M&A DEMAND SET TO SURGE

GCF is about to launch its annual Compass report, which has tracked cross border, mid-market M&A for the past four years.

The study, conducted by Vlerick Business School in Belgium, offers a unique insight into how mid-sized companies fared in a period of unprecedented turmoil – strong growth in 2019 was halted by Covid lockdowns in 2020 and followed by a post-pandemic recovery overshadowed by supply chain disruption, war and economic instability.

While these factors have impacted on the number of cross-border deals and value of transactions, the Compass report reveals:

• There were 4,263 deals completed in the cross-border mid-market in 2022 worth a total of €200 billion.
• Average deal value in cross-border M&A in the mid-market is now €46.9 million, which is 17% higher than 2019 before the emergence of the Covid pandemic.
• North American companies remain the main acquirers in Europe and across the world, accounting for 47% of the total volume and 49% of deal value.
• The majority of deals (40%) are focused on the IT sector but healthcare remains popular. The retail and wholesale sector, which did not feature throughout Covid, is highly active again.

“Over the past three years the Compass report has shown how resilient cross-border M&A activity has been among ambitious mid-sized companies.

“The firms in the Moore GCF network all report strong demand but deals have been held up over the past six months by economic uncertainty. As conditions begin to ease there will be a surge of activity as companies rebuild balance sheets and seize growth opportunities.”