At the half-year stage, US dealflow was down sharply whilst China was least impacted. Megadeals declined although mid-market showed resiliency. Meanwhile, private equity's global M&A market share reached record level.

• EDF, Sanofi and Vivendi among large corporations expected to carry out multi-billion deals next year
• PE pipeline above EUR 1bn fuelled by quick asset rotation, corporate carve-outs
• Tech, healthcare and education attract large crowd and big checks
• Positive M&A environment lures new banks, boutiques and funds in Paris

France’s political volte face – apparently at the heart of the collapse of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU] and Groupe Renault [EPR:RNO] tie-up – has added to the maelstrom of confusion for European M&A practitioners hoping to navigate waves of populism and economic nationalism.

Mergermarket, the leading provider of M&A data and intelligence, has today released research showing how large cross-border deals fuelled the strongest opening quarter of inbound M&A (50 deals, EUR 7.7bn) since the financial crisis. The data was announced at Mergermarket’s French M&A Executive Club 2019 held in Paris on 16 May. 

Private equity take-privates double over 12-month period

Private equity’s love affair with the French Financial Services sector is growing year-on-year, and as deals begin to pile up, Dealspeak digs around to unearth details beneath the data

News that Siemens’ [ETR:SIE] merger with Alstom [EPA:ALO] has been blocked on competition grounds further highlights the obstacles faced by those intent on creating “European champions” to compete with Chinese and US giants.

• Sellers gaining upper hand around negotiating table
• Rate of returns expected to fall
• Digitalisation considered value creation tool despite legal risks

Acquirers may be in a hurry to complete deals before the end of the year.

Europe’s core countries expand and recover in debt terms, while emerging markets across the board start to realize the potential of leveraged debt

It’s official: London is Europe’s top technology start-up destination