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Slight rise in H1 corporate deals

Friday, July 06 10:47:58

The first half of this year saw a slight rise in the number of mergers, acquisitions and IPO corporate deals with the value of transactions up from E21.862 billion in H1 2011 to E22.184 billion in the same period this year.

During the first half of 2012, there were 147 transactions announced in the Republic of Ireland, compared to the same period in 2011 in which there was a total of 142 deals.

The Republic of Ireland represents 2.97pc of the total volume of all European transactions and 4.11pc of the total value. Davy Corporate Finance was the most active financial advisor in the first half of 2012 with seven transactions, while A&L Goodbody topped the league table for legal advisors by volume, with ten assists.

Irish M&A activity in the first six months of 2012 has followed a similar pattern to that seen throughout 2011 - deal flow has been driven by consolidation within the manufacturing and professional services sectors and, particularly at the top end, by high levels of foreign investment, said Wendy Driver, Business Development Manager at Experian Corpfin.

There were 16 large deals announced in the first half of 2012, up by 45.45pc from the eleven transactions recorded for H1 2011.

The aggregate value of large deals marginally declined by 2.54pc, from E20.202billionin HY 2011 to E19.689billion in H1 2012.

The largest completed deal in H1 2012 saw Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corp purchase Dublin-based RBS Aviation Capital for around E5.47billion.

Deal volume decreased in the mid-market segment in the first six months of 2012 to 24 deals, down 35.14pc from the 37 transactions in the same period in 2011.

Values also declined to E954.2million in the first six months of 2012 representing a fall of 38.06pc over deals worth E1.540billion in the same period of 2011.

The largest completed deal in the mid-market saw Covidien Plc acquire Newport Medical Instruments Inc, a Californian medical devices business, for E83.82million.

Deal flow in the small market value segment fell from 35 transactions in the first half of 2011 to 22 transactions for the same period of 2012, a decline of 37.14pc.

The aggregate value of deals saw a slight decrease; there were E119.19million worth of small transactions in the first six months of 2012, down just 0.2pc from E119.44million in 2011.

The largest completed smallƒn transaction saw acquisitive building materials group CRH Plc, acquire UK firm Anchor Bay Construction Products Ltd for an initial cash consideration of E8.99million, plus E2.64million payable subject to certain financial performance conditions.