Deal Drivers: EMEA Q3 2021 - A spotlight on mergers and acquisitions trends in 2021
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Deal Drivers: EMEA Q3 2021
A spotlight on mergers and
acquisitions trends in 2021
Contents
Foreword: M&A on the mend 03
Outlook: EMEA heat chart 04
Summary: Uneven vaccination rates cannot stifle high-value dealmaking 05
UK & Ireland 08
DACH 12
France 16
Nordics 20
Italy & Iberia 24
Benelux 28
Turkey, Middle East & Africa 32
CEE & SEE 36
About this report 40
2
Foreword: M&A on the mend
EMEA deal activity has seen strong year-on-year growth over Headwinds on the horizon
the first nine months of 2021. Robust vaccination rollouts have The widespread rise in M&A stands in contrast to the two-
allowed economies to reopen, with dealmakers moving to catch tier recovery that characterized Q1 2021, where there was
up on postponed deployment schedules. more mixed activity as a result of varying vaccination rates
and recurring waves of COVID-19 infections. As vaccination
Deal value for the year to end-Q3 2021 came in at €980bn, deployment has evened out across EMEA, increases in M&A
a 100% increase from the same period last year and, with a have been more widely spread.
quarter of 2021 still to go, already far ahead of 2020’s full-year
sum of €799bn. Deal volume has also climbed, increasing 49% Moving into Q4 and 2022, the outlook for the region’s M&A
for the year so far to 7,545 transaction announcements. market remains broadly positive, with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasting GDP growth for the euro area,
emerging Europe, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa
The rebound in deal activity has been next year.
observed across EMEA, with almost
all parts of the region enjoying either Persistently elevated inflation, rising energy prices, and over-
double-digit or, in some cases, triple- stretched supply chains may present some headwinds for
M&A, but still-low interest rates and abundant liquidity can
digit year-on-year increases. be expected to support deal activity in the coming months.
3
Outlook: Heat chart based on potential companies for sale
EMEA heat chart
Turkey, Middle
East & Africa
CEE & SEE
& Ireland
Benelux
Nordics
& Iberia
France
TOTAL
DACH
Italy
UK
According to our forward-looking heat chart, which illustrates the TMT 99 68 27 57 67 23 90 136 567
distribution of ‘companies for sale’ stories on the Mergermarket
intelligence tool, technology, media and telecoms (TMT) is, Consumer 62 50 13 22 145 26 49 89 456
perhaps unsurprisingly, the sector in which dealmakers should
expect to see the most activity in the near and medium term Industrials & chemicals 31 69 27 35 98 28 50 100 438
in EMEA.
Energy, mining & utilities 41 18 13 15 49 10 50 49 245
From the beginning of April to end-September of this year,
the intelligence tool recorded 567 stories about TMT companies
Business services 35 21 15 25 49 16 35 34 230
coming to market in EMEA, representing over 20% of the
2,757 stories across all sectors. After TMT, the next most
Financial services 53 12 15 18 30 11 49 37 225
popular industries were consumer (456, almost 17%) and
industrials & chemicals (438, just under 16%), followed by a
Pharma, medical & biotech 23 42 11 21 33 12 30 30 202
significant drop off before reaching the fourth-place energy,
mining & utilities sector.
Transportation 5 10 6 4 15 6 26 23 95
Only in a small handful of geographies does the chart indicate
Construction 7 8 6 10 14 3 19 24 91
red-hot activity. The UK & Ireland flares up for prospective TMT
dealmaking (99 ‘for sale’ stories), while Italy & Iberia comes
Leisure 21 6 7 1 22 8 12 14 91
to the fore in terms of possible industrials & chemicals (98)
and consumer (145, the highest total across all regions and
sectors) transactions. But it is CEE & SEE that really stands out, Real estate 10 4 3 2 17 2 14 5 57 Cold Warm Hot
contributing more than one-fifth of all ‘for sale’ stories in EMEA,
including an outsized number of TMT stories (136, just under a Agriculture 5 1 5 4 1 12 24 52
Note: The Intelligence Heat Charts are based on
quarter of the total in that sector). ‘companies for sale’ tracked by Mergermarket in
Defense 3 1 1 1 1 1 8 the respective regions between April 01, 2021 and
September 30, 2021. Opportunities are captured
according to the dominant geography and sector
TOTAL 395 309 145 216 544 146 436 566 2,757 of the
Source: potential target company.
Mergermarket
4
Summary: Uneven vaccination rates
cannot stifle high-value dealmaking
PE firms, corporates and special purpose acquisition companies Uplifting valuations EMEA M&A activity,
(SPACs) have all actively pursued EMEA deals this year, spurring Improving vaccination rates have enabled governments to 2018 - Q3 2021
a significant surge in M&A activity across the region. ease lockdown restrictions and allowed economies to reopen.
According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, the euro area is
on track to deliver GDP growth of 5% in 2021 and 4.3% in 2022, 3,000 400
On a quarterly basis, Q3’s aggregate deal while the UK is expected to expand by 6.8% and 5% this year
value of €383bn was up noticeably from the and next, respectively. Emerging Europe is forecast to grow by 350
€295bn secured in Q2. Deal volume, however, 6% in 2021 and 3.6% in 2022, with the Middle East and sub-
2,500
fell from 2,765 deals in Q2 to 2,038, indicating Saharan Africa also set to enjoy a GDP uplift. 300
that buyers are focusing on a smaller pool of Such upbeat predictions have lifted stock market valuations
2,000
250
high-value assets.
Deal value €(bn)
– the Stoxx Europe 600 is up by more than a quarter over the
Deal volume
last 12 months – which in turn have supported good pricing 1,500 200
The recovery has been observed across the region, as for assets in M&A processes and given buyers and sellers the
vaccination rates in major EMEA jurisdictions have climbed confidence to transact. 150
and economies have reopened. In the UK and most of mainland 1,000
Europe at least two-thirds of the population have been fully According to the Argos Index, which tracks the prices paid for
100
vaccinated, according to figures compiled by Our World in Data. mid-market companies in Europe, average deal multiples have
climbed to an all-time high of 11.6x EBITDA this year. 500
50
Vaccination rates in emerging Europe and the Middle East are
lower, but in the largest countries in these areas, such as Saudi
0 0
Arabia and Turkey, more than half of their populations have Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
received vaccines. 2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
5
Cash-rich conditions EMEA top sectors by value I Q3 2021
Stock markets and deal valuations have maintained their
EUR (m)
high levels despite growing concerns about rising inflation,
Industrials & chemicals 87,140
spiking energy prices, and strained supply chains. These TMT 68,352
headwinds could pose challenges, but with interest rates Consumer 38,071
still low, firms sitting on US$3.1tn of dry powder and SPACs Real estate 34,206
securing record proceeds from IPOs, the backdrop for Financial services 33,283
dealmaking remains broadly favorable.
