European buyout value reaches post-crisis high

Christopher Papadopoullos
28 September 2018

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

The total value of European buyouts has already reached a new post-crisis high, with a quarter of the year still left to go.

GPs have completed €148bn's worth of investments in European companies between January and September, overtaking last year's full-year total of €146bn.

Southern Europe breaks records
While deal value has been gradually rising in most regions, southern Europe has been the standout performer this year, already setting a new annual record with deals worth €23.6bn. The region's high deal value is not just due to one or two rare mega-deals; there have been eight deals valued at or over €1bn so far this year. The largest was CVC's investment in pharmaceutical firm Recordati, which also involved the Canadian pension fund PSP. Secondary buyouts accounted for five of the eight €1bn+ deals.

Not only is southern Europe performing well compared with recent years, it is also ahead of all regions in nominal terms except France.

Mega-deals soar
There has been a huge increase in the number of €1bn+ deals so far this year, with 39 completed. This compares with 26 for the whole of 2017. It is the most €1bn+ deals in a year since 2007, when there were 48, while €1bn+ deals account for 55% of this years' total buyout value and virtually all the increase on last year.

France has been home to 11 €1bn+ deals, the most of any European region.

The highest-value buyout this year was The Carlyle Group and GIC's €10bn acquisition of the chemicals arm of AkzoNobel, the Dutch paint and chemicals giant. It was followed shortly after by EQT's deal to merge two hearing aid manufacturers, Sivantos and Widex, in a €7bn deal.