The M&A market declined 2% in terms of volume of deals last year following a bumper 2021, although the total value of mergers and acquisitions fell 38% year-on-year to €14.8bn.
The William Fry full-year mergers & acquisitions review for 2022 shows there were 216 inbound cross-border transactions worth more than €12.5bn, and seven deals worth €500m. The report was worked up from Mergermarket data.
Some 86% of deals agreed last year were valued at between €5m and €250m, and there were seven transactions worth more than €500m with a total aggregate value of €11.5bn compared to nine large deals of €16.2bn combined in 2021.
However, the report excludes the $28bn offer by Amgen for Dublin-based biotechnology company Horizon Therapeutics announced in December, which would have pushed the value of the 2022 market safely into record territory.
Stephen Keogh, head of corporate and M&A at William Fry, noted that Ireland "appears to be weathering the storm" of rising interest rates, high inflation, slow growth, war in Ukraine and global supply chain disruption more comfortably than other countries.
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"While the bumper M&A year of 2021 was always going to be difficult to match, the data for 2022 is strong despite something of a slowdown in the second half of the year," he added.
Financial services accounted for 51% of the total market in value terms, while the technology, media and telecoms sector made up 22% of deals in terms of volume, and private equity buyers made a total fo 62 transactions.
Technology, media and telecoms was bolstered by transactions such as Partners Group's acquisition of Version 1 and JP Morgan's acquisition of Global Shares.
Real estate and infrastructure accounted for 15% of the value of mergers and acquisitions, up from 2% in 2021, while pharmaceuticals, medical and biotechnology made up 12%, not including the Horizon Therapeutics takeover.
Overseas buyers made 216 transactions last year, one more than in 2021, although the value of said deals fell by more than a third to €12.5bn. All but three of the most valuable deals were inbound cross-border transactions.
UK acquirers instigated a third (72) of foreign inbound M&A deals last year, more than any other country and ahead of the US (60), but Japan led the way in terms of value at €7bn, again ahead of the US (€2.2bn).
Last year saw 84 deals that involved domestic players only, down marginally from a total of 92 in 2021. Those included the €1.1bn Hibernia REIT acquisition by Benedict Real Estate.
Private equity failed to maintain 2021 levels, with volumes down 19% and values falling 76% year-on-year, but the 62 deals made by private equity worth €2.6bn was still ahead of pre-pandemic activity, with PE accounting for a fifth of all deals.
Seven of the 20 largest deals of the year were PE-related, with five buyouts and two exits. The biggest PE transaction of the year in Ireland were both exits: Partners Group’s acquisition of Version 1 Holdings for €800m, and Motive Partners’ sale of Global Shares to JP Morgan for €665m.
Looking ahead, Keogh said: “Irish M&A has proven itself to be extremely resilient over the past few years, seen through the impressive levels of deal activity throughout the global pandemic.
"The remarkably strong market for dealmaking witnessed in 2021 continued during the first and second quarters of 2022, before easing in the second half. The question is whether that slowdown continues or even accelerates in 2023 - the current global economic picture suggests that a cautious approach would be wise.
"Nevertheless, there are reasons to be positive about the outlook for M&A activity in Ireland with many advisers reporting strong pipelines of work."
