Mergermarket

🌎 How did global M&A fare in 2024? Explore our Full-Year M&A Highlights report, covering M&A activity across North America, EMEA, and APAC 👉 https://lnkd.in/erxMfH2x Global dealmaking made a modest recovery in 2024, with M&A volume reaching USD 3.4tn, up 8% from 2023’s decade low. While activity remained historically subdued, signs point to a stronger 2025 as interest rate cuts by central banks in the US and Europe take hold, alongside some political certainty following a record number of elections worldwide. Donald Trump’s return as US president, combined with the Republican party’s sweep in Congress, has dealmakers forecasting a boost in US M&A activity next year. North America took 49.8% of global deal volume, up from 49.1% in 2023. Europe, Middle East and Africa took 24.7%, up from 24.2%, and Asia Pacific 22.7% in 2024, down from 22.9%. 💡The year’s biggest deal? The USD 58.4bn bid for Japan-based Seven & I Holdings, owner of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, by Canadian grocery group Alimentation Couche-Tard in September.

The secondary market reached record transaction levels in 2024 and 2025 is expected to bring about further opportunities as GPs and LPs increasingly embrace secondaries as a permanent tool in portfolio management and liquidity plans. Join Amyn Hassanally (Pantheon), Ben Perl (Neuberger Berman), Jerald Khoo (Aon), Benjamin Wilson (HQ Capital), Lisa Sun (BlackRock), and Tom Cane at the Mergermarket Private Equity Forum New York as they take stock of the US GP and LP secondary market. View the agenda and register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gHVtRc4F

📈 Will exit activity pick up in 2025 as financing conditions ease? Join us in 2 weeks at the Mergermarket Private Equity Forum New York to hear insights from experts Christopher Sand (Ardian), Arta Tabaee (Clearlake Capital Group), Jim Bonetti (GTCR LLC), and Kevin Lehpamer (Clifford Chance) on our exits panel. Find out more and register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gHVtRc4F

In 2024, the Middle East recorded 823 M&A deals, with a total value of approximately USD 63.96bn. The UAE remains the busiest M&A market in the Arab world, recording 130 deals worth USD 11.68bn in 2024. Explore our latest report, published in association with CMS MENA, for more invaluable insights into M&A in the region: https://lnkd.in/eCAwtkjj

🚀 2 weeks to go! The Mergermarket Private Equity Forum New York is almost here! Our opening panel will dive into the US private equity outlook, featuring Cristiano Dalla Bona, Bo Huang (Advent International), Eli Nagler (Blackstone), Alexandre Décary, CPA, CFA (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)), and Bobby Schmidt (The Carlyle Group). Expect insights on deal flow drivers, sector growth, financing costs, and more! Don’t miss out, register now 👉 https://lnkd.in/gHVtRc4F

Italy delivered a number of big-ticket transactions in 2024 across a range of high-growth sectors. This is despite continued macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility asking challenging questions of dealmakers. A drive to consolidate and continued overseas interest in Italian assets meant significant deals changed hands in 2024. M&A value underlines this positive trend, with a total of €81bn-worth of transactions topping 2023’s total of €58.7bn by 38%. This stands well above the EU average, which posted a more modest increase of 16% year-on-year. Explore our latest report, published in association with Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici, for more invaluable insights into M&A and private equity activity in Italy in 2024 and looks at the outlook for the year ahead: https://lnkd.in/e2YKVMJr

Main Capital Partners, a Netherlands-headquartered private equity (PE) investor, is in talks with multiple software targets in France, where it set up an office in February, Co-Head France and Senior Investment Manager Jonas Kruip told Mergermarket.The firm is interested in both add-on acquisitions for existing portfolio companies that are interested in expanding to France, and in new platform deals. More here: https://lnkd.in/eQvs2fZr

Environmental Remedies (ERI), a Hayward, California-based asbestos abatement service provider, is actively seeking acquisitions in the state, said Jermaine Warren, managing director of ICV Partners: https://lnkd.in/eM5RpJMH

Dealmaking among European nuclear providers is likely to receive a significant boost from energy-intensive data centers, M&A practitioners said. The rise of AI is supported by a growing network of data centres, which consume significant amounts of energy. Energy providers to the sector have been actively considering M&A. Nuclear dealmaking in Europe is beginning to boom as a result. In 2024, the total deal value in the European nuclear space almost grew 6x with EUR 886m across 15 deals, compared to EUR 160m over 20 transactions in 2023, according to Mergermarket data. More here: https://lnkd.in/e7zSDy6f

In our first regular feature on equities on the #Dealcast podcast, Samuel Kerr, our Global ECM Editor, joins host Julie-Anna Needham to discuss how big selldowns in names like Italian luxury automobile giant Ferrari 🏎️ and Swiss pharmaceutical conglomerate Novartis 💊 are driving the European market. Listen to the full episode here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDdXTTdB