International buyers continue to look to Ireland for M&A opportunities.
There were 275 inbound transactions worth a total of €23.6bn during 2024. In volume terms, that figure represented a 2% decrease on deals in 2023 but by value, inbound M&A was up 111%.
Just under three quarters, 70%, of the largest 20 deals of the year in Ireland (by value) involved an international acquirer, with buyers from the UK, US, China, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland and Qatar featuring on the list.
Overall, UK and US buyers were the most active acquirers in Ireland, recording 101 and 64 transactions in 2024 respectively. US buyers led the way by deal value, with China in second place, although this statistic is driven by Avolon's acquisition of Castlelake Aviation.
Looking towards inbound activity in 2025, dealmakers and businesses alike await with interest the extent to which Ireland's new rules on foreign direct investment (FDI) will have an impact on inbound M&A or on the shape of such deals. Ireland's FDI regime came into effect on 6 of January 2025, and gives the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment powers to investigate, authorise, condition and even prohibit, foreign investment into Irish assets and businesses in certain sectors (including critical infrastructure, critical technologies or those with access to (or control of) sensitive information) based on a range of security and public order criteria. The rules require parties to a transaction to notify the Minister about a proposed FDI transaction falling within the relevant sectors if certain statutory thresholds are met.
On paper, the FDI regime is wide-ranging – the Minister has powers to call in FDI deals retrospectively. However, the practical impacts of the regulation will be determined by the appetite of the new government to exercise these new powers. Equally, while the regime does not expressly discriminate against any particular 'third country' – all foreign and foreign-controlled buyers are potentially affected – it is anticipated that dealmakers from certain countries will attract more attention on deals involving certain types of assets or infrastructure which are within scope.
Turning to domestic deals, there was an increase in the number of all-Irish transactions last year; the volume grew 5% to 224. The biggest domestic transaction of the year – worth €999m – was the largest of the two AIB plc stake sales by the Irish government. Other notable domestic deals included the acquisition of classified advertising company Distilled by Blacksheep Fund Management for a reported €500m.
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