Deal Drivers: EMEA FY 2020
A spotlight on mergers and acquisitions trends in 2020 Contents
Foreword: M&A recovers in EMEA on back of strong H2 03
Outlook: EMEA heat chart 04
All sectors 05
Consumer 14
Energy, mining & utilities 19
Financial services 24
Industrials & chemicals 29
Pharma, medical & biotech 34
Telecoms, media & technology 39
About this report 44 Foreword: M&A recovers in EMEA on back of strong H2
The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on businesses and Hope on the horizon financial markets loomed large over dealmaking in 2020, Moving into 2021, the outlook for M&A activity is broadly but even in the face of extreme uncertainty EMEA deal value positive. The fourth quarter of 2020 registered higher deal only fell by 1% to €835.3bn, although deal volumes did see a value and volume than the same period in 2019—before the steeper decline of 15%. pandemic had any impact on the region. This level of activity could be sustained in coming months, especially as a backlog of deals planned for 2020 but put on hold due to COVID-19 A strong rally in the second half of the year are expected to reboot at the same time as new transactions helped to lift annual figures. Steadying come to market. stock markets and vaccine approvals in H2 2020 provided a more stable backdrop for Private equity firms still have large war chests to invest and the record sums of capital raised by special purpose corporates to return to dealmaking, with acquisition companies (SPACs) in the US are also set to have private equity firms eager to catch up on an influence on EMEA dealmaking, with a number of examples deployment programs after a pause during of US SPACs buying European companies already emerging. the first rounds of lockdown. Risks remain, with border controls and new strains of COVID still putting the brakes on economic activity, but after a Deal activity through the year was informed by a strong challenging 2020 there is cautious optimism that M&A sector theme. M&A in the technology, media, and markets will have a stronger year in 2021. telecommunications (TMT) sector proved especially resilient. Deal value and volumes both increased, to make TMT the most active sector for deals. This reflects the reliance on technology through lockdown periods, with buyers noting the sector’s ability to continue growing earnings despite wider disruption.
3 Outlook: Heat chart based on potential companies for sale
EMEA heat chart UK & Ireland UK DACH France Nordics Italy & Iberia Benelux Middle Turkey, East & Africa CEE & SEE TOTAL
Looking ahead at the next six months, the technology, media, TMT 81 97 33 52 67 35 86 133 584 and telecoms (TMT) and the consumer sectors are expected to experience the greatest level of M&A activity, according Consumer 65 58 37 25 110 45 43 80 463 to Mergermarket’s publication of ‘companies for sale’ stories over the second half of 2020. Industrials & chemicals 22 103 30 39 69 19 58 74 414
A total of 584 ‘companies for sale’ stories were published Business services 41 33 20 25 45 16 36 50 266 about targets in the TMT sector in the last six months of 2020. The CEE & SEE region is likely to see the most activity in this 61 24 16 17 37 14 43 33 245 sector, with 133 stories published, followed by the DACH Financial services region, which had 97 stories. Energy, mining & utilities 29 11 6 21 35 6 53 59 220
After a tumultuous year due to the challenges of the COVID-19 34 38 18 29 38 10 25 24 216 pandemic, the consumer sector is set to see strong activity in Pharma, medical & biotech 2021—a total of 463 stories were published about the sector, with Italy and Iberia the top region. Providers of essential Leisure 17 10 5 4 19 6 16 20 97 goods, like food and beverage, could take advantage of robust valuations and seek deals. On the other side of the spectrum, Construction 6 10 3 8 19 10 14 15 85 a number of distressed assets could come to market now that there is greater clarity on market conditions. Additionally, Transportation 11 6 3 2 19 3 10 23 77 companies in the sector may turn to M&A to shore up Real estate e-commerce capabilities. 8 6 5 6 6 19 18 68 Cold Warm Hot
Traditionally a robust market, the industrials and chemicals Agriculture 2 2 1 2 1 2 15 32 57 sector of the DACH market is also expected to be among Note: The Intelligence Heat Charts are based on ‘companies for sale’ tracked by Mergermarket in the most active in the coming months—103 stories were Defense 2 1 1 1 5 the respective regions between July 01, 2020 and published about targets in the sector in this region. December 31, 2020. Opportunities are captured according to the dominant geography and sector TOTAL 379 398 173 229 466 172 419 561 2,797 Source:of the Mergermarket potential target company. 4 All sectors Dealmaking rebounds in H2 in spite of COVID concerns
Despite facing severe uncertainty through the COVID-19 Much of the year’s activity was concentrated in the second All sectors M&A activity, dislocation period, EMEA M&A markets proved resilient half as stock markets recovered, lockdown measures eased, 2018-2020 in 2020. and COVID vaccines were approved. In H2 2020, deal value totaled €511bn from 4,080 deals, up from 3,289 deals worth €324.3bn in H1 2020. Q4 2020 was particularly active, with 2,500 350 IMF figures show a severe 7.2% contraction deal value for the quarter rising 52% on Q4 2019 figures to in European GDP in 2020 as a result of €309.8bn and volume up 6% to 2,367 deals.
pandemic disruption, while the Middle 2,000 300 East and Africa saw declines of 3.2% Private equity was a major contributor to overall M&A activity levels as buyout firms, eager to deploy the US$2.5 trillion of and 2.6%, respectively.
dry powder sitting in their war chests, continued to invest in Deal value €(bn) 1,500 250 new deals. Buyout value rose 15% year-on-year to €194.7bn, In the face of these macroeconomic headwinds, deal value for even as volume fell 6%, as firms successfully pursued large the year was only 1% down on 2019, coming in at €835.3bn. deals, including Cinven and Advent International’s €17.2bn Deal volume Deal Deal volumes fell 15% year-on-year to 7,369 transactions. carve-out of ThyssenKrupp’s elevator business. Exit activity 1,000 200 The top end of the market was especially active—there were was even stronger, with value rising by more than a fifth on the 28 deals worth €5bn or more over the course of the year, previous year to €175.2bn. Exit volume dropped by around a compared to only 16 the year before. fifth to 843 deals. 500 150
0 100 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2018 2019 2020
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
6 TMT value doubles thanks to demand spike All sectors top sectors by value I 2020 With regards to sectors, TMT proved the most fruitful industry EUR (m) for M&A activity. Technology companies were able to continue TMT 247,708 trading with minimal disruption through lockdown periods, Industrials & chemicals 122,907 with customers relying on their products to support remote Financial services 121,980 working, schooling, and entertainment. Energy, mining & utilities 119,584 Business services 50,281 EMEA TMT deal value more than doubled year-on-year from €121.8bn in 2019 to €247.7bn in 2020 as dealmakers All sectors top sectors by volume I 2020 made large investments in the sector. Notable deals in the space included SoftBank’s sale of UK-based semiconductor Deal count developer ARM to NVIDIA in a €32.5bn deal and Patrick Drahi’s TMT 1,640 investment in telecommunications group Altice Europe in Industrials & chemicals 1,326 a deal valued at €32.18bn, including net debt. Volume held Business services 1,067 steady, ticking up 3% to 1,640 deals. Consumer 787 Pharma, medical & biotech 587 The industrial and chemicals sector was the second largest by deal value with €122.9bn worth of transactions, although this All sectors top bidders by value I 2020 was 27% down on the €169bn of deals secured in 2019. EUR (m) USA 241,674 Like the TMT industry, the financial services sector also United Kingdom 110,103 recorded a strong rise in deal value despite headwinds. Deal France 109,289 value more than doubled to €122bn in 2020, lifted by deals Germany 39,220 including AON’s €31.1bn acquisition of Willis Towers Watson Sweden 38,165 in the UK and National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia acquiring smaller rival Samba Financial Group for €12.8bn. All sectors top bidders by volume I 2020 Despite volatile oil prices and falling demand through Deal count lockdowns, energy, mining, and utilities deal value climbed United Kingdom 1,073 from €109.9bn in 2019 to €119.6bn in 2020. Pharma, medical, France 795 and biotech deal value, however, dropped from €149.7bn USA 746 in 2019 to €41bn despite strong private equity interest and Germany 721 investment in the sector. Sweden 499
7 UK market active despite Brexit All sectors top 10 announced deals, 2020 In addition to the unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the region also faced considerable Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value uncertainty due to the lack of agreement on the terms of the date dominant (€m) UK’s exit from the European Union up until the last few days sector of the year. 1 30-Nov-20 S&P Global Inc. IHS Markit Ltd. TMT 36,138
Nevertheless, there were 1,425 deals in the UK and Ireland in 2 13-Sep-20 NVIDIA Corporation SVF Holdco (UK) Limited TMT SoftBank Group 32,506 Corp.; SoftBank 2020, worth €276.1bn in aggregate. This represents a 21% Investment jump in value, though it was a 16% fall in volume. Advisers 3 11-Sep-20 Patrick Drahi (Private Investor) Altice Europe NV (50.66% Stake) TMT 32,187 UK-based bidders were also the most active in the region over the course of the year—at least in terms of volume, with 1,073 4 09-Mar-20 Aon plc Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Financial 31,127 deals, although this represents a 20% fall from the previous Company services year. In total, these deals came to €110.1bn in aggregate 5 05-Oct-20 Veolia Environnement S.A. Suez SA Energy, mining ENGIE SA 22,306 & utilities value, a 16% rise year-on-year—an indication that activity was 6 29-Apr-20 Abu Dhabi National Energy Company Abu Dhabi Power Corporation PJSC Energy, mining Abu Dhabi Power 18,674 strong at the top end of the market. PJSC (Water and electricity generation, & utilities Corporation PJSC transmission, and distribution assets) But UK bidders couldn’t match the firepower wielded by 7 27-Feb-20 Cinven Partners LLP; Advent ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG Industrials & thyssenkrupp AG 17,200 transatlantic buyers. The US was the top bidder country by International Corporation; Abu Dhabi chemicals Investment Authority; RAG-Stiftung value, with a total of €241.7bn invested in the region over the course of the year—a 10% rise on the previous year. 8 11-Oct-20 The National Commercial Bank Samba Financial Group (formerly Saudi Financial 12,838 American Bank) services 9 07-May-20 Virgin Mobile Inc./ Telefonica O2 Virgin Media Inc; Telefonica O2 Holdings TMT Telefonica S.A.; 11,484 Europe Plc JV Limited Liberty Global Plc 10 03-Feb-20 Worldline SA Ingenico Group S.A. Business 9,151 services
Source: Mergermarket 8 All sectors M&A value split by deal size All sectors M&A volume split by deal size
1,000 10,000
800 8,000
600 6,000
volume Deal Deal value €(bn) value Deal 400 4,000
200 2,000
0 0 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020
€5m-€250m €251m-€500m €501m-€2,000m Undisclosed €5m-€250m €251m-€500m €2,001m-€5,000m >€5,001m €501m-€2,000m €2,001m-€5,000m >€5,001m
Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket 9 All sectors PE buyouts All sectors PE exits
Based on announced buyouts, excluding those that lapsed or were Based on announced exits, excluding those that lapsed or were withdrawn, where the dominant location of the target is in Europe. withdrawn, where the dominant location of the target is in Europe.
600 70 300 80
70 60 500 250
60 50
400 200 50 Deal value €(bn) Deal value €(bn) 40
300 150 40 Deal volume Deal volume Deal 30
30 200 100
20 20
100 50 10 10
0 0 0 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020
Deal volume Deal value €(bn) Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket 10 All sectors league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 1 Goldman Sachs & Co 382,086 130 1 1 PwC 21,276 334 2 2 JPMorgan 306,913 110 2 2 Deloitte 17,542 320 3 3 Morgan Stanley 277,749 85 3 3 KPMG 23,776 314 4 5 Citi 206,215 68 4 4 EY 11,429 268 5 6 Rothschild & Co 176,683 225 5 5 Rothschild & Co 176,683 225 6 13 Credit Suisse 168,377 44 6 7 Goldman Sachs & Co 382,086 130 7 4 Bank of America 150,481 76 7 8 JPMorgan 306,913 110 8 7 Lazard 150,095 108 8 6 Lazard 150,095 108 9 8 HSBC 130,515 42 9 9 BDO 6,052 103 10 12 Barclays 121,231 56 10 10 Oaklins 928 86
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 19 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 186,565 57 1 1 DLA Piper 61,305 367 2 3 White & Case 171,533 255 2 3 White & Case 171,533 255 3 11 Latham & Watkins 166,721 179 3 2 CMS 16,585 223 4 6 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 166,413 143 4 4 Allen & Overy 142,640 197 5 1 Clifford Chance 159,735 165 5 9 Baker McKenzie 25,275 191 6 10 Linklaters 143,751 185 6 6 Linklaters 143,751 185 7 4 Allen & Overy 142,640 197 7 8 Latham & Watkins 166,721 179 8 7 Weil Gotshal & Manges 116,104 89 8 5 Clifford Chance 159,735 165 9 32 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 96,397 25 9 7 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 166,413 143 10 2 Kirkland & Ellis 89,633 99 10 10 Eversheds Sutherland 4,600 114 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover all sectors. Source: Mergermarket 11 All sectors league tables—mid-market
Financial advisors by value—mid-market (€5m-€250m) Financial advisors by volume—mid-market (€5m-€250m)
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 3 Deloitte 5,932 91 1 1 Deloitte 5,932 91 2 2 PwC 5,803 84 2 2 PwC 5,803 84 3 5 EY 4,789 82 3 5 EY 4,789 82 4 1 Rothschild & Co 4,608 51 4 3 KPMG 4,543 79 5 4 KPMG 4,543 79 5 4 Rothschild & Co 4,608 51 6 6 Lazard 3,178 28 6 7 Lazard 3,178 28 7 8 JPMorgan 2,450 17 7 12 BDO 1,323 27 8 14 BNP Paribas 1,955 18 8 6 Alantra 1,671 23 9 44 Evercore 1,782 12 9 8 Oaklins 919 22 10 13 Daiwa Securities Group / DC Advisory 1,773 19 10 13 Daiwa Securities Group / DC Advisory 1,773 19
Legal advisors by value—mid-market (€5m-€250m) Legal advisors by volume—mid-market (€5m-€250m)
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 10 Baker McKenzie 5,836 69 1 1 DLA Piper 5,174 102 2 1 DLA Piper 5,174 102 2 3 Baker McKenzie 5,836 69 3 2 Allen & Overy 5,047 46 3 2 CMS 3,140 53 4 5 Latham & Watkins 4,469 49 4 4 White & Case 4,337 51 5 4 White & Case 4,337 51 5 9 Latham & Watkins 4,469 49 6 7 Clifford Chance 4,123 36 6 5 Allen & Overy 5,047 46 7 12 Linklaters 4,107 40 7 11 Linklaters 4,107 40 8 9 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 3,166 26 8 7 Clifford Chance 4,123 36 9 3 CMS 3,140 53 9 22 Garrigues 2,032 35 10 170 Ashurst 2,253 24 10 8 Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe 1,815 33 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover all sectors. Source: Mergermarket 12 All sectors league tables—PR advisors
PR advisors by value PR advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 1 Brunswick Group 198,670 111 1 3 Brunswick Group 198,670 111 2 4 Finsbury Glover Hering 179,431 96 2 2 FTI Consulting 60,984 100 3 3 Kekst CNC (Publicis) 102,924 74 3 1 Finsbury Glover Hering 179,431 96 4 15 Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher 81,757 27 4 5 Maitland (AMO) 25,665 91 5 7 Community Group 72,210 46 5 4 Barabino & Partners 20,917 75 6 2 Sard Verbinnen & Co 63,634 40 6 6 Kekst CNC (Publicis) 102,924 74 7 6 FTI Consulting 60,984 100 7 11 Greenbrook Communications 20,170 56 8 25 Havas Paris (AMO) 37,715 13 8 7 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 3,233 49 9 9 Image Sept 33,716 31 9 13 Community Group 72,210 46 10 29 Estudio de Comunicacion SA 28,549 11 10 15 DGM Conseil 10,683 44
PR advisors by value—mid-market (€5m-€250m) PR advisors by volume—mid-market (€5m-€250m)
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 2 FTI Consulting 3,531 48 1 1 FTI Consulting 3,531 48 2 3 Brunswick Group 2,705 24 2 2 Barabino & Partners 1,951 29 3 1 Finsbury Glover Hering 2,244 21 3 5 Maitland (AMO) 2,027 27 4 5 Maitland (AMO) 2,027 27 4 4 Brunswick Group 2,705 24 5 4 Barabino & Partners 1,951 29 5 3 Finsbury Glover Hering 2,244 21 6 6 Kekst CNC (Publicis) 1,432 10 6 8 MHP Communications 760 18 7 25 DGM Conseil 1,143 11 7 7 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 951 17 8 45 Buchanan Communications 1,108 16 8 23 Buchanan Communications 1,108 16 9 20 Tulchan Communications 1,104 15 9 11 Tulchan Communications 1,104 15 10 12 Citigate Dewe Rogerson 951 17 10 20 Community Group 912 13 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover all sectors. Source: Mergermarket 13 Consumer Food and beverage drive dealmaking amidst COVID uncertainty
The consumer sector saw a 26% drop in deal volumes to 787 Food and beverage deals go forward Consumer M&A activity, deals in 2020 and an 10% fall in deal value to €49bn. Indeed, two of the top consumer deals in EMEA were in the 2018-2020 supermarket space. Zuber and Mohin Issa, the two brothers who founded petrol station chain EG Group, partnered with But although overall consumer deal activity private equity firm TDR Capital to acquire UK grocer ASDA from 300 25 was down, some consumer subsectors have US parent Walmart in a €7.5bn deal, and in Germany EP Global delivered steady performance during the Commerce, headed by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, took 250 pandemic. Others, however, have been struck a 70% stake in hypermarket chain Metro in a €6.6bn deal. 20
especially hard by the pandemic. The third largest EMEA consumer deal was in a similar vertical, 200
as Indonesia food conglomerate Indofood acquired Saudi Deal value €(bn) 15 Bricks-and-mortar retailers, along with leisure and hospitality Arabia-based Pinehill, one of its suppliers, in a €2.7bn deal businesses, have been among the companies adversely from Argyle Street Management, an investment company 150 affected by forced closures, but consumer companies based in Hong Kong. Deal volume Deal supplying essential goods and grocery items, and those with 10 digital platforms, have traded well through the COVID period. Consumer deal flow during the pandemic has also been driven 100 by corporates that have taken the opportunity to reassess
their strategies, reduce debt, focus on priority business lines, 5 and divest divisions deemed non-core. 50
Tobacco company Imperial Brands, for example, sold its 0 0 premium cigar business for €1bn to two buyers. Gemstone Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Investment bought the group’s US cigar operations, and 2018 2019 2020
Allied Cigar Corporation, a private investment consortium, Deal volume Deal value €(bn) took on the ‘rest of world’ cigar portfolio. Deal proceeds were earmarked for reducing debt, with the deal also freeing up Source: Mergermarket Imperial to focus on the expanding e-cigarettes market.
15 PE seizes the moment Consumer top bidders by value I 2020 Corporate divestments have opened up opportunities EUR (m) for private equity firms to lead the carve-outs of United Kingdom 15,585 these subsidiaries. Czech Republic 6,592 Italy 4,615 Cosmetics producer Coty, for example, as part of a USA 4,304 long-term divestment strategy, sold its professional and Indonesia 2,686 retail hair and beauty business to private equity firm KKR in a €2.3bn transaction. The deal brought in cash to strengthen Consumer top bidders by volume I 2020 Coty’s balance sheet and allow the group to focus on its core beauty operations. Deal count France 114 In addition to backing carve-out opportunities, private equity United Kingdom 99 firms have also been active vendors in the consumer space Italy 76 over the last year. Growth investors Sequoia Capital, Venrex, Germany 72 Netherlands 55 and Samos exited fast-growing make-up brand Charlotte Tilbury for €1.3bn to Spanish perfume and fashion brand Puig following a competitive sales process. Sovereign wealth fund Temasek and the founding Rivetti family exited Sportswear Company, the owner of streetwear brand Stone Island, to luxury skiwear brand Moncler in a €1.2bn transaction.
16 Distressed asset sales ahead Consumer top 10 announced deals, 2020 Standing in contrast to the large-cap deals in resilient consumer verticals have been a series of restructurings and Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value insolvencies involving businesses in consumer subsectors date dominant (€m) adversely impacted by lockdown restrictions. country 1 02-Oct-20 TDR Capital LLP; Issa Brothers ASDA Group Limited United Walmart Inc. 7,493 Arcadia, the owner of the Topshop and Burton retail Kingdom brands, went into administration at the end of November 2 13-Sep-20 EP Global Commerce, a.s. Metro AG (70.26% Stake) Germany 6,592 and UK department store Debenhams was on the brink of liquidation following a prolonged period of financial distress. 3 22-May-20 PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur TBK Pinehill Company Limited Saudi Arabia Argyle Street 2,686 Management Clothing chain Edinburgh Woollen Mill has also gone into Limited; Antony administration and shoe seller Clarks undertook a company Salim (Private Investor) voluntary arrangement (CVA) to reduce its rental overheads. 4 01-Jun-20 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. Coty Inc. (professional and retail hair United Coty, Inc. 2,318 beauty business) (60% Stake) Kingdom Financial distress and restructurings, however, could lead 5 21-Mar-20 Marina Caprotti (Private Investor); Esselunga SpA (30% Stake) Italy Giuseppe Caprotti 1,830 to an increase in consumer deal activity in 2021. Already, Giuliana Albera (Private Investor) (Private Investor); online retailer ASOS announced plans to purchase Arcadia’s Violetta Caprotti Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT brands in a (Private Investor) £299.5m deal in February. 6 22-Dec-20 B&J - Blackstone consortium Applegreen Plc (58.75% Stake) Ireland 1,699 (Republic) 7 04-Jun-20 Puig, S.L.; BDT Capital Partners, LLC Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Limited United Sequoia Capital; 1,338 Kingdom Venrex Investment Management LLP; Samos Investments Advisory Ltd 8 07-Dec-20 Moncler S.p.A. Sportswear Company S.p.A. Italy Temasek Holdings 1,150 Pte. Ltd.; Rivetti Family; Carlo Rivetti (Private Investor) 9 27-Apr-20 Allied Cigar Corporation, S.L Imperial Brands plc (Premium Cigar RoW United Imperial Brands 1,040 business) Kingdom Plc 10 08-Dec-20 Investindustrial VII, L.P. Guala Closures SpA (96.13% Stake) Italy 1,037
Source: Mergermarket 17 Consumer league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 11 JPMorgan 21,553 11 1 4 KPMG 850 40 2 5 Goldman Sachs & Co 21,493 17 2 1 PwC 1,382 38 3 2 Rothschild & Co 17,312 26 3 2 Deloitte 1,748 35 4 64 Barclays 15,575 4 4 5 EY 649 27 5 8 Bank of America 15,085 4 5 3 Rothschild & Co 17,312 26 6 7 UBS Investment Bank 11,255 10 6 12 Goldman Sachs & Co 21,493 17 7 13 Morgan Stanley 9,607 6 7 19 Houlihan Lokey 599 17 8 21 Credit Suisse 9,345 5 8 6 Oaklins 108 16 9 - The Quant Group 9,259 1 9 16 JPMorgan 21,553 11 10 1 Lazard 8,544 10 10 10 Clearwater International 109 11
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 30 Kirkland & Ellis 15,430 10 1 1 DLA Piper 630 32 2 29 Linklaters 12,603 14 2 2 Allen & Overy 10,949 25 3 62 Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom 12,028 8 3 7 Latham & Watkins 3,399 23 4 1 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 11,978 8 4 5 PwC legal 3,895 21 5 5 Allen & Overy 10,949 25 5 3 CMS 3,482 20 6 152 Chiomenti 8,690 17 6 8 White & Case 2,165 19 7 88 Herbert Smith Freehills 8,540 8 7 6 Baker McKenzie 7,789 18 8 125 Slaughter and May 8,492 4 8 22 Cuatrecasas 140 18 9 55 Hengeler Mueller 8,367 5 9 66 Chiomenti 8,690 17 10 4 Baker McKenzie 7,789 18 10 13 Linklaters 12,603 14 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover the consumer sector. Source: Mergermarket 18 Energy, mining & utilities Dealmaking buoyed by activity in utility and mining subsectors
The energy, mining, and utilities (EMU) industry navigated Utilities remain reliable a challenging 2020, with the oil and gas subsector facing EMU M&A activity, Utilities operators, meanwhile, have maintained steady particularly challenging difficulties. 2018-2020 performance, with the MSCI Europe Utilities stock market index moving fractionally lower by 0.7% over the last Brent crude oil prices plunged to less than US$20 per barrel 12 months. in April 2020, leaving many producers barely able to cover 200 60 their production costs. Prices have recovered since to just The relatively stable mining and utilities sectors helped to lift under US$60 per barrel but have yet to regain the levels seen overall EMU M&A through 2020. EMU deal activity rose 9% to 50 at the end of 2019. The STOXX Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index, €120bn and the number of deals fell 7% to 509 deals. meanwhile, has shed more than a fifth of its value over the 150 last year. Utilities provided the largest transaction of the year as French 40
Deal value €(bn) waste and water company Veolia acquired a 29.9% stake in rival Suez from French energy group Engie in a deal valued at The headwinds encountered by oil and 100 30 €22.3bn. Veolia subsequently used its stake in Suez to launch gas producers were counterbalanced by a bid to acquire the business outright, but has faced strong Deal volume Deal steadier performance in the utilities and resistance from the Suez board. mining industries. 20 In another large utilities play in 2020 Portuguese energy 50 company Energias de Portugal (EDP) took a 75% stake in the Mining companies entered the pandemic downturn in solid 10 electricity distribution network of Spanish counterpart Viesgo financial shape, having undergone a period of restructuring and Espana from Macquarie Group in a €2.7bn deal. Viesgo will debt reduction in 2015 and 2016 following a commodities price retain the remaining stake. 0 0 crash at the time. Commodity prices have also generally held up Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 or improved, with gold prices increasing as investors turned to 2018 2019 2020 the metal as a safe investment through the pandemic. Iron ore Deal volume Deal value €(bn) prices climbed to six-year highs in August as supplies tightened and materials used in mobile phones and electric car batteries, Source: Mergermarket such as lithium, also enjoyed price increases. 20 UAE state-owned firms lead activity in 2020 EMU top bidders by value I 2020 Three of the 10 largest EMEA deals in the EMU sector were EUR (m) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and formed part of the France 25,294 country’s long-term energy strategy to pivot away from the United Arab Emirates 21,091 oil and gas industry and prepare for energy transition to less Germany 14,811 carbon-intensive energy production. United Kingdom 11,760 USA 9,315 The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) sold a 49% stake in its gas pipeline infrastructure to a consortium of EMU top bidders by volume I 2020 institutional investors, including Brookfield and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for €8.9bn. It later sold a further 20% Deal count stake in the pipeline business to the Abu Dhabi Retirement United Kingdom 90 Pensions and Benefits Fund and ADQ for €1.8bn. Spain 44 France 41 Germany 40 In another one of the year’s largest deals, Abu Dhabi National Norway 36 Energy Company (TAQA) struck a €18.7bn agreement with the Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) to form one of the largest utilities in the EMEA region. The deal saw ADPower transfer the bulk of its power and water generation assets to ADNOC in an all-share deal.
The deal gives TAQA the scale and balance sheet to diversify Abu Dhabi’s energy supply and invest in clean energy infrastructure—part of the UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to make clean energy 50% of the country’s total energy mix by 2050.
21 EMU top 10 announced deals, 2020 European oil and gas tries to sort things out Although the largest EMU deals came from the utilities sector or from the MEA region, the oil and gas space in Europe also Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value saw transactions progress despite uncertainty around oil date dominant (€m) country prices through the course of the pandemic. 1 05-Oct-20 Veolia Environnement S.A. Suez SA France ENGIE SA 22,306 Chrysaor, an oil and gas business backed by buyout house 2 29-Apr-20 Abu Dhabi National Energy Company Abu Dhabi Power Corporation PJSC United Arab Abu Dhabi Power 18,674 Harbour Energy, for example, executed a €3.9bn reverse PJSC (Water and electricity generation, Emirates Corporation PJSC takeover of Premier Oil, which prior to the deal had been transmission, and distribution assets) exploring options to raise equity and restructure debts. The 3 23-Jun-20 Snam SpA; Ontario Teachers' Pension ADNOC Gas Pipeline Assets LLC (49% United Arab Abu Dhabi 8,941 Premier deal follows Chrysaor’s earlier acquisitions from Shell Plan; Brookfield Asset Management Stake) Emirates National Oil Inc.; GIC Private Limited; NH Company and ConocoPhillips, which have made it the largest producer Investment & Securities Co., Ltd.; in the UK’s North Sea. Global Infrastructure Partners, LLC
4 26-May-20 Siemens AG (Shareholders) Siemens Energy AG (55% Stake) Germany Siemens AG 8,796 International oil companies, in contrast, are likely to turn to M&A to transition their production to clean energy rather 5 30-Dec-20 Trafigura Beheer BV Vostok Oil (10% Stake) Russia Rosneft Oil 5,699 Company OAO than consolidate or expand oil and gas portfolios. Nordic energy company Equinor, for example, has partnered with 6 06-Oct-20 Premier Oil Plc Chrysaor Holdings Limited United EIG Global Energy 3,921 Kingdom Partners; Harbour SSE Renewables to fund what is set to be the world’s largest Energy off-shore wind farm, and French oil group Total has acquired a 7 15-Jul-20 Energias de Portugal S.A. Viesgo Espana, SL Spain Macquarie Group 2,700 51% stake in a separate deal with SSE Renewables. Limited 8 16-Jan-20 E.ON SE innogy SE (10% Stake) Germany 2,379
9 17-Dec-20 First Sentier Investors Wti/Efw Holdings Ltd United Wheelabrator 1,885 Kingdom Technologies Inc. 10 15-Oct-20 Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions and ADNOC Gas Pipeline Assets LLC (20% United Arab Abu Dhabi 1,792 Benefits Fund; ADQ Stake) Emirates National Oil Company
Source: Mergermarket 22 EMU league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 7 JPMorgan 63,851 19 1 2 KPMG 2,950 28 2 1 Citi 60,676 14 2 1 PwC 1,424 26 3 3 Rothschild & Co 50,419 18 3 4 EY 1,165 23 4 2 Bank of America 44,739 11 4 6 Deloitte 944 23 5 11 HSBC 43,022 6 5 11 JPMorgan 63,851 19 6 6 Goldman Sachs & Co 41,956 11 6 17 Lazard 26,393 19 7 16 Deutsche Bank 34,181 4 7 3 Rothschild & Co 50,419 18 8 5 Morgan Stanley 32,467 8 8 7 Citi 60,676 14 9 9 Lazard 26,393 19 9 15 Jefferies 13,245 14 10 33 Societe Generale 24,115 5 10 5 Macquarie Group 13,962 13
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 1 Clifford Chance 51,136 25 1 7 Linklaters 20,780 41 2 7 Allen & Overy 32,674 26 2 1 CMS 4,251 29 3 5 White & Case 32,442 20 3 8 Allen & Overy 32,674 26 4 2 Weil Gotshal & Manges 23,721 3 4 2 Clifford Chance 51,136 25 5 249 Gide Loyrette Nouel 23,023 6 5 4 Herbert Smith Freehills 5,534 22 6 44 Bredin Prat 22,543 3 6 6 White & Case 32,442 20 7= 40 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 22,306 1 7 9 Cuatrecasas 3,793 17 7= 243 Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier 22,306 1 8 45 Garrigues 3,144 17 7= - Flichy Grange Avocats 22,306 1 9 12 Norton Rose Fulbright 1,653 17 7= 48 Hogan Lovells International 22,306 1 10 3 DLA Piper 2,078 16 7= Source:- PeltierMergermarket Juvigny Marpeau & Associes 22,306 1 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover the EMU sector. Source: Mergermarket 23 Financial services Consolidation sweeps banking and insurance
Financials services deal value climbed 126% year-on-year to PE activity dominated by exits Financial services M&A activity, €122bn, making the sector the third largest by value in EMEA, Large, strategic corporate-led deals aside, financial services 2018-2020 even as volumes slid 6% to 491 deals. deal activity was also animated by private equity investment in the space. The sector has been relatively immune from lockdown 200 70 restrictions, with financial institutions able to transition to Private equity activity across financial services was especially homeworking relatively smoothly and maintain business robust. The number of private equity buyouts in the sector 60 continuity. As a result, the STOXX Europe 600 Financial climbed 47% to 72 deals, while deal value more than doubled, Services Index has climbed by close to 6% over the last 12 rising 131% to €12.2bn. 150 months. This stability and visibility on future trading has 50
supported M&A in the sector. Deal value €(bn) Private equity also secured a steady 40 flow of financial services exits, with exit The still pending €31.1bn jumbo merger between insurers 100 Willis Towers Watson and AON, announced early in the year volume up 50% to 48 deals and exit value Deal volume Deal 30 before lockdowns, was a major contributor to the uplift in rising 42% to €7.2bn. overall deal value, but a series of bank consolidation deals in Europe and the Middle East, coupled with significant private 20 50 equity activity, also boosted M&A. Blackstone was among the buyout firms to successfully
exit in 2020, selling a 36% stake in Rothesay Life, one of 10 the UK’s biggest private insurers, for €2.3bn to US insurer MassMutual and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. 0 0 Hellman & Friedman, meanwhile, sold Nordic-based payments Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 processing group Nets to Italy’s Nexi in a €5.4bn deal. 2018 2019 2020
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
25 Banking consolidation heats up FS top bidders by value I 2020 After the Willis Towers Watson and AON tie-up, the EUR (m) second-largest financial services deal in EMEA saw United Kingdom 38,462 National Commercial Bank (NCB) in Saudi Arabia merge Saudi Arabia 13,273 with Samba Financial Group (formerly Saudi American Bank) Italy 9,508 in a €12.8bn deal. USA 9,456 Kuwait 9,282 The NCB/Samba deal created Saudi Arabia’s third largest bank by assets and dovetailed with a trend across the FS top bidders by volume I 2020 Middle East to consolidate a fragmented and over-serviced banking market. Deal count United Kingdom 109 In another large banking merger in the Middle East, France 49 Kuwait Finance House was on track to buy Bahraini USA 45 counterpart Ahli United Bank in an €8.9bn deal that would Italy 33 Germany 24 form the sixth largest bank in the Middle East. The deal, however, is still pending after final closing was delayed as a result of the pandemic.
Bank consolidation has also been a theme in Europe. Intesa Sanpaolo acquired Italy’s UBI Banca in a €5.5bn transaction. The deal created the seventh largest bank in the Eurozone and has been seen as an important step to consolidate Europe’s banking sector in order to improve profitability by building scale.
Similar drivers were behind Spain’s CaixaBank making a €4.3bn move for domestic counterpart Bankia. The deal created Spain’s largest lender and has been seen as a crucial step towards consolidating the country’s banking industry.
26 Stock exchanges divest and diversify Financial services top 10 announced deals, 2020 In the stock exchange space, by contrast, diversification, rather than consolidation, was a theme as the London Stock Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value Exchange (LSE) exited its Italian business Borsa Italiana to date dominant (€m) pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext for €4.4bn. country The deal followed the LSE’s US$27bn swoop for data and 1 09-Mar-20 Aon plc Willis Towers Watson Public Limited United 31,127 business information group Refinitiv, with the LSE exiting the Company Kingdom Italian exchange to avoid competition concerns following the 2 11-Oct-20 The National Commercial Bank Samba Financial Group (formerly Saudi Saudi Arabia 12,838 American Bank) Refinitiv transaction. 3 01-Mar-20 Kuwait Finance House Ahli United Bank BSC Bahrain 8,885 Globally, bourse operators are looking for different revenue 4 18-Nov-20 Intact Financial-Tryg Consortium RSA Insurance Group Plc United 8,049 streams—one of the largest deals in the sector in the US this Kingdom year, for example, saw Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) buy 5 17-Feb-20 Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. UBI Banca S.p.A (99.92% Stake) Italy 5,482 mortgage technology provider Ellie Mae. 6 09-Oct-20 Euronext NV Borsa Italiana SpA Italy London Stock 4,367 Exchange Group Plc 7 18-Sep-20 CaixaBank SA Bankia S.A. Spain 4,339
8 26-Nov-20 Europcar Mobility Group S.A Europcar Mobility Group S.A (97% France 3,630 (creditors) Stake) 9 11-Mar-20 Parjointco NV Pargesa Holding SA (44.5% Stake) Switzerland 2,356
10 30-Sep-20 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Rothesay Life Plc (36% Stake) United Blackstone Group 2,273 Company; GIC Private Limited Kingdom L.P.
