Ireland M&A Review 2018
08 March 2019 - 09:57 am UTC
Mergermarket and William Fry are pleased to present the Ireland M&A Review. This report provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the Irish M&A market during 2018, and offers insight into likely trends in the coming months.
Key findings include:
- In 2018, deal volume rose to 162 deals, up 7% compared to 2017. Deal value in the first three quarters of the year was promising, with €6.7bn worth of activity. However, it then fell precipitously in Q4, to €360m in quarterly deal value.
- The Irish mid-market continues to attract considerable attention from buyers across a good mix of sectors. In 2018, there were 65 deals with a disclosed value of between €5m and €250m, or 93% of the number of deals where pricing was made publicly available. Of these, over half (37) were in the €15m-€100m bracket.
- A number of key sectors saw strong activity by volume – most notably Business Services and TMT, which accounted for 19% and 16% of activity, respectively. Financial Services was the standout sector in value terms with 45% of total deal value in 2018.
- Ireland continues to attract investment on a global stage. Nine of the top ten M&A deals by value in 2018 were from overseas buyers.