EMEA top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
The TMT sector has been the primary beneficiary of the EMEA
market’s supportive M&A fundamentals. TMT deals accounted Deal count
for more than a quarter (525) of all deals announced in Q3 TMT 525
(2,038) in the region and over 17% of the aggregate value, Industrials & chemicals 389
even though it did not log a top-10 deal over the period. Business services 270
Consumer 215
Pharma, medical & biotech 166
Industrials & chemicals delivered the next highest deal tally
in Q3 and was the largest sector by value over the three-
month period, logging transactions worth €87.1bn, more EMEA top bidders by value I Q3 2021
than double the €38.7bn worth of deals the sector secured
EUR (m)
in Q2. Almost half of industrials deal value (48%) came from
USA 181,359
just four transactions, including the €8.4bn sale of listed UK
Germany 38,021
aerospace and defense group Meggitt to US buyer Parker United Kingdom 30,597
Hannifin, and the €17.1bn swoop for Swedish electric car France 29,034
group by US-based SPAC Gores Guggenheim. Canada 12,859
EMEA top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
United Kingdom 301
USA 277
France 217
Germany 184
Sweden 141
6
US buyers eye up EMEA assets EMEA top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
The interest of Gores Guggenheim and other SPACs in high-value
EMEA assets saw the US rank as one of the largest inbound
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
bidders into the region in Q3. US buyers backed 277 EMEA date (€m)
assets in the quarter, ahead of France (217), Germany (184), and
1 01-Aug-21 P Vonovia SE Deutsche Wohnen SE Real estate 24,763
Sweden (141). Only UK bidders pursued more deals (301). (70.01% Stake)
2 21-Sep-21 P DraftKings, Inc. Entain Plc Leisure 21,658
Another noticeable feature of Q3 EMEA dealmaking was
the revival of deals in sectors hit hard by the pandemic. The
consumer sector, for example, was the fourth-largest by volume 3 27-Sep-21 P Gores Guggenheim, Inc. Polestar Performance AB Industrials & 17,067
chemicals
(215) and third-biggest by value (€38.1bn), with PE firm Clayton,
Dubilier & Rice’s almost €12bn takeover of UK supermarket chain 4 19-Aug-21 P Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC WM Morrison Supermarkets Consumer 11,950
Plc
WM Morrison boosting figures for the industry.
5 03-Jul-21 P Fortress Investment Group LLC; GIC WM Morrison Supermarkets Consumer 11,538
Private Limited; Canada Pension Plan Plc (99.79% Stake)
Investment Board; Koch Real Estate
Investments, LLC
6 27-Sep-21 P Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; Saudi Arabian Oil Co (air Energy, mining Saudi Arabian 10,252
Saudi Arabian Oil Co; ACWA Power separation unit (ASU), & utilities Oil Co
International; Air Products Qudra gasification, syngas cleanup,
utilities and power assets)
7 11-Aug-21 P TransDigm Group Inc. Meggitt Plc Industrials & 9,372
chemicals
8 02-Aug-21 P Parker Hannifin Corporation Meggitt Plc Industrials & 8,367
chemicals
9 02-Sep-21 P Advent International Corporation; GIC Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB Pharma, medical Investor AB; 7,932
Private Limited & biotech Fjarde AP-fonden
10 14-Aug-21 P Faurecia S.A. HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA Industrials & 7,112
chemicals
*C = Completed; P = Pending
7
UK & Ireland
Laissez-faire relaxation of lockdowns
propelling economic recovery
Despite well-publicized shortages of key commodities such as Life online UK&I M&A activity,
petrol and carbon dioxide, as well as lingering trade tensions TMT was the primary source of deal volume in the UK & Ireland 2018 - Q3 2021
with the EU over the Brexit Northern Ireland protocol, the UK & in Q3, with the sector’s 116 transactions accounting for 28%
Ireland was the most active EMEA deal market in Q3 2021. of overall deal volume through the quarter. Business services
was the next busiest sector with 73 deals, followed by consumer 700 160
For the year to end-Q3 2021, UK & Ireland deal value rose 159% with 46.
year-on-year to €298bn, with deal volume up 70% to 1,653 600
140
transactions. Deal value also increased on a quarter-by-quarter
basis, rising to €125bn in Q3 from €72bn in Q2. Volumes,
Big ticket deals, however, have been focused 120
however, slid from 543 deals in Q2 to 419 deals in Q3, with primarily on the consumer, leisure, and 500
commodity shortages a possible explanation for the dip in industrials & chemicals sectors, with each 100
Deal value €(bn)
deal count. industry posting aggregate Q3 deal value 400
Deal volume
Apart from the slide in deal volume in Q3, the UK & Ireland M&A
around the €25bn mark. 80
300
market has benefited as lockdown measures have lifted. In the 60
UK, 66% of people are fully vaccinated, while the rate is 75% In the leisure space, US-listed fantasy sports group DraftKings
in Ireland, according to Our World in Data figures. The relaxing (which IPO-ed via a SPAC deal in 2019) made a €21.7bn bid for 200
40
of social distancing and travel restrictions have boosted the Entain, the UK group that operates the Ladbrokes and Coral
economy, and the FTSE All-Share Index is showing growth of betting shops as well as the bwin and partypoker online betting 100
20
23.5% over the last year. platforms. For DraftKings, the deal will complement its fast-
growing BetMGM joint venture with casino group MGM.
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
9
A weaker pound UK&I top sectors by value I Q3 2021
The UK’s gaming sector also delivered the €2.6bn sale of
EUR (m)
betting group William Hill to online casino 888 Holdings.
Consumer 25,606
William Hill was acquired by US gaming giant Caesar’s Leisure 24,631
Entertainment, which was predominantly interested in Industrials & chemicals 23,819
William Hill’s online gaming intellectual property and has Financial services 15,896
now offloaded William Hill’s portfolio of physical betting TMT 11,050
shops and non-US online interests via the 888 deal.
UK&I top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
Another US buyer, PE firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, led the
second-largest UK deal in Q3 with the almost €12bn take- Deal count
private of WM Morrison, the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket TMT 116
group. CD&R prevailed in a bidding war with rival US buyout Business services 73
house Fortress Investment Group. Consumer 46
Industrials & chemicals 45
Financial services 45
The final price paid for Morrisons represented a 61% premium
to its share price in the middle of June, with one driver of the
deal being the attractive pricing of UK assets to overseas UK&I top bidders by value I Q3 2021
buyers as a result of a softer pound.
EUR (m)
USA 92,773
United Kingdom 16,268
Canada 3,224
Gibraltar 2,570
Bermuda 2,347
UK&I top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
United Kingdom 200
USA 104
Ireland (Republic) 17
Canada 11
Sweden 10
10Stiff competition UK&I top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
Pricing was also a factor for US motion and control technology
developer Parker Hannifin in its €8.4bn purchase of UK-listed
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
aerospace and defense group Meggitt. As was the case with date (€m)
Morrisons, Meggitt attracted strong interest from multiple US
1 21-Sep-21 P DraftKings, Inc. Entain Plc Leisure 21,658
buyers, with Parker Hannifin hard-pressed by US aircraft parts
maker TransDigm. 2 19-Aug-21 P Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC WM Morrison Supermarkets Consumer 11,950
Plc
The high number of jumbo deals in the UK backed by US buyers
has seen the US rank as the most active inbound bidder into 3 03-Jul-21 P Fortress Investment Group LLC; WM Morrison Supermarkets Consumer 11,538
GIC Private Limited; Canada Plc (99.79% Stake)
the UK by value. Inbound US M&A value in the UK in Q3 totaled Pension Plan Investment Board;
€92.8bn, more than five times the amount invested by UK-based Koch Real Estate Investments,
LLC
dealmakers, who rank second. Canada was the third-largest
investor into the UK by value in Q3, but some way back with just 4 11-Aug-21 P TransDigm Group Inc. Meggitt Plc Industrials & 9,372
chemicals
€3.2bn worth of transactions.