Source: Mergermarket 27 Financial services league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 16 Goldman Sachs & Co 70,848 15 1 2 Deloitte 5,221 37 2 2 Morgan Stanley 69,342 12 2 1 KPMG 10,415 36 3 6 JPMorgan 43,031 20 3 3 Rothschild & Co 22,113 24 4 8 Credit Suisse 37,054 3 4 4 PwC 444 22 5 7 Citi 23,067 7 5 6 JPMorgan 43,031 20 6 4 Rothschild & Co 22,113 24 6 5 EY 760 20 7 3 Bank of America 21,246 9 7 9 Goldman Sachs & Co 70,848 15 8 1 Barclays 19,044 11 8 7 Lazard 6,384 14 9 28 Evercore 16,839 9 9 11 Fenchurch Advisory Partners 3,491 13 10 - Robey Warshaw 12,416 2 10 16 Morgan Stanley 69,342 12
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 33 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 73,340 10 1 1 Clifford Chance 28,152 29 2 12 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 59,197 17 2 7 White & Case 23,696 29 3 1 Latham & Watkins 49,205 15 3 2 DLA Piper 2,347 22 4 24 Herbert Smith Freehills 44,918 12 4 6 Linklaters 20,156 21 5 23 Weil Gotshal & Manges 42,602 10 5 3 Allen & Overy 3,721 19 6 6 Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom 36,906 4 6 5 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 59,197 17 7 41 Cravath, Swaine & Moore 31,970 2 7 9 Latham & Watkins 49,205 15 8 87 Arthur Cox 31,372 7 8 24 Baker McKenzie 1,898 15 9 9 William Fry 31,207 3 9 4 CMS 279 15 10 89 Matheson 31,127 3 10 16 Herbert Smith Freehills 44,918 12 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover the financial services sector. Source: Mergermarket 28 Industrials & chemicals I&C among most active sectors despite annual drop
The industrials & chemicals sector ranked as the second most Carving out new opportunities I&C M&A activity, active industry for M&A by volume and value, even though The large increase in private equity buyout deal value was 2018-2020 deal total value fell 27% year-on-year to €123bn and volume thanks to a series of jumbo carve-out transactions. In one of dropped 21% to 1,326 deals. the largest buyouts in European history, private equity firms Cinven and Advent International partnered with the Abu Dhabi 500 100 Investment Authority (ADIA) and German coal mining trust The industrials and chemicals sector RAG-Stiftung to carve out ThyssenKrupp’s elevator business in
has encountered falling demand and a €17.2bn transaction. 400 80 supply chain disruption through the pandemic period. Corporates in the In another sizeable carve-out deal, KKR and Hermes
Infrastructure bought Viridor, the UK recycling business, from Deal value €(bn) 300 60 industry have responded by assessing UK water and waste company Pennon Group for €4.5bn. The their portfolios, taking steps to strengthen sale was part of Pennon’s strategy to focus on its core water balance sheets, and selling off assets business and the proceeds from the sale were used to reduce Deal volume Deal deemed to be non-core. debt and for future investment. 200 40
Carve-out deals in the sector also created opportunities
This has opened up deal opportunities for private equity firms for strategic buyers. France’s Alstom landed a €7.1bn deal 100 20 to carve out unwanted assets. In contrast to overall deal for Canadian engineering company Bombardier’s German- value for the sector, private equity buyout value rose 58% to based rail division, Bombardier Transportation. The deal was €42.1bn while volume was down 23% to 279 deals. Exit value part of Bombardier’s plans to reduce debt and focus on its 0 0 also moved higher, up 11% to €17.7bn, although volume was core aviation business, while high-speed rail business Alstom Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 down 36% to 115 deals. has been in the market looking for acquisitions to build scale 2018 2019 2020 and strengthen its position in the competitive international Deal volume Deal value €(bn) rail market. Source: Mergermarket
30 I&C top bidders by value I 2020 Consolidation opportunities The petrochemicals industry, in particular, could continue to Deal activity, however, has also seen examples of prove attractive for oil and gas firms looking to move up EUR (m) consolidation, a theme that is expected to drive industrials the value chain and towards less carbon-intensive lines USA 53,864 France 8,940 & chemicals dealmaking through the course of 2021 of business. Switzerland 8,369 as companies emerge from the pandemic period and Canada 6,436 recognize opportunities to make acquisitions at attractive A prime example in 2020 was Austrian O&G firm OMV’s Austria 6,137 post-COVID multiples. acquisition of a 39% stake in domestic petrochemical firm Borealis from Abu Dhabi-based state-owned investment firm I&C top bidders by volume I 2020 Mubadala. The €5.7bn deal takes OMV’s ownership of Borealis According to analysis by RBC up to 75%, with the remainder still held by Mubadala. Deal count Capital Markets, EBITDA multiples for Germany 211 industrials assets were up to two turns Sweden 128 France 120 lower through 2020. Italy 112 United Kingdom 104
31 I&C top 10 announced deals, 2020 SPAC invaders The EMEA industrials sector could also see increased attention from US special purpose acquisition companies Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value (SPACs), blank check companies that raise money from stock date dominant (€m) country market investors to invest in M&A deals. 1 27-Feb-20 Cinven Partners LLP; Advent ThyssenKrupp Elevator AG Germany thyssenkrupp AG 17,200 International Corporation; Abu Dhabi According to Dealogic, SPACs raised a record US$82.5bn in Investment Authority; RAG-Stiftung 2020, more than seven times the previous all-time high of 2 16-Sep-20 Alstom SA Bombardier Transportation GmbH Germany Bombardier Inc.; 7,095 US$13.5bn raised in 2019. SPACs typically have two years Caisse de Depot et Placement du to invest their capital and have started to look abroad for Quebec attractive acquisition targets. 3 08-Dec-20 Allied Universal Security Services, LLC G4S Plc United 5,976 Kingdom UK electric van and vehicle start-up Arrival, for example, 4 12-Mar-20 OMV AG Borealis AG (39% Stake) Austria Mubadala 5,712 agreed a €4.5bn deal with CIIG Merger Corp, a US SPAC led Investment by Wall Street veteran industrials executive Peter Cuneo, Company PJSC Gavin Cuneo, and former RBS and JP Morgan banker Michael 5 30-Sep-20 Garda World Security Corporation G4S Plc United 5,452 Kingdom Minnick. The deal will see Arrival merge with CIIG to secure a listing on NASDAQ. 6 18-Mar-20 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.; Viridor Waste Management Limited United Pennon Group Plc 4,555 Hermes Infrastructure Kingdom 7 18-Nov-20 CIIG Merger Corp Arrival Ltd United 4,496 Kingdom 8 29-Jun-20 INEOS Group AG BP Plc (global petrochemicals business) United BP Plc 4,446 Kingdom 9 28-Oct-20 Nova Resources B.V. KAZ Minerals PLC (60.61% Stake) United 4,291 Kingdom 10 20-Sep-20 KPS Capital Partners, LP Garrett Motion Inc Switzerland 3,500
Source: Mergermarket 32 I&C league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 10 UBS Investment Bank 48,188 18 1 4 KPMG 4,924 69 2 1 Goldman Sachs & Co 46,029 18 2 1 PwC 2,591 65 3 2 JPMorgan 44,159 19 3 2 Deloitte 1,989 57 4 3 Citi 37,202 16 4 3 EY 2,860 54 5 8 Lazard 33,212 15 5 5 Rothschild & Co 32,312 36 6 14 Rothschild & Co 32,312 36 6 9 BDO 181 30 7 19 Credit Suisse 27,242 6 7 13 JPMorgan 44,159 19 8 4 Bank of America 21,715 14 8 36 UBS Investment Bank 48,188 18 9 5 Morgan Stanley 19,803 12 9 11 Goldman Sachs & Co 46,029 18 10 9 Barclays 19,474 9 10 12 Oaklins 199 18
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 9 Linklaters 43,402 25 1 1 DLA Piper 3,672 70 2 24 Kirkland & Ellis 35,801 12 2 2 CMS 1,366 41 3 2 White & Case 35,563 40 3 3 White & Case 35,563 40 4 14 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 32,923 25 4 4 Baker McKenzie 3,767 36 5 3 Allen & Overy 32,512 25 5 7 Latham & Watkins 12,791 29 6 7 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 28,251 18 6 6 Linklaters 43,402 25 7 - Yulchon 19,830 4 7 15 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 32,923 25 8 26 NautaDutilh 18,399 9 8 5 Allen & Overy 32,512 25 9 148 Zhong Lun Law Firm 17,200 1 9 25 Vinge 2,505 24 10 6 Lee and Li Attorneys at Law 13,141 3 10 16 Nctm Studio Legale 1,888 23 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover the I&C sector. Source: Mergermarket 33 Pharma, medical & biotech Lack of megadeal activity leads to drop in total PMB value
Although deal value in the pharmaceutical, medical, and PE exits active biotech (PMB) industry was significantly down on 2019, falling PMB M&A activity, Private equity firms were especially active in the sector. 73% to €41bn, deal volume only dropped 9%, to 587 deals. 2018-2020 PE houses have taken advantage of strong valuations and appetite from other buyout firms to exit healthcare assets The big fall in deal value can be attributed to the absence at good multiples. of megadeal activity, with total value in 2019 inflated by the 200 100 €75.8bn merger between AbbVie and Allergan and in 2018 by Although overall private equity exit value and volumes did the €65.8bn Takeda/Shire deal. The largest deal in 2020, by slide in 2020, down from €14.2bn to €13.7bn, and 85 deals to contrast, was only worth €5bn: Japan’s Mitsui led a funding 80 66 deals, respectively, five of the 10 largest EMEA healthcare round for French animal health provider Ceva Sante Animale. 150 deals during the year were private equity exits.
When outlier jumbo deals are accounted for, however, PMB Deal value €(bn) The largest PMB exit was the €3.3bn sale of French clinic 60 deal activity has proven relatively resilient. The pandemic chain Elsan by CVC Capital Partners and Tethys Investment has re-emphasized the value and strategic importance of 100 Management to a consortium including private equity firms the healthcare industry, with companies in the space able to KKR, Ardian, and Merieux Equity Partners. Deal volume Deal continue trading and investing through the disruption period. 40 Other secondary buyouts in the PMB sector include IK Investment Partners’s €2.3bn exit of European nursing, European healthcare stocks showed 50 20 care home and homecare operator Colisee Patrimoine to gains of close to 7% through the course a consortium led by EQT; and Apax Partner’s €1.6bn sale of 2020, giving deal investors the of Neuraxpharm, a specialist European pharmaceuticals business focused on the treatment of the central nervous confidence and stability to proceed 0 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 system, to Permira. with transactions. 2018 2019 2020
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
35 PMB top bidders by value I 2020 Buyouts buoyant Other notable private equity buyouts in PMB included Buyout value in PMB, meanwhile, rose from €19.9bn in 2019 EQT leading a consortium that took listed Swedish drug EUR (m) to €24.4bn in 2020, with volumes rising from 149 to 164 deals company Recipharm private in a deal worth €2.5bn. In 2020, USA 9,992 Sweden 5,142 over the same period. Recipharm agreed a deal to fill and seal the packaging for Singapore 5,124 Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, while studies have showed that Recipharm’s experimental drug Erdosteine could be used to France 4,726 In an otherwise unstable market, Germany 4,128 treat recovering COVID patients. private equity players were drawn to PMB’s PMB top bidders by volume I 2020 long-term growth dynamics and protection PE houses have also gone forward with roll-up strategies in against downside risk. fragmented markets such as private clinics. For instance, Deal count German neurology and rehabilitation treatment provider USA 89 MEDIAN, which is backed by PE firm Waterland, paid €1.2bn United Kingdom 79 A consortium of private equity firm Ardian, Dutch pension for UK rehabilitation clinic Priory Group from US vendor France 67 fund APG and sovereign wealth funds GIC and Mubadala, Acadia Healthcare. The deal will see MEDIAN expand into new Germany 63 for example, invested in French laboratory and diagnostics markets and provide a wider range of services through the Sweden 37 business Groupe Inovie in a €1.5bn transaction. Inovie delivers Priory network. a combination of steady revenues with scope to grow its network of 19 laboratories.
36 Pipeline replenishment PMB top 10 announced deals, 2020 Aside from private equity interest, M&A in PMB has also been driven by the ongoing requirement for multinational Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value pharmaceuticals companies to replenish their drug pipelines. date dominant (€m) country German pharmaceuticals group Boehringer Ingelheim, 1 04-Feb-20 Mitsui & Co., Ltd.; Temasek Holdings Pte. Ceva Sante Animale S.A. France 5,000 for example, announced a €1.2bn deal to acquire NBE- Ltd.; Sofiproteol SA; EMZ Partners; Sagard Private Equity Partners; Public Sector Pension Therapeutics, a Swiss-based group developing cancer Investment Board; Klocke Gruppe; ContiGroup therapies. The deal expands Boehringer’s oncology Companies, Inc; Hopu Investment Management Co., Ltd.; Tethys Investment Management LLC; portfolio, with the NBE drugs complementing its immune Merieux Equity Partners S.A.S. cell treatments. 2 17-Jul-20 AXA SA; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.; Elsan SAS France CVC Capital Partners 3,300 CNP Assurances SA; Ardian; Merieux Equity Limited; Tethys Investment Boehringer also announced plans to acquire German biotech Partners S.A.S. Management LLC player Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen, another developer of 3 14-Dec-20 Consortium led by EQT Recipharm AB (93.99% Sweden 2,471 immune-oncology therapies, as part of a long-term strategy Stake) to position Boehringer as a leader in the development of new 4 31-Aug-20 EQT Partners AB; Caisse de Depot et Colisee Patrimoine France IK Investment Partners 2,300 Placement du Quebec Group SAS Limited cancer treatments. 5 22-Sep-20 Permira Advisers LLP Neuraxpharm Group Germany Apax Partners LLP 1,600 In another endorsement of the DACH region’s PMB prowess, 6 24-Nov-20 Ardian; GIC Private Limited; APG Group N.V.; Groupe Inovie France 1,570 US-based Gilead acquired MYR, a German biotech firm which Mubadala Capital has developed hepatitis B and D treatments, for €1.2bn. 7 30-Dec-20 Waterland Private Equity Investments B.V. The Priory Group Limited United Acadia Healthcare 1,192 The deal represents an exit for VC investors Maxwell Biotech Kingdom Company, Inc. Venture Fund and High-Tech Gruenderfonds. 8 10-Dec-20 Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH NBE-Therapeutics GmbH Switzerland Novo Holdings A/S; PPF 1,180 Group N.V.; Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund 9 10-Dec-20 Gilead Sciences, Inc. MYR GmbH Germany High-Tech Gruenderfonds 1,150 Management GmbH; Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund 10 12-Jun-20 Royal DSM N.V. ERBER AG Austria San Pacific Investments 980 Pte Ltd; San Venture Biotech Pte. Ltd; Erber IT Service GmbH & Co KG
Source: Mergermarket 37 PMB league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 9 Rothschild & Co 10,579 23 1 1 PwC 2,958 38 2 2 Goldman Sachs & Co 9,500 9 2 2 Deloitte 2,142 31 3 - Callisto 9,250 3 3 5 Rothschild & Co 10,579 23 4 16 Lazard 8,282 7 4 4 KPMG 715 18 5 6 Bank of America 5,171 6 5 3 EY 292 16 6 4 Morgan Stanley 4,324 3 6 22 Alantra 3,599 12 7 89 Alantra 3,599 12 7 11 Goldman Sachs & Co 9,500 9 8 19 Jefferies 3,223 6 8 8 BDO 59 8 9 1 JPMorgan 3,029 6 9 12 Lazard 8,282 7 10 11 PwC 2,958 38 10 18 William Blair & Company 1,134 7
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 6 Weil Gotshal & Manges 19,506 15 1 1 DLA Piper 4,861 31 2 112 Goodwin Procter 9,775 18 2 3 White & Case 2,513 20 3 19 Latham & Watkins 9,773 19 3 2 Latham & Watkins 9,773 19 4 71 Bredin Prat 8,300 2 4 4 CMS 616 19 5 67 Clifford Chance 8,292 14 5 32 Goodwin Procter 9,775 18 6 122 Dechert 8,009 12 6 9 Weil Gotshal & Manges 19,506 15 7 2 Davis Polk & Wardwell 5,529 4 7 31 Clifford Chance 8,292 14 8 21 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 5,299 4 8 6 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 2,827 14 9 45 DLA Piper 4,861 31 9 5 Baker McKenzie 1,061 14 10 14 Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 4,590 1 10 75 Dechert 8,009 12 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover the PMB sector. Source: Mergermarket 38 Telecoms, media & technology Digitalization acceleration drives M&A
The telecoms, media, and technology (TMT) sector was the These solid fundamentals have encouraged dealmaking, with TMT M&A activity, strongest performing sector in EMEA by some margin in 2020. vendors able to bring assets to market at attractive valuations 2018-2020 while buyers had the confidence to invest despite a volatile macroeconomic backdrop. TMT deal value more than doubled in 2020, 600 110 rising from €121.8bn in 2019 to €247.7bn In the largest TMT deal of the year in the region, S&P Global 100 in 2020, while volume ticked up by 3% from acquired IHS Markit for €36.1bn in a transaction that 500 1,588 deals to 1,640 deals over the same combined two of the world’s largest financial data providers. 90 Global spending on financial data has increased steadily in 80 period. TMT also accounted for the three recent years, with demand holding up through the increased 400 biggest deals in EMEA last year. 70
market volatility of the last year. Deal value €(bn)
60 The second-largest deal in the sector saw SoftBank, the 300 Robust TMT activity through the pandemic period was Japanese technology and telecoms conglomerate led by 50 Deal volume Deal reflective of the industry’s ability to continue trading virtually Masayoshi Son, sell UK semiconducter firm ARM Holdings 40 uninterrupted and grow earnings as employees, students, and to US chip counterpart NVIDIA in a deal worth €32.5bn. 200 consumers relied on technology for remote working, shopping, The deal comes as the global chip industry consolidates, 30 learning, and entertainment through lockdowns. These and strengthens NVIDIA’s position as the most valuable 20 dynamics have seen the valuations of technology businesses chipmaker in the world. The transaction, however, is still 100 soar, with the STOXX Europe 600 Technology Index showing subject to regulatory and competition clearance across a 10 gains of more than 15% over the last 12 months. number of jurisdictions. 0 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2018 2019 2020
Deal volume Deal value €(bn)
Source: Mergermarket
40 Exit frenzy TMT top bidders by value I 2020 Private equity exit activity was exceptionally strong EUR (m) throughout 2020 in the TMT sector, with total value more USA 124,776 than doubling from €36bn in 2019 to €77.7bn. Exit volumes France 42,804 climbed from 290 deals to 316 deals. United Kingdom 26,215 Spain 14,515 Notable deals include Leonard Green & Partners’ sale of CPA Sweden 8,432 Global, a provider of software for managing and accessing intellectual property, to Clarivate, the US-listed IP data TMT top bidders by volume I 2020 company, for €6bn. Deal count In the payments processing space—a market going through a USA 302 period of consolidation—private equity firms Blackstone and United Kingdom 223 CVC Capital Partners secured a €4.6bn exit for Paysafe, a UK France 149 payments processing platform, to Foley Trasimene Acquisition Germany 147 Sweden 124 Corp. II, the New York-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by Wall Street veteran William P. Foley II.
41 TMT top 10 announced deals, 2020 Seizing the moment Private equity TMT buyout volumes in EMEA also increased, from 17% from 363 deals in 2019 to 426 deals in 2020. Value Announced Bidder company Target company Target Vendor company Deal value rose from €42.6bn to €48.6bn, a 14% annual rise. date dominant (€m) country Significant deals include KKR’s investment in Fibercop, the 1 30-Nov-20 S&P Global Inc. IHS Markit Ltd. United 36,138 Kingdom ‘last mile’ broadband network of national operator Telecom 2 13-Sep-20 NVIDIA Corporation SVF Holdco (UK) Limited United SoftBank Group 32,506 Italia, in a deal valuing the company at €7.7bn. Lockdowns saw Kingdom Corp.; SoftBank huge growth in demand for broadband, with countries across Investment Advisers EMEA reporting increases in usage of between 35% and 60%, encouraging private capital investment. 3 11-Sep-20 Patrick Drahi (Private Investor) Altice Europe NV (50.66% Stake) Netherlands 32,187 Private equity firms also saw opportunities in the software 4 07-May-20 Virgin Mobile Inc./ Telefonica O2 Virgin Media Inc; Telefonica O2 Holdings United Telefonica S.A.; 11,484 Europe Plc JV Limited Kingdom Liberty Global Plc space, encouraged by sticky customer bases and steady 5 31-Aug-20 Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.; Fibercop Italy Telecom Italia 7,700 recurring revenues. Insight Partners, the New York-based Telecom Italia S.p.A.; Fastweb S.p.A S.p.A.; Fastweb growth investor, for example, acquired Veeam Software, the S.p.A Swiss-based data management and backup business, in a 6 12-Aug-20 Liberty Global Plc Sunrise Communications AG Switzerland 6,086 transaction valued at €4.5bn.
7 29-Jul-20 Clarivate Analytics Plc CPA Global Limited Channel Leonard Green 6,014 Islands & Partners, L.P.; After raising record sums of capital in 2020, US SPACs are Partners Group expected to continue looking for attractive deal targets Holding AG; Castik Capital S.a.r.l. outside of the US (see Industrials section), with EMEA technology companies like Paysafe providing compelling 01-Jun-20 Lorca telecom BidCo Masmovil Ibercom SA (90.8% Stake) Spain 4,724 8 opportunities for SPACs to deploy capital. 9 07-Dec-20 Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. II Paysafe Group Holdings Limited United CVC Capital 4,631 Kingdom Partners Limited; Blackstone Group L.P. 10 09-Jan-20 Insight Partners Veeam Software AG Switzerland Canada Pension 4,501 Plan Investment Board
Source: Mergermarket 42 TMT league tables
Financial advisors by value Financial advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 1 Goldman Sachs & Co 112,630 32 1 2 EY 3,222 60 2 5 Morgan Stanley 74,121 28 2 1 Deloitte 3,209 57 3 6 JPMorgan 69,583 16 3 3 KPMG 1,032 54 4 30 LionTree Advisors 50,981 9 4 4 PwC 7,723 53 5 4 Lazard 48,732 15 5 6 GCA Corporation 977 35 6 25 BNP Paribas 41,127 10 6 8 Goldman Sachs & Co 112,630 32 7= - Raine Group 32,506 1 7 7 Rothschild & Co 12,992 32 7= - Zaoui & Co 32,506 1 8 13 Morgan Stanley 74,121 28 9 23 Deutsche Bank 23,907 11 9 34 Bank of America 21,304 20 10 2 Bank of America 21,304 20 10 17 Arma Partners 4,904 19
Legal advisors by value Legal advisors by volume
2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 2020 2019 Company Name Value (€m) Deal count 1 54 Ropes & Gray 62,154 14 1 1 DLA Piper 45,048 91 2 12 Davis Polk & Wardwell 61,831 9 2 2 White & Case 50,026 62 3 5 Latham & Watkins 51,634 44 3 6 Baker McKenzie 5,556 51 4 2 Allen & Overy 50,916 41 4 3 CMS 2,534 50 5 3 White & Case 50,026 62 5 8 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 26,002 45 6 21 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 47,824 7 6 4 Latham & Watkins 51,634 44 7 11 DLA Piper 45,048 91 7 5 Allen & Overy 50,916 41 8 19 Sullivan & Cromwell 40,972 8 8 63 Goodwin Procter 4,751 38 9 - Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 36,688 3 9 12 Kirkland & Ellis 10,204 34 10 175 Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt 36,138 3 10 15 Osborne Clarke 3,018 32 Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket Source: Mergermarket The advisor league tables by value and volume have been run from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 and exclude lapsed and withdrawn deals. The tables are pan-European and cover the TMT sector. Source: Mergermarket 43 About this report Produced in partnership with Mergermarket, an Acuris company Editors (Acuris Studios): Julian Frazer, Yining Su
For a full version of the Mergermarket M&A deal database inclusion and league table criteria, go to: www.mergermarket.com/pdf/deal_criteria.pdf
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