According to the half-year 2012 edition of EMEA Deal Drivers, the first two quarters of 2012 closed with 2,307 announced deals worth €269bn in the EMEA region, representing an 18% decline in volume and a 10% decline in value against the same period last year. Deal values have been highest in the Germanic countries (28.4%) and the UK & Ireland (25.7%); the most significant deal volume came from the UK & Ireland (24.1%), Germanic countries (17.7%), Nordic countries (13.6%) and France (11.3%).
Published by mergermarket in association with Merrill DataSite, EMEA Deal Drivers provides an extensive review of M&A activity in the EMEA region, offering analysis of sector-specific activity – including league tables – and identifying emerging trends for the next six month period.
“Non-core asset disposals have been an important driver of M&A in 2012, particularly in the financial services sector,” says Elizabeth Castro, an Editor with The Mergermarket Group’s research and publications division. “This type of activity should continue through the remainder of the year, as will strategic M&A deals that offer access to emerging markets. Western European acquirers know the growth prospects at home will be limited for some time, and they are hoping to offset this by pursuing M&A in faster-growing CEE and Asia-Pacific countries.”
Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank topped the financial advisory league tables in H1 2012 with €130.3bn and €124.1bn worth of M&A transactions, respectively. The most active advisers by volume were Rothschild, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Some key findings in the report include:
– Private equity activity fell by 27% in volume and 7% in value to hit 441 transactions worth a collective €37.7bn, and exits fell 26% in volume and 33% in value to reach 254 worth €43.1bn.
– The energy, mining & utilities sector represents the lion’s share of M&A value in Europe (32.1%), followed by financial services (11.9%) and industrials & chemicals (11.6%).
– The consumer sector shined in the first two quarters, thanks to successful private equity exits and strategic M&A deals aimed at geographic expansion. Noteworthy deals include the €2.7bn sale of CVC Capital portfolio company StarBev LP to the the Molson Coors Brewing Company and the €9.0bn acquisition of Pfizer Nutrition by Nestle SA. Consumer M&A represents 3.1% of total EMEA deal value and 10.1% of aggregate volume.
To view the full report, please click here:
http://www.mergermarket.com/PDF/Deal_Drivers_EMEA_HY2012.pdf
