KPMG says 2021 will be a strong year for mergers and acquisitions, after Covid-19 disrupted many potential deals in 2020.

The financial and advisory company’s annual survey of M&A advisors and executives says that 95% of respondents foresee activity levels in 2021 being at least equal to or higher than in 2020.

Technology and healthcare will be the most acquisitive sectors, most believe, while certainty on Brexit will now allow deal-makers the basis to make investment decisions. KPMG says that funding will be “readily available”, partly due to the “quality of assets available in Ireland”.

According to KPMG, the impact of the pandemic may have triggered a shift in the sentiment of respondents, with more than half predicting 2021 to be a buyers’ rather than a sellers’ market. 

The economic upheaval over the last ten months will likely create opportunities for buyers, the survey predicts, but will likely vary significantly by sector however, given the uneven impact of Covid-19 and Brexit.

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Partner David O’Kelly said: “M&A activity in Ireland was remarkably resilient in 2020. While the volume of deals completing slowed in late spring 2020, in the second half of the year the number of deals completing increased. We clearly saw strong appetite from private equity and large corporates who recognised that delay might mean an important transaction could be lost to a competitor.

“Looking ahead to 2021, there’s a lot of ambition to do deals and all evidence suggests it is going to be a busy year. There was positive momentum in the second half of 2020 and we are seeing that carry through into January with some notable transactions such as Vitruvian’s recent investment in Carne Group. 

“There is also a significant amount of private equity available to deploy in Ireland, with Cardinal Capital, Development Capital and Melior Equity Partners all raising new funds in 2021. Waterland Private Equity Investments also recently opened its first Irish office in Dublin, signalling confidence in the market here.”

The full report can be downloaded here.