finds that mid-market activity is driving the recovery.

According to the fourth edition of William Fry’s Annual M&A Report, deal activityincreased by 37 per cent in 2014, with 115 deals in 2014 up from 84 in 2013. This compares with growth of just 9 per cent across Europe.

Deal value also enjoyed a banner year in Ireland, increasing by 139 per cent year on year to € 42.9bn, the highest since 2000, "unquestionably driven by Medtronic's € 33.9bn purchase of Covidien in late 2014".

Shane O'Donnell, partner and head of corporate & M&A at William Fry, says that 2014's figures build on a solid performance in 2012 and 2013.

“Positive indicators in private equity coupled with improved economic conditions have undoubtedly spurred this growth,” he said, adding that he expects to see 2014’s positive momentum continue into 2015, “with anticipated M&A activity across a range of sectors as Ireland remains on track to be the fastest growing economy in the eurozone this year.”

There was a “significant growth” in the volume of mid-market deals with the number of deals under € 100m increasing 81 per cent in 2014 to 58 deals.

According to William Fry, a number of Irish sectors experienced growth in 2014, including TMT, which was the biggest Irish M&A sector by volume in 2014 at 23 per cent.

In the financial services sector, M&A enjoyed a robust year with volume remaining level at 13 deals and value rising by 59 per cent to € 3bn, thanks to large-cap deals in the insurance, reinsurance and aircraft leasing subsectors.

Private equity players were also active in 2014, with 30 deals compared with 18 for the whole of 2013, while the value of such deals was ten times that of 2013. Notable deals included the € 450m purchase of a stake in car rental service CarTrawler by BC Partners. William Fry also points to buy outs involving premium Irish assets becoming increasingly common, with 22 buyouts totalling € 2.8bn.