I. Introduction
We are delighted to introduce this publication, produced by the Philip Lee corporate team in association with Experian.
We are delighted to introduce the seventh edition of the Philip Lee LLP M&A Insights Guide. In this edition, we review deal activity across H1 2024, and consider the outlook for the rest of the year ahead.
This guide has been created in partnership with Experian, a global data and technology company, using their comprehensive database of business and financial information which monitors and tracks the behaviour of businesses in the UK and Ireland. The insight is generated from processing over 60 million records a month, taken from over 600 of the latest and most up-to-date sources of UK and international business data. This data is trusted and used daily by over 35,000 organisations to inform their business decision making. The Experian database utilised for this guide holds more than 600,000 global M&A transactions, supported by data from more than 250 of the world's foremost professional advisory firms.
Following a relatively slow start to the year, the data for the first six months of the year paints a positive picture for M&A activity in Ireland in 2024. In 2023, Ireland bucked the global trend for deal activity and that has continued into 2024, where transaction volumes have held steady, with overall deal values rising 29.6% to c. €20 Billion for H1 2024 when compared to values of €15.432 Billion for H1 2023. The tech sector continues to lead the way for deal activity, where a record level of transactions (96) in the first six months were completed, when compared to previous opening six-month periods on Experian record. Private equity was a very strong performer in H1 2023 for Irish deals, where PE led deals increased from 22% to 29% of overall Irish deal activity and values increased to over €13 billion from around €8 billion for the same period in 2023, albeit heavily impacted by the Apollo/ Fab 24 record-breaking deal. Inbound deal activity in Q1 remained strong while Q2 took a hit when compared to previous years. The UK remained the leading country in terms of investment into, and acquisitions of, Irish companies, and by some distance (>2X) when compared to the next most active country, being the USA. Similarly, the UK remained the location of choice for Irish bidding companies and investors, followed by the USA, where tech and manufacturing were the leading sectors.
M&A activity in the UK has, thus far during 2024, remained relatively strong, with more positive data than that which we have seen in recent years. Whilst there was a decrease in the volume of deals (perhaps stemming again from increasing costs, a challenging regulatory environment and political uncertainty), there was considerable growth in value from last year. Companies from the USA, Sweden, France, and Ireland were again the most focused on making deals with UK companies and the information and communication sector remained the leading target sectors for international buyers into the UK market. Technology businesses, along with professional, scientific, and technical services remained the leading sectors of interest for overseas investment by UK companies. While sponsors tended to target acquisitions in the small to mid-market segment last year, 2024 has seen a surge in high-value private equity dealmaking. The mega deal segment (being those of £1 billion or more) had its busiest opening half to a year in the UK since 2000.
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