Deals dip reveals new sector hotspots

Overall the cumulative deal value has decreased since H1 2007, with H2 2007 and HI 2008 showing very similar values, albeit with a slight increase in the deal volume. Southern Europe has been fairly active in recent months, maybe H2 2008 will give us a clearer idea of what trends are being established in the region and signs of whether the general mood will improve.

Candover's EUR1bn investment in Technogym for a 40% stake marks one of the largest deals recorded in Southern Europe this year. Candover's courtship of the highly sought after leisure goods business, including the negotiation, took nearly a year.

The luxury goods and service sectors seem to be weathering the current economic environment well: In the first half of 2008, leisure goods raked in a hefty EUR1.7bn; a significant increase from the EUR351m recorded in H1 2007 (H2 was even less).

The mobile telecoms sector has been lifted by one large transaction, too: Apax, TA Associates and Dearborn Madison invested EUR1.1bn in Weather Investments. This saw the sector catapult from last place in the first half of 2007 to second place in the same time period this year. Meanwhile, the cumulative deal value in the auto parts sector has shown a steady increase over the 18 months since January 2007, climbing from EUR172m (H1 2007) to EUR469.8m (H2 2007) and EUR867m during the first six months of 2008.

The same cannot be said about the travel & leisure sector which has seen a steady decrease since H1 2007 (EUR1.09bn) when it ranked in first place. This is perhaps due to more conservative travel spending by the general public given the gloomy economic environment and the value of the dollar, but most likely it is due to the lumpy nature of data when a mega-deal or two can skew figures.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Industry
• Southern Europe
• Technology