5 02-Aug-21 P Parker Hannifin Corporation Meggitt Plc Industrials & 8,367
UK dealmakers lead the way in volume terms, with 200 deals chemicals
announced in Q3, but the US ranks highly again with 104 deals 6 09-Jul-21 P Far Peak Acquisition Bullish (GI) Limited Financial Nomura Co., Ltd.; Louis 6,855
in the quarter to take second place. Ireland (17), Canada (11), services Moore Bacon (Private
Investor); Thiel Capital LLC;
and Sweden (10) round out the top five bidders. Block.one; Alan Howard
(Private Investor); Apeiron
Investment Group Ltd;
Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd;
Richard Li (Private Investor)
7 13-Aug-21 P Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Willis Re Limited Financial Willis Towers Watson Public 3,400
services Limited Company
8 23-Jul-21 P Cobham Limited Ultra Electronics Holdings Defense 3,085
Plc
9 27-Jul-21 P APi Group Corporation Chubb Fire & Security Ltd. Industrials & Carrier Global Corporation 2,625
chemicals
10 09-Sep-21 P 888 Holdings Plc William Hill International Leisure Caesars Entertainment 2,570
Corporation
*C = Completed; P = Pending
11DACH
Key bellwethers ringing out
for steadfast DACH economies
The DACH M&A market has posted healthy gains in 2021, House hunters
with activity in the region’s core industrials & chemicals
DACH M&A activity, On a quarterly basis, Q3 deal value in DACH totaled €65bn,
space rallying to complement buoyant deal flow in the TMT
2018 - Q3 2021 up from the €28bn recorded in Q2 and representing the
and pharmaceuticals, medical & biotech (PMB) sectors. highest quarterly figure since the start of 2018. Q3 deal value
400 70 rose even as deal volume, at 337 transactions, was down
Well over 1,000 deals have been announced in the DACH marginally from the 381 announced in the preceding quarter.
region so far this year, with deal volume for the year to 350
60
end-Q3 2021 up 31% on the levels seen during the first nine A €24.8bn real estate mega-merger between Vonovia and
months of 2020. Indeed, with three more months of 2021 Deutsche Wohnen boosted Q3’s stats. The tie-up has faced
300
to come, deal volumes are already close to surpassing the 50 some resistance from Deutsche Wohnen shareholders, but
1,238 transactions recorded for the whole of 2020. if it proceeds, the deal will create a real estate behemoth
250
with a portfolio of 500,000 apartments in Germany, Austria,
Deal value €(bn)
40
Deal volume
and Sweden.
Deal value has made even sharper gains, 200
rising 38% on the €102bn recorded over 30 The merger – the largest transaction announced over the last
the first nine months of 2020 to a total of 150 three months in EMEA across all sectors – almost single-
€139.8bn. With a quarter still to go, DACH 20
handedly pushed real estate to the top of DACH’s deal value
100 table for Q3, with all of the relatively few transactions in the
deal value in 2021 has already exceeded sector worth a combined €25.5bn.
the €129bn recorded across all of last year. 50
10
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
13DACH top sectors by value I Q3 2021 Industrials’ invincibility Advent International sold Allnex, a global coating resins
Industrials & chemicals, a bellwether for the DACH region, company, to Dutch strategic buyer PTT Global Chemical for
EUR (m)
was the second-largest sector by value in Q3 with deals €4bn, while BC Partners and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension
Real estate 25,463
Industrials & chemicals 23,725 to the tune of €23.7bn. After TMT’s 98 deals, industrials & Plan banked €3.8bn from the sale of CeramTec, a producer of
Consumer 4,086 chemicals was also the second-largest industry by deal specialist ceramics used in medical and dental components,
Pharma, medical & biotech 3,938 volume, posting 93 transaction announcements. The sector to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
TMT 2,938 delivered four of the 10 largest DACH deals in Q3, more
than any other industry, with PE firms particularly active
in this space.
DACH top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count Specialty chemicals group Atotech was delisted by US
TMT 98 chipmaker MKS Instruments in a €5.6bn transaction just
Industrials & chemicals 93 months after PE firm Carlyle Group listed the business.
Business services 38 The deal for Atotech, which focuses on metal and surface
Pharma, medical & biotech 36 solutions used in electronics and semiconductors, provides
Consumer 27
a full exit for Carlyle.
DACH top bidders by value I Q3 2021
EUR (m)
Germany 28,773
USA 14,927
France 7,112
Thailand 4,002
Canada 3,896
DACH top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
Germany 134
USA 46
Switzerland 41
United Kingdom 18
France 16
Sweden 16
14DACH top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
date (€m) Post-lockdown trends
The largest industrial & chemicals deal – also the second-
1 01-Aug-21 P Vonovia SE Deutsche Wohnen SE Real estate 24,763
(70.01% Stake) largest overall in DACH, after the previously mentioned
2 14-Aug-21 P Faurecia S.A. HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA Industrials & 7,112 Vonovia-Deutsche Wohnen merger – was an all-corporate
chemicals affair, with French auto equipment maker Faurecia buying a
controlling stake in German counterpart HELLA in a €7.1bn
3 01-Jul-21 P MKS Instruments, Inc. Atotech Limited Industrials & The Carlyle Group 5,560
transaction. The deal reflects the shifts in the automotive
chemicals
supply chain, with component manufacturers consolidating
4 12-Jul-21 P PTT Global Chemical Pcl Allnex GmbH Industrials & Advent International 4,002
as vehicles with internal combustion engines are gradually
chemicals Corporation
replaced by electric cars.
5 17-Aug-21 P Canada Pension Plan Investment CeramTec GmbH Industrials & BC Partners Limited; 3,800
Board chemicals Ontario Teachers' After industrials, business services and PMB were the
Pension Plan; Public
Sector Pension next busiest sectors in the region with 38 and 36 deals,
Investment Board respectively. PMB was the fourth-largest sector by deal
6 13-Aug-21 P Hellman & Friedman LLC Zooplus AG Consumer 3,303 value (€3.9bn), thanks to a pair of megadeals: Spanish
company Grifols’ €1.3bn acquisition of German hematology
7 17-Aug-21 P Deutsche Post AG JF Hillebrand Group AG Transportation Cobepa S.A.; Sofina SA 1,500 and immunology group Biotest; and Antin Infrastructure
Partners’ €1.5bn sale of medical diagnostics company
8 30-Jul-21 P AXA Investment Managers Amedes Holding AG Pharma, medical Antin Infrastructure 1,500
Amedes to a consortium including AXA, Goldman Sachs,
S.A.; Goldman Sachs Asset & biotech Partners S.A.S.
