Taken aback: Corporate takeovers at lowest since worst year of financial crisis
THE value of Irish corporate takeovers for the year to date is at its lowest level since 2009, the worst year for deals during the financial crisis, according to data from Refinitiv.
Mergers and acquisitions involving Irish companies totalled €6.8bn for the first nine months of the year – down by 73pc on last year’s total at the same point in the year. The number of deals done fell by 20pc to a four-year low.
More than 40pc of the total value comes from one deal – Eaton’s €2.8bn sale of its Irish hydraulics business to the Danish industrial company Danfoss.
The next biggest deal was last month’s sale of biotech company Inflazome to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche for €380m.
The sale produced a €26m windfall for founders Professor Luke O’Neill and Dr Matt Cooper after just four years in business.
Inflazome develops drugs that block harmful inflammation that can be used to treat Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and motor neuron disease.
Healthcare was a popular sector for M&A, with three of the top ten biggest deals recorded in that sector. Real estate was very active, also accounting for three top-ten transactions.
Inbound acquisitions like the Inflazome deal, where a foreign buyer bought an Irish company, accounted for 96pc of activity. Domestic-only deals reached just under €102m, the lowest total since 1994.
But Irish buyers were more active in outbound deals, spending €1.19bn on overseas acquisitions in the first three-quarters of the year, although that amount was 74pc lower than for the same period last year.
No Irish investment advisors made Refinitiv’s top ten for Irish M&A advisory services.