Mergermarket and William Fry LLP are pleased to present the Ireland M&A Review 2022. This report provides a comprehensive overview of developments in the Irish M&A market during 2022 and offers an outlook for the year ahead.
Highlights include:
- Irish M&A volume proves robust. The number of deals in 2022 dropped by just 2% year-on-year, to a total of 300 transactions – a remarkable achievement, considering that 2021 saw the most deals on Mergermarket record. Almost nine in ten Irish M&A deals last year fell into the mid-market segment, with transaction values of between €250m and €500m. The larger end of the market was also active, with seven transactions worth more than €500m in 2022, having a total aggregate deal value of €11.5bn. Only 2021, with nine large deals worth €16.2bn, exceeded these 2022 totals.
- Overseas investors remain committed to Ireland. Foreign acquirers conducted 216 transactions in the country in 2022 – one more than in 2021, but the total value of inbound deals fell by almost a third to €12.5bn. All but three of the 20 largest deals of the year were inbound cross-border transactions.
- Financial services deal value flies high. The financial services sector accounted for more than half of Irish M&A by value in 2022, underpinned by last year’s biggest transaction of all in Ireland, which saw the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group acquire Dublin-based aircraft leasing firm Goshawk Management, previously owned by a private investment business in Hong Kong.