Management, L.P.; OMERS and OMERS.
Infrastructure Management Inc.
9 17-Sep-21 P Grifols SA Biotest AG Pharma, medical 1,277 The consumer sector was the third-largest by value, with
& biotech
deals worth €4.1bn in Q3. This was thanks in great part
10 06-Aug-21 P Swiss Life Asset Management AG; Aves One AG Financial services 1,133 to PE firm Hellman & Friedman’s €3.3bn takeover bid for
Vauban Infrastructure Partners
Zooplus, the listed German online pet retailer. Zooplus
*C = Completed; P = Pending
generated sales growth of 18% in 2021 as pet ownership
across Europe increased during lockdowns. The deal is the
latest in a string of PE transactions in the fast-growing pet
care sector.
15France
Dealmakers catch their breath,
capitalize on booming market
France’s M&A markets have recorded high levels of activity in PE buyers making waves France M&A activity,
2021, with a steady stream of PE exits supporting increases A rebounding economy has lifted stock markets, with France’s 2018 - Q3 2021
in deal volume and value. For the year to end-Q3 2021, deal CAC 40 up 37% over the last 12 months. Buoyant equities have
volume in France came in at 730 transactions, up 34% on the supported dealmaker confidence and M&A.
546 deals secured over the same period last year. Deal value 300 45
has climbed even more, rising 124% to €97bn from €43bn at In terms of deal volumes, TMT was the most active sector in
40
the same point in 2020. France in Q3 2021 with 50 transactions, followed by industrials
250
& chemicals with 36, and business services with 32. TMT was
35
Deal activity did see some seasonal easing in Q3 as markets also the largest sector by value, with €13.3bn worth of deals.
paused for breath over the summer. Volume dropped from 278 Financial services ranked second by value (€10.6bn) and PMB
200 30
deals in Q2 to 198 in Q3, and aggregate value slid from €40bn third (€4.9bn).
Deal value €(bn)
to €34bn over the same period.
Deal volume
25
More than two-thirds of the population is now fully vaccinated
Deal value in France has been lifted by 150
20
against COVID-19, which has helped put France on track to high levels of PE exit activity, with buyout
return to pre-pandemic levels of growth by the end of 2021. investors taking advantage of a supportive 100 15
Although some containment measures remain in place, consumer macro backdrop to crystallize value for
spending has increased by 15%, putting the country on course to 10
secure GDP growth of 6.3% this year and 3.9% in 2022, according
good assets at attractive prices. 50
to the IMF. 5
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
17Drivers wanted The Volkswagen-led group was drawn to Europcar’s France top sectors by value I Q3 2021
In the largest French deal in Q3 2021, a consortium led by international network and fleet of 350,000 vehicles,
EUR (m)
automotive giant Volkswagen and including asset manager which will offer the buyers a platform for the development
TMT 13,338
Attestor and Dutch mobility business Pon made a bid worth of mobility services, including subscription and car- Financial services 10,570
almost €5.8bn for Europcar Mobility Group, the listed car sharing options. For Volkswagen, the deal complements Pharma, medical & biotech 4,874
rental company that includes private market investors the automotive group’s strategy to focus on the rapid Energy, mining & utilities 2,412
Monarch, Anchorage, Carval, Centerbridge, Diameter, and growth of automotive software and services. Business services 994
Marathon among its major shareholders.
France top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
TMT 50
Industrials & chemicals 36
Business services 32
Consumer 20
Pharma, medical & biotech 13
France top bidders by value I Q3 2021
EUR (m)
France 15,404
Germany 7,040
USA 2,951
Canada 2,500
Ireland (Republic) 1,821
France top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
France 134
USA 14
United Kingdom 8
Germany 7
Belgium 4
18Investing in health France top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
Other notable French exits for PE players in Q3 included
Charterhouse Capital’s €2.5bn sale of business-to-business
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
insurance broker Siaci Saint Honore to a consortium led date (€m)
by Burrus Group; and Astorg and Goldman Sachs’ €1.8bn
1 28-Jul-21 P Volkswagen AG; Pon Holdings B.V.; Europcar Mobility Group Financial Centerbridge 5,770
sale of Hera to health and wellness group Perrigo. Attestor Limited S.A services Partners, L.P.
2 15-Sep-21 P Vivendi SA Lagardere SCA TMT Amber Capital UK LLP 5,724
Charterhouse backed Paris-based Siaci in 2018 and has (72.61% Stake)
expanded the group in a fragmented market via a series of
acquisitions. For Burrus, the deal will see the formation of a 3 30-Jul-21 P Xavier Niel (Private Investor) Iliad SA (29.37% Stake) TMT 3,187
pan-European insurance broker that will rank as one of the
10 largest independent operators globally. 4 02-Jul-21 P Ardian; Ontario Teachers' Pension Siaci Saint Honore; Financial Charterhouse Capital 2,500
Plan; Cathay Capital Private Equity; Burrus Group services Partners LLP
Bpifrance SA; Mubadala Capital
The acquisition of Hera, which owns a portfolio of self-care 5 23-Jul-21 P Altarea Cogedim Groupe Primonial SAS Financial Bridgepoint Group 2,125
brands including Compeed, ellaOne, and Mederma, dovetails services Plc; Sogecap S.A.;
Latour Capital FCPR
with Perrigo’s strategy to become an international leader in
consumer self-care products and expand its European presence. 6 08-Sep-21 P Perrigo Company plc Hera SAS Pharma, medical Astorg Partners; 1,800
& biotech Goldman Sachs Asset
Management, L.P.
In another large healthcare deal involving a private capital 7 27-Jul-21 P Sagesse, Retraite, Sante S.A.S.; Almaviva Sante Pharma, medical Antin Infrastructure 1,500
backer, Antin Infrastructure Partners agreed to sell Almaviva Bpifrance SA; Wren House & biotech Partners S.A.S.
Infrastructure Management Limited
Sante, the fourth-largest private hospital group in France, for
€1.5bn to a consortium including bpifrance and Wren House 8 07-Jul-21 P PHOENIX Pharmahandel GmbH & Brocacef Holding NV Pharma, medical McKesson 1,270
Co KG (45% Stake); McKesson & biotech Corporation
Infrastructure. The deal will support Almaviva’s plans to invest Corporation (European
more than €500m over the next five years in new equipment and businesses); recucare
GmbH
upgrading facilities.
9 06-Aug-21 P Providence Equity Partners L.L.C.; Marlink SAS TMT Apax Partners SAS 1,187
Ardian
10 30-Jul-21 P Caisse des Depots et Consignations; GRTgaz SA (11.5% Stake) Energy, mining ENGIE SA 1,121
CNP Assurances SA & utilities
*C = Completed; P = Pending
19Nordics
Home of high-quality assets
invites international acquirers
Deal markets in the Nordics received a huge boost in Q3 2021 On the up and up
from a jumbo €17.1bn industrials & chemicals deal that saw
Nordics M&A activity, The Polestar deal, the third-largest in Europe for the quarter,
US SPAC Gores Guggenheim acquire Swedish electric vehicle
2018 - Q3 2021 helped to drive a 315% increase in overall Nordics deal value
maker Polestar. for the year to end-Q3 2021, which climbed from €25bn in
600 60 2020 to €103bn this year.
