William Fry: M&A activity reached record levels in 2017

Irish merger and acquisition (M&A) activity reached record levels last year, according to the latest annual report from William Fry.

A total of 143 deals worth €14.9 billion were announced over the year, representing a 5.9 per cent increase in volume, its report found.

Private Equity (PE) dealmaking experienced impressive growth during 2017 with a total of 37 deals worth €12.2 billion, more than double the value of all announced PE deals in 2016.

Midmarket deals accounted for 93.5 per cent of total volume (up from 82.4 per cent), while inbound dealmaking accounted for 93 deals worth €14.4 billion.

Commenting on the report, Shane O’Donnell, partner and head of corporate/M&A at William Fry, said the strong M&A activity in 2017 is “renewed evidence of Ireland’s strong economic growth, its business-friendly environment, and increased access to capital”.

Mr O’Donnell said: “A relatively low corporate tax rate, a flexible and multi-lingual workforce, and a transparent legal system continue to underpin Ireland’s attractiveness as a hub for overseas investment and are drawing interest from overseas buyers.”

“In addition, we also saw a healthy increase in outbound activity as Irish firms looked to international acquisitions.”

He added: “We expect Ireland to remain attractive to international investors this year, however, uncertainty remains.

“The ongoing Brexit negotiations will be closely monitored by dealmakers while the ECB’s winding down of its QE program over the coming months may constrain their ability to access capital in 2018. Ireland will also face new challenges in attracting foreign investment due to sweeping changes to US tax rules.

“Despite this unpredictable macroeconomic climate, it is expected that Ireland’s strong economic fundamentals will continue to outweigh external destabilising factors and that 2018 will continue to see healthy levels of M&A activity. For Ireland, the M&A outlook appears bright.”