Despite a climb of 62 per cent on April 2010, the volume and value of investment targeting companies in Western Europe declined in April after a buoyant March.
Despite a climb of 62 per cent on April 2010, the volume and value of investment targeting companies in Western Europe declined in April after a buoyant March.
Findings published in the Zephyr Monthly M&A Report shows that the number of deals completed fell from 1,548 in March, to 933 in April, with total deal value decreasing by €20.63 billion (see table below).
| Announced date | Number of deals | Total deal value (mil EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2011 | 933 | 58,277 |
| Mar 2011 | 1,548 | 78,909 |
| Feb 2011 | 1,357 | 44,631 |
| Jan 2011 | 1,417 | 54,060 |
| Dec 2010 | 2,053 | 57,024 |
| Nov 2010 | 1,510 | 49,932 |
| Oct 2010 | 1,282 | 57,711 |
| Sep 2010 | 1,467 | 42,348 |
| Aug 2010 | 1,108 | 27,238 |
| Jul 2010 | 1,288 | 64,707 |
| Jun 2010 | 1,584 | 45,622 |
| May 2010 | 1,364 | 31,613 |
| Apr 2010 | 1,434 | 35,944 |
Source: Zephyr published by BvD
The largest deal involving a UK target was the minority stake purchase in Inchcape for €649 million. Another large contributor was the €482 million acquisition of Absolute Private Equity by HarbourVest Global Private Equity.
UK targets filled seven spaces in the top 20 private equity deals, with the minority stake purchase in Highbridge Properties leading the way at €297 million.
France-based companies were the biggest contributors to deal value with a total of €17.9 billion, an increase of €15.3 billion over the same period last year. However the UK continued its recent trend of recording the highest volume of deals, with more than three times the amount of deals achieved by the next highest country, France.