The Gores Guggenheim SPAC, which is sponsored by
US billionaire Alec Gores and the Guggenheim Partners On a quarter-by-quarter basis, deal value more than doubled
investment bank, is the latest US SPAC to invest in the 500 50 from €28bn in Q2 2021 to €52bn in Q3, although deal volume
rapidly growing electric vehicles space. has declined from 537 transactions to 298.
The deal ensured that industrials & chemicals was the largest 400 40
sector by value in the Nordics in Q3 by some margin, lifting
But even when the effects of the
Deal value €(bn)
Polestar deal are stripped out, the
Deal volume
the space’s quarterly total to €26.8bn. PMB was the second-
largest by value (€8.9bn), followed by real estate (€5.6bn). TMT 300 30
Nordics M&A market has still performed
saw the most deals by volume, with 76 transactions, followed well this year. Deal volume for the year
by industrials (59) and business services (39).
200 20 to end-Q3 2021 is up 73%, and value
is also up even when filtering for the
100 10 outlying megadeal.
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
21Nordics top sectors by value I Q3 2021 US buyers on the hunt Boosted by Polestar, the US accounted in Q3 for more deal
With COVID risk mitigated, GDP across the Nordics is value in the Nordics than any other region with deals to
EUR (m)
expected to grow by 3.7% in both 2021 and 2022 after the value of €30.9bn. Even if the Polestar deal is filtered
Industrials & chemicals 26,756
Pharma, medical & biotech 8,858 declines of 2.2% in 2020, according to Sweden-based bank for, the US would still rank ahead of Sweden, which stands
Real estate 5,561 SEB. As economic prospects have brightened, so have the in second place with deal value of €5.8bn. The UK ranked
TMT 3,370 region’s stock markets, with the OMX Nordic 40 index up third (€3.149bn), closely followed by Canada (€3.148bn).
Consumer 2,315 28% over the last 12 months.
The supportive environment in the Nordics has made the
Nordics top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
region attractive for overseas buyers, with three non-Nordic
Deal count nations ranked among the five most active inbound investors.
TMT 76
Industrials & chemicals 59
Business services 39
Consumer 28
Pharma, medical & biotech 25
Nordics top bidders by value I Q3 2021
EUR (m)
USA 30,898
Sweden 5,845
United Kingdom 3,149
Canada 3,148
Norway 3,083
Nordics top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
Sweden 84
Norway 50
Denmark 35
USA 24
United Kingdom 23
22Nordics top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
date (€m) Finding value overseas
After Polestar, the next largest deal in the Nordics saw
1 27-Sep-21 P Gores Guggenheim, Inc. Polestar Performance AB Industrials & 17,067
chemicals PE firm Advent International partner with Singaporean
2 02-Sep-21 P Advent International Corporation; Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB Pharma, medical Investor AB; Fjarde 7,932 sovereign wealth fund GIC in the €7.9bn purchase of
GIC Private Limited & biotech AP-fonden Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi). Sobi is focused on
developing treatments for rare diseases, specializing
3 02-Aug-21 P Castellum AB Kungsleden AB Real estate 4,488
in hematology, immunology, and specialty indications.
4 05-Aug-21 P Qualcomm Incorporated Veoneer, Inc. Industrials & 3,536
Other PE players have also seen value in the Nordics.
chemicals
Buyout house Permira took a 10% stake in Adevinta, a
5 22-Jul-21 P Magna International Inc. Veoneer, Inc. Industrials & 3,004 provider of online classifieds and marketplaces, in a €1.9bn
chemicals deal. Permira is seeing high growth in the 16 markets where
6 14-Jul-21 P Permira Advisers LLP Adevinta ASA (10.2% Stake) TMT eBay Inc. 1,901 Adevinta operates, with scope to expand its transactional
capabilities and service new models in the automotive, real
7 13-Sep-21 P KKR & Co. Inc. Ocean Yield ASA Transportation Aker ASA 1,830 estate, and job markets.
8 20-Aug-21 P SalMar ASA Norway Royal Salmon ASA Consumer 1,424
In another inbound deal backed by an international buyout
house, KKR acquired listed Norwegian shipowner Ocean
9 02-Jul-21 P Valmet Oyj Neles Corporation (70.46% Stake) Industrials & 1,358
Yield, which runs a fleet of 63 vessels, in a deal valued at
chemicals
€1.8bn. Shipping has seen a significant increase in demand
10 16-Jul-21 P NTS ASA Norway Royal Salmon ASA Consumer 865
(65.43% Stake) in 2021 as the world economy has emerged from the COVID
*C = Completed; P = Pending slowdown and demand for commodities increased, pushing
shipping rates higher.
23Italy & Iberia
Region ready to rebound faster
than northern European neighbors
Italy & Iberia has recorded double-digit increases in M&A volume Summer siesta Italy & Iberia M&A activity,
and value over the first nine months of 2021 as the region, one With COVID risks proactively addressed, Italy’s FTSE MIB and 2018-Q3 2021
of the hardest hit economically by the pandemic, rebounded. Madrid’s Ibex 35 stock market indices have climbed by 39.2%
In 2020, Italy and Spain suffered declines in GDP of 8.9% and and 31.8%, respectively, over the last year. M&A has benefited
10.8%, respectively, significantly steeper drops than the average too, with volume of 1,016 deals for the year to end-Q3 2021, up 400 70
6.3% slide across the euro area, according to the IMF. 41% on the 723 transactions secured in 2020. Value over the
same period increased 72% to €115bn from €67bn in 2020. 350
60
Both countries, however, are expected to Italy & Iberia deal activity did slow quarter-on-quarter, which is 300
see growth recover by more than 5% this not unusual over the summer period. Deal volume dropped from
50
year and by 4.2% and 6.2%, respectively, 400 deals in Q2 to 309 in Q3, with value dropping from €44bn 250
Deal value €(bn)
in 2022, outpacing the average euro over the same period to €33bn. 40
Deal volume
area recovery. As dealmakers have returned from summer breaks, however,
200
30
activity has picked up and the pipeline for deals in the region 150
Vaccination rates have been among the highest in Europe, with is promising. According to Mergermarket’s Intelligence Heat
79% of the population fully vaccinated in Spain and 70% in Italy, Charts, there were 544 ‘companies for sale’ stories tracked 20
100
according to Our World in Data. Strict measures have also been across Italy & Iberia between 1 April 2021 and 30 September
put place to reduce the risk of COVID cases creeping up again. 2021, good for second place in EMEA. 10
50
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
25Building back better I&I top sectors by value I Q3 2021
Domestic buyers have been especially active through the
EUR (m)
last quarter, with Italian bidders announcing 91 deals and
TMT 8,493
their Spanish counterparts 79. The UK is the next most active Industrials & chemicals 6,389
inbound investor into the region, with 24 Q3 transactions. Energy, mining & utilities 4,781
Italy also led the way in value terms (€8.3bn), followed by Leisure 4,012
the US (€6.6bn), and UK (€6bn). Consumer 3,294
Higher inbound deal value into the region has been driven by
I&I top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
a series of large private capital transactions. Global buyout
firm CVC, for example, paid €2.7bn to land a deal with Spain’s Deal count
elite soccer league La Liga. The deal will see CVC take 11% of Industrials & chemicals 76
La Liga’s TV rights over the next 50 years in exchange for the Consumer 54
investment, with CVC playing an active role in managing the TMT 40
league’s media rights post-deal. Business services 38
Energy, mining & utilities 28
Australian infrastructure group Macquarie, meanwhile, was
involved in a €2.1bn deal to take a 40% stake in Open Fiber, I&I top bidders by value I Q3 2021
Italy’s largest fiber-to-the-home network. Improving access
EUR (m)
to reliable, rapid broadband has emerged as a key priority
Italy 8,298
through lockdowns when connectivity proved essential for
USA 6,580
work, trade, and study. United Kingdom 5,963
France 2,546
Spain 2,407
I&I top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
Italy 91
Spain 79
United Kingdom 24
France 23
USA 21
26Big money in Big Data Italy & Iberia top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
The largest deal in the region in Q3 was also in the TMT space, as
tech investment fund Metrika and business services outsourcing
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
specialist Aegida acquired Advice Group, a marketing technology date (€m)
company using behavioral loyalty and Big Data techniques,
1 07-Jul-21 C Metrika Tech Fund; Aegida Advice Group SpA TMT HAT Orizzonte SGR Spa 5,150
from HAT Orizzonte in a €5.2bn deal. The deal provided a money Investments S.r.l.
