Mediq deal to boost 2012 P2P figures

Advent International announced on Monday it would make a €775m takeover offer for Mediq – a 53% premium on the company's current trading price. The process is expected to start in Q4 this year. Fellow heavy-hitter Carlyle is also on its way to take German market data provider Vereinigte Wirtschaftsdienste (vwd Group) private in a deal that would value the business at €72.1m.

Despite these encouraging signs, listed companies have failed to whet the appetite of private equity players in the wake of the financial crisis. Figures from unquote" data reveal that P2P activity has been on a downward slide since 2010: last year's 12 deals worth an overall €2.47bn were down by 40% in volume and nearly three quarters in value compared to 2010 figures (see chart above). The fall is even more apparent when taking into account the €40bn invested across 36 transactions in 2007.

This year is unlikely to improve much on 2011 figures volume-wise, with seven deals completed so far and another two on the way. But at a combined €2.87bn, the overall value of P2Ps completed so far in 2012 has already exceeded the amounts invested in the whole of last year – and the figure is likely to see a significant boost if and when the Mediq take-private goes ahead.

Much of this value uptick was driven by the Misys deal, completed in June: Vista Equity Partners delisted the British banking software provider for £1.27bn. This was Europe's largest P2P transaction in nearly two years, following up on the £2.89bn, Onex Partners-led buyout of UK engineering and manufacturing company Tomkins in July 2010.

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