Multimillion euro deals help boost Irish M&A activity

A number of headline-grabbing deals including the $635 million (€549 million) acquisition of Dublin-headquartered Adapt Pharma boosted M&A activity locally in the third quarter, new figures show.

Overall, 70 mergers and acquisitions were recorded in the Republic during the July to September period, of which just 28 disclosed financial details. Those deals had a combined transaction value of €5.1 billion, up from just €1.3 billion in the preceding three-months.

Adapt, the company behind emergency overdose treatment Narcan, was one of the most notable deals. It was sold in to US group Emergent BioSolutions in late August in a transaction that could still net a further $100 million for its Irish shareholders if the business meets defined sales targets.

Other big deals included an agreement by US private equity firm Apollo Global Management to acquire the State’s second-largest hotel chain, Tifco, in a deal said to be worth up to €600 million.

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There were several transactions in excess of €100 million, including British speciality healthcare group BTG's deal to buy Galway medical devices company Novate Medical for up to $150 million (€130 million) and forecourt retailer Applegreen's €361.8 million acquisition of a majority stake in Welcome Break. Other €100+ deals included Valeo's acquisition of Tangerine Confectionary, Irving Oil's purchase of Top Oil and Chinese group Zhogze's acquisition of Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Foreign acquisitions

A total of 29 foreign acquisitions by Irish companies were recorded, with buyers including Applegreen, DCC, Keyword Studios, United Drug, Fexco and software group AMCS.

According to Investec, which compiled the M&A figures, financial services accounted for a significant proportion of deal value in the third quarter, with six declared deals totalling a combined €2.7 billion.

The broker said there were 11 in market transactions also announced across various sectors during the three months, with support services, leisure and travel, and retail among the most active. The retail sector, in particular, saw heightened activity thanks to deals such as Musgrave's purchase of Donnybrook Fair and BWG's purchase of Corrib Foods.