multiple return of 2x and IRR of 20% for PE firm HAT, which 2 04-Aug-21 P CVC Capital Partners Limited Liga Nacional de Futbol Leisure 2,700
partnered with Advice Group founding chief executive Fulvio Profesional (10.95% Stake)
Furbatto in 2019 when it acquired a 43% stake in the company.
3 05-Aug-21 C Macquarie Asset Management, Inc. Open Fiber S.p.A. TMT Enel S.p.A. 2,120
(40% Stake)
The deal helped to rank TMT as the largest sector by value in
Italy & Iberia in Q3, with transactions worth €8.5bn. Industrials 4 27-Sep-21 P Bain Capital, LP.; JB Capital Markets, Industria de Turbo Industrials & Rolls-Royce Holdings 1,800
Sociedad de Valores, S.A.; Sapa Propulsores, S.A. chemicals Plc
& chemicals was the next largest by value (€6.4bn), followed by Placencia S. L.
energy, mining & utilities (€4.8bn). Industrials & chemicals was 5 23-Sep-21 P OTIS Worldwide Corporation Zardoya Otis SA Industrials & 1,646
the most active sector by volume in Q3 with 76 deals, followed (49.99% Stake) chemicals
by consumer with 54 transactions, and then TMT with 40 deals. 6 23-Sep-21 P Sandfire Resources NL Minas de Aguas Tenidas, Energy, mining Trafigura Group 1,591
S.A.U. & utilities Pte Ltd; Mubadala
Investment Company
PJSC
7 19-Jul-21 P Investindustrial Acquisition Corp. Ermenegildo Zegna Consumer 1,318
Holditalia S.p.A.
8 08-Jul-21 P Vitrolife AB (publ) Igenomix S.L. Pharma, medical EQT Partners AB; 1,250
& biotech Charme Capital
Partners SGR S.p.A.
9 27-Jul-21 P PreZero Stiftung & Co. KG Ferrovial S.A. Industrials & Ferrovial S.A. 1,133
(environmental services chemicals
businesses in Spain and
Portugal)
10 02-Aug-21 P Enel S.p.A. ERG Hydro S.r.l. Energy, mining ERG S.p.A. 1,039
& utilities
*C = Completed; P = Pending
27Benelux
Slip in deal volumes cannot
negate robust M&A foundations
Deal volumes across Benelux saw double-digit growth over the Strong and steady Benelux M&A activity,
opening three quarters of 2021, although deal value declined. On a quarter-by-quarter basis, deal volume slid from 262 deals 2018-Q3 2021
Volumes were up 39% to 730 transactions over the first nine in Q2 2021 to 202 in the most recent quarter. Nonetheless, deal
months of the year from 527 deals over the same period a year value rocketed from €7bn to €17bn in Q3.
ago. Aggregate deal value was up 7% year-on-year at €47bn 300 40
from €44bn in 2020. Overall, the Benelux market has proven steady and delivered
transactions across a range of sectors. As in other regions, 35
250
TMT was the most active by deal volume in Q3 with 60 deals.
Value figures for 2020, however, were skewed Industrials & chemicals also featured strongly, with 44 30
by a bumper Q3, when total deal value reached transactions over the quarter, followed by 31 deals in business
200
€37bn, the largest quarterly sum recorded services and 17 in PMB. 25
Deal value €(bn)
going back to the start of 2018. Year-to-date
Deal volume
TMT also ranked as the largest sector by value, with deals worth
deal value for 2021 remains in line with €8.3bn in aggregate in Q3. The sector accounted for no fewer
150 20
pre-pandemic levels. than five of the 10 largest deals in the region over the quarter. 15
100
10
50
5
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
29Getting moving Benelux top sectors by value I Q3 2021
The biggest transaction in the region saw Deutsche Telekom
EUR (m)
and Tele2 offload T-Mobile Netherlands in a €5.1bn sale to
TMT 8,324
PE firms Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus. The deal came Business services 2,420
about as Deutsche Telekom made a strategic decision to Financial services 2,181
expand its presence in the US market through a deal with Industrials & chemicals 1,582
Japan’s SoftBank, which saw the latter take a US$5bn stake Real estate 1,117
in Germany’s largest telco.
Benelux top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
The US focus prompted Deutsche to exit its Dutch mobile
phone unit to Apax and Warburg Pincus. The German group Deal count
had already sold its Romanian interests to Orange and its TMT 60
telecom towers unit in the Netherlands to Cellnex in Spain. Industrials & chemicals 44
Both Apax and Warburg Pincus have experience in the Business services 31
European telecoms sector. Pharma, medical & biotech 17
Consumer 15
In other TMT deals, Yandex, the Russian internet and ride-
hailing company, bought up part of Uber’s stake in MLU, Benelux top bidders by value I Q3 2021
a joint venture between the two groups in the food delivery
EUR (m)
and self-driving space. The €846m deal is part of a
USA 9,620
strategic restructuring of MLU to interface with Yandex’s
Switzerland 2,031
platforms more easily, although Uber will retain a 29% share Belgium 1,239
in the company. Russia 981
United Kingdom 916
In another major deal in the space, Siemens Mobility paid
€550m for Sqills, a developer of reservation, inventory,
Benelux top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
and ticketing software for the rail industry. The deal is
part of Siemens’ ‘mobility-as-a-service’ strategy, which is Deal count
focused on building technology tools to increase the use Netherlands 65
of public transport. USA 31
Belgium 23
France 19
United Kingdom 16
30Ubiquitous technology Benelux top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
After TMT, business services was the largest sector by value
with transactions totaling €2.4bn in Q3. This was up more
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
than sixfold on the Q3 2020 figure, owing largely to the €2bn date (€m)
sale of Belgian staffing company AKKA Technologies to Swiss
1 07-Sep-21 P Apax Partners LLP; Warburg Pincus T-Mobile Netherlands TMT Deutsche Telekom AG; 5,100
recruitment business Adecco. LLC Holding B.V. Tele2 AB
2 28-Jul-21 P Adecco SA AKKA Technologies SA Business Compagnie Nationale 2,031
The deal will see Adecco become the largest provider of services a Portefeuille S.A; Ricci
Family
temporary staffing in the world. Adecco, which plans to
combine AKKA with its science and IT staffing divisions, 3 19-Aug-21 P Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC NN Investment Partners Financial NN Group N.V. 1,700
Holdings N.V. services
sees an opportunity to expand its services to automotive
and aerospace companies. Customers in these industries are 4 09-Jul-21 P D'Ieteren SA TVH Parts Holding NV Industrials & Vanhalst family 1,172
(40% Stake) chemicals
increasingly outsourcing engineering and R&D to consultants,
opening growth opportunities for staffing providers. 5 18-Aug-21 C Oaktree Capital Management LP High Tech Campus Eindhoven Real estate Marcel Boekhoorn 1,100
(Private investor)
The third-largest sector by value was financial services, with 6 31-Aug-21 P Yandex, N.V. MLU B.V. (4.5% Stake); TMT Uber Technologies, Inc. 846
Yandex Self-Driving Group
deal value totaling €2.2bn. The most notable financial services B.V. (18.2% Stake); Yandex.
