Anthony McIntyre

The firm yesterday published its M&A Review 2024, which records 499 transactions in the Irish M&A market last year, an increase of one per cent on 2023.

Mid-market deals dominated M&A activity throughout 2024, accounting to 89 per cent of transactions, but Ireland also saw several significant “megadeals”, with 17 deals valued at €250 million or more.

The largest deal in 2024 was the Fab 34 transaction, where the private equity company Apollo agreed to pay Intel €10.1bn for a 49 per cent stake in a joint venture related to the technology giant’s manufacturing facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare. 

The second-largest deal of the year saw Avolon Holdings acquire Castlelake Aviation for €4.1bn. This transaction demonstrates Ireland’s importance in the global aircraft leasing sector and the acquisition saw Bohai attain assets worth €4.75bn including 118 aircraft.

The third largest deal saw a consortium of investors pay €2.5bn for Keyworth Studios, a gaming company that helped develop games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty. 

Andrew McIntyre, head of corporate/M&A at William Fry, said: “Despite a year marked by global political and economic uncertainty, Ireland’s M&A market demonstrated remarkable resilience, experiencing an almost unprecedented surge in value.

“We performed strongly, aligning with global trends where dealmakers proceeded cautiously yet remained focused on long-term objectives.

“As expected, the majority of M&A activity occurred in the mid-market, though we also saw a notable increase in high-value transactions, which is a welcome development.

“Looking ahead, this continued strength in the M&A sector positions Ireland well for future growth and opportunity.”

Despite Ireland seeing 17 deals valued at €250m or more, mid-market deals continued to dominate M&A activity in Ireland throughout 2024, accounting for 89 per cent of transactions.

The technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector accounted for 22 per cent of all deals — 111 total deals and three of the five largest deals. TMT also claimed 53 per cent of the total value, largely because of the Fab 34 megadeal. 

In deal value terms, financial services finished 2024 in second place to TMT, accounting for 21 per cent of the total market, reflecting the €4.1bn Castlelake Aviation deal and two large transactions at AIB where the Irish government continues to sell down the stake in the bank it acquired during the global financial crisis.

In other areas, business-to-business continued to generate strong M&A activity, accounting for 15 per cent of dealmaking during 2024, consistent with 2023. The year’s business service transactions included the €791m stake acquisition of Echelon Data Centres by Starwood Capital Group Management and a host of smaller deals.

There were 275 inbound transactions in 2024, worth a total of €23.6 billion — a two per cent increase in volume and a 111 per cent increase in value.

Almost three quarters (70 per cent) of the largest 20 deals by volume involved an international acquirer, including buyers from the UK, US, China, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland and Qatar.

Overall, US and UK buyers were the most active acquirers in Ireland, recording 101 and 64 transactions respectively in 2024. US buyers led the way by deal value while China took the second place, driven by Avolon’s acquisition of Castlelake Aviation.

There were 84 transactions involving private equity firms, the same number as the previous year. In value terms, private equity investment in Irish companies soared 523 per cent to €16.4bn (albeit with €10bn associated with the Fab 34 transaction).

Eight of the 20 largest M&A transactions last year involved a private equity investor in one form or another. The sector accounted for five buyouts and three exits.

Looking ahead in 2025, Mr McIntyre concluded: “We remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for M&A both in Ireland and internationally — certainly there are reasons to be positive.

“The global economic picture is clearer, and political uncertainties have started to ease after the year of elections. This may see pent-up demand for dealmaking released from both corporations and private equity firms. 

“Still we should remain cautious, with a geopolitical environment fraught with risk. Closer to home we await with interest to the extent to which Ireland’s new FDI rules will impact inbound M&A deals. 

“Given the more stable political environment here in Ireland, the potential in the renewables sector, the ongoing strength of the TMT market and the consolidation in areas such as business services, there is genuine optimism for a further uplift in Irish dealmaking in 2025.”