Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) targeting companies in Western Europe in November rose in terms of aggregate deal value with an eight per cent increase recorded against a 23 per cent decline by volume.
There were 1,537 deals worth a combined EUR49,761m in November, compared to 2,007 transactions valued at EUR46,277m in October, according to information collected by the M&A database Zephyr.
The picture is less positive in a year-on-year comparison as volume was down on 12 months ago (November 2012: 1,911). Value also failed to reach the EUR60,386m recorded in November 2012.
Private equity and venture capital investments targeting companies in the region weakened in November on the lack of big ticket deals as there were just 175 transactions worth an aggregate EUR5,095m signed off in November, down from the 239 transactions valued at EUR6,566m in October.
Lisa Wright, Zephyr director, says: “M&A activity in Western Europe increased slightly in November, giving those watching the markets something to be positive about in the run up to the end of the year. Private equity was less impressive when compared with October, but did surpass results from January, February, March and August 2013.”
According to the Zephyr database, there were 11 M&A deals targeting companies based in Western Europe with values of more than EUR1,000m in November, the largest of which involved French Bank BNP Paribas purchasing the remaining 25 per cent share of its Belgian subsidiary BNP Paribas Fortis for EUR3,250m. This one deal accounted for 80 per cent of the Benelux country’s total M&A value of EUR4,088m in November.
The Zephyr database also shows, in terms of value, M&A dealmaking favoured companies based in the Netherlands as there was EUR8,290m-worth of announced transactions recorded in November, ahead of the UK (EUR8,021m) and Italy (EUR7,536m). An increase in the value of M&A activity targeting companies based in countries such as France, Norway and Belgium came at the expense of investment in Germany, Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg, Finland and Ireland, among others.