transaction saw NN Group in the Netherlands sell its asset Eats (33.5% Stake); Yandex.
management division NN Investment Partners Holdings, which Lavka (33.5% Stake); Yandex.
Delivery (33.5% Stake)
has strong ESG credentials, to Goldman Sachs in a €1.7bn deal.
7 16-Sep-21 C Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Picnic B.V. TMT 600
8 05-Aug-21 P Siemens Mobility GmbH Sqills TMT 550
9 14-Sep-21 C Crestview Partners, LP TenCate Grass Holding BV Construction Koninklijke Ten Cate 450
N.V.
10 06-Jul-21 C Abu Dhabi Investment Authority; CarNext TMT 400
PGGM N.V.; TDR Capital LLP; GIC
Private Limited; ATP Group; Goldman
Sachs Asset Management, L.P.
*C = Completed; P = Pending
31Turkey, Middle East & Africa
Soaring oil prices fuel M&A in critical
energy and industrials spaces
The recovery in oil & gas prices and an improving public Black gold Turkey, Middle East & Africa M&A activity,
health backdrop have helped to lift the economic outlook Forecasts for M&A activity in the region are upbeat. According 2018-Q3 2021
across Turkey, the Middle East & Africa, to the great benefit of to Mergermarket’s Intelligence Heat Charts, there are 436 deals
M&A activity in the region. The IMF is predicting GDP growth in the pipeline for Turkey, the Middle East & Africa, more than all
of 4.1% in the Middle East and Central Asia in 2022 and a other jurisdictions in the EMEA region barring CEE & SEE and 200 100
3.7% uplift in sub-Saharan Africa. Italy & Iberia.
90
175
Vaccination rates are patchy across the vast and diverse
region, and still lag behind countries in the West. But
A surge in oil prices has also benefited 80
distribution is improving, with some countries, such as Saudi large producers in the region. At the end 150
70
Arabia and Turkey, recording full vaccination rates approaching of September, oil broke through the US$80 125
60% of the population, according to Our World in Data. Rates per barrel threshold for the first time in three 60
Deal value €(bn)
Deal volume
in sub-Saharan Africa are still significantly lower, but there has
been enough progress across the region as a whole to help
years, while gas prices crested record highs 100 50
economies to reopen. in Q3. 40
75
These dynamics have proven favorable for deal activity in 30
the region, which has made strong gains over the last year. 50
20
Deal value has climbed 86% from €70bn over the first nine
months of 2020 to €131bn for the year to end-Q3 2021. 25
10
Deal volume is up 56% over the same period, from 303
deals to 472. The year-to-date gains come despite a dip 0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
in quarter-on-quarter volume and value from 166 deals 2018 2019 2020 2021
worth €67bn in Q2 to 131 deals valued at €32bn in Q3.
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
33Full of energy TMEA top sectors by value I Q3 2021
With energy prices up, deal value in the energy, mining &
EUR (m)
utilities sector delivered more value than any other industry
Energy, mining & utilities 11,994
with transactions worth just under €12bn accounting for TMT 7,783
more than a third of overall deal value in the region in Q3. Industrials & chemicals 4,688
Indeed, the sector saw the largest deal in the region as well Pharma, medical & biotech 1,825
as the seventh-largest transaction in the three-month period. Transportation 1,721
The Saudi Arabian Oil company’s €10.3bn sale of a portfolio TMEA top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
of air separation and power assets to a consortium including
US group Air Products and Chemicals, ACWA Power, and Air Deal count
Products Qudra led the way. Mubadala Petroleum’s purchase TMT 33
of a 22% stake in the Tamar gas field from Delek Drilling in an Industrials & chemicals 19
€865m deal also ranked among the top 10 deals for Q3. Energy, mining & utilities 16
Consumer 14
Business services 11
TMEA top bidders by value I Q3 2021
EUR (m)
USA 15,623
United Arab Emirates 3,647
Saudi Arabia 3,138
Thailand 3,126
Israel 1,425
TMEA top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
USA 24
Israel 21
Turkey 15
United Arab Emirates 12
South Africa 6
United Kingdom 6
34African fintech prestige Turkey, Middle East & Africa top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
TMT was the next largest sector by value, with deals worth
€7.8bn in Q3, followed by industrials & chemicals (€4.7bn)
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
and PMB (€1.8bn). TMT was the most active sector by volume date (€m)
with 33 deals, followed by industrials & chemicals with 19, and
1 27-Sep-21 P Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; Saudi Arabian Oil Co (air Energy, mining Saudi Arabian Oil Co 10,252
then energy, mining & utilities at 16. Saudi Arabian Oil Co; ACWA Power separation unit (ASU), & utilities
International; Air Products Qudra gasification, syngas cleanup,
utilities and power assets)
In the largest TMT deal in the region, Nigeria’s Tingo
International Holdings offloaded Tingo Mobile, a device 2 30-Jul-21 C IWeb, Inc. Tingo Mobile, PLC TMT Tingo International 3,126
Holdings, Inc.
and mobile business focused on agritech and fintech,
for €3.1bn to Thai technology developer IWeb. Tingo 3 28-Sep-21 P Saudi Industrial Investment Group Saudi National Petrochemical Industrials & 2,876
Mobile, which has more than 9m subscribers and annual Company (50% Stake) chemicals
revenues of US$616m, is believed to be one of the most 4 08-Jul-21 P DP World Limited Imperial Logistics Limited Transportation 1,429
valuable fintech groups to have emerged from Africa.
In the largest industrials & chemicals deal for Q3, the Saudi 5 09-Aug-21 C General Atlantic Service Company, DSM Grup Danismanlik TMT 1,276
L.P.; Qatar Investment Authority; Iletisim ve Satis Tic. A.S.
