Bad news for deals in Q1 08

As surprising as it can appear, Benelux is being dragged into other countries' 'post credit crunch' trend. The graph on the right shows 40 deals for a total value of more than EUR7bn in Q1 2007 against approximately 20 transactions for a total value of EUR3.5bn so far this year. This represents a staggering 50% drop. The numbers could not be clearer.

The UK, France and Germany recorded similar results for the first quarter of 2007, versus their corresponding 2008 results. Those who said that Benelux was sheltered from the liquidity crisis or at least would suffer less than its giant neighbours are being proved wrong.

However, one is tempted to ignore statistics for once and trust the confidence reigning among investors in the region. Most of them still talk of a slowdown like a dark cloud floating away, potentially thunderous, but never close enough to feel the blitz. People sound positive about the future of the industry in the region; hopefully optimism will win over the numbers.

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• Topics
• Industry
• Benelux