Industrial Investment Group took a 50% stake in the Saudi Princeville Capital; ADQ; SoftBank (9.09% Stake)
Investment Advisers
National Petrochemical Company in a transaction worth
€2.9bn. The tie-up between the two groups forms one of 6 02-Sep-21 C SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S. SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S. Industrials & Goldman Sachs & 1,097
(13% Stake) chemicals Co. LLC
the largest chemicals manufacturers in the Middle East at
a time when prices are moving higher. The deal follows a 7 02-Sep-21 P Mubadala Petroleum LLC Delek Drilling Limited Energy, mining Delek Drilling 865
Partnership (Tamar gas field) & utilities Limited Partnership
trend of increasing consolidation across the Saudi Arabian (22% Stake)
industrial sector, with businesses seeking opportunities to 8 15-Jul-21 P Standard Bank Group Limited Liberty Holdings Limited Financial 710
expand and find synergies through M&A transactions. services
9 04-Aug-21 P Paz Oil Company Ltd Freshmarket Ltd Consumer 564
10 13-Aug-21 P MedTech Acquisition Memic Innovative Surgery Pharma, medical 531
Ltd. & biotech
*C = Completed; P = Pending
35CEE & SEE
Key economies driving recovery
in region poised for M&A boom
The CEE & SEE M&A market has enjoyed a strong rebound Making up for lost time
over the first nine months of 2021, with deal volume and
CEE & SEE M&A activity, Vaccination programs across the region have trailed those
value up significantly on the same period last year.
2018-Q3 2021 in western Europe, but in the key economies of Austria, the
Czech Republic, and Poland, vaccines have been distributed
Deal value for the year to end-Q3 2021 has more than 250 25 to more than half of the population, according to Our World in
doubled to €49bn from the €23bn posted in 2020. Deal Data, enabling economies to open up and regain lost ground.
volume for the period is up by just under a third (32%) from
409 transactions to 541. On a quarter-by-quarter basis, deal
value almost trebled from the €9bn worth of transactions in
200 20 Economic growth forecasts are upbeat,
Q2 to €24bn in Q3, even though volumes eased from 198 with the IMF predicting GDP growth of
transactions to 144 over the same period. 6% in emerging and developing Europe
150 15
for 2021, followed by expansion of 3.6%
Deal value €(bn)
Deal volume
The momentum the region has enjoyed so far this year is
set to continue into Q4 2021 and 2022. Mergermarket’s
in 2022.
Intelligence Heat Chart, which tracks ‘companies for sale’ 100 10
stories, has identified 566 assets in CEE & SEE that are in Stock markets in the region have also been robust, with
play, more than any other EMEA jurisdiction. the Central and Eastern Europe Fund, which invests in
stock markets across the region, up by 28.1% this year.
50 5
0 0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2018 2019 2020 2021
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
37CEE & SEE top sectors by value I Q3 2021 Market-leading tech Other headline TMT deals saw US-based broadband, video,
Dealmakers have been ready to redeploy capital in the region, and mobile group Liberty Global exit the Polish market with
EUR (m)
with TMT leading the way: the sector accrued €13.1bn from the sale of UPC Polska to PLAY, the Polish subsidiary of
TMT 13,056
Transportation 4,155 52 deals in Q3. French counterpart iliad, in a €1.5bn deal, while Amsterdam-
Pharma, medical & biotech 2,398 listed VEON offloaded its Russian network tower portfolio
Construction 1,835 TMT transactions accounted for five of the 10 largest CEE & JSC to Service-Telecom in an €817m deal.
Energy, mining & utilities 1,179 SEE deals in Q3, with US cybersecurity group NortonLifeLock
acquiring Prague-based Avast in a €6.6bn deal to lead the
rankings. Avast has developed a market-leading position in
CEE & SEE top sectors by volume I Q3 2021
the bespoke consumer cyber protection market and, with
Deal count cybersecurity growing in importance through the pandemic,
TMT 52 the deal positions Norton well to service Avast’s 435m users.
Industrials & chemicals 17
Energy, mining & utilities 16
Consumer 11
Transportation 9
CEE & SEE top bidders by value I Q3 2021
EUR (m)
USA 7,987
Russia 3,312
France 3,077
Poland 2,977
Switzerland 1,600
CEE & SEE top bidders by volume I Q3 2021
Deal count
Russia 28
Poland 16
USA 13
Czech Republic 13
Sweden 9
38CEE & SEE top 10 announced deals, Q3 2021
Announced Status* Bidder company Target company Sector Vendor company Deal value
Supplying demanding consumers
date (€m) The industrials & chemicals sector was the next largest
by volume, with 17 deals, but didn’t feature among the
1 10-Aug-21 P NortonLifeLock Inc. Avast PLC TMT 6,646
highest-ranking sectors by value. Transportation, which
2 26-Aug-21 P GEK Terna SA; Egis Projects Egnatia Odos AE Transportation Hellenic Republic Asset 2,766 ranked second by value with transactions worth €4.2bn
Development Fund in aggregate, was boosted by two top-10 deals.
3 16-Jul-21 C Mikhailovsky KSM Eurocement Group ZAO Construction Sberbank OAO 1,835
A consortium bid €2.8bn for a concession on Egnatia Odos,
the longest motorway in Greece. The concession was
4 19-Jul-21 P Partners Group Holding AG Pharmathen S.A. Pharma, medical BC Partners Limited 1,600
put out by Greece’s privatization agency and will see the
& biotech
consortium maintain the 658km motorway for 35 years.
5 22-Sep-21 P PLAY Communications S.A. UPC Polska Sp. z o.o. TMT Liberty Global Plc 1,517
In the shipping space, Navios Maritime Partners, an operator
6 28-Sep-21 P Zygmunt Solorz-Zak Cyfrowy Polsat SA TMT 1,377 of dry cargo vessels, merged with tanker vessel operator
(Private Investor) (28.28% Stake)
Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation in a €913bn deal.
7 26-Aug-21 P Navios Maritime Partners L.P. Navios Maritime Transportation Navios Maritime 913 The tie-up will see the formation of the largest shipping
Acquisition Corporation Holdings Inc
company listed in the US. The deal comes at an inflexion
8 16-Aug-21 P United Group B.V. Wind Hellas TMT Crystal Almond Holdings 849
point for the shipping sector, which has faced a surge in
Telecommunications S.A. Limited
demand and supply chain bottlenecks as demand for goods
9 06-Sep-21 P Service-Telecom LLC JSC “National Tower TMT VEON Ltd. 817
explodes post-pandemic.
Company”
10 09-Sep-21 P Italgas S.p.A. DEPA Infrastructure S.A. Energy, mining Hellenic Petroleum SA; 733
& utilities Hellenic Republic Asset The PMB sector, which ranked third by value (€2.4bn), was
Development Fund
also boosted by a jumbo deal, with PE firm BC Partners
*C = Completed; P = Pending exiting Pharmathen in a secondary buyout to Swiss
alternative assets manager Partners Group in a €1.6bn
transaction. BC Partners first backed the pharmaceuticals
R&D group in 2015 in a deal worth €475m.
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