• M&A in the year to date exceeds full year figures of the last two years
• Private equity deal value sees the highest value since 2014
• The country experienced the lowest value andvolume of IPOs since 2016

 Zurich,Switzerland, 24 October 2019: Mergermarket, the leading provider of M&A data and intelligence, has today released research showing that year-to-date (YTD) Swiss M&A has already exceeded  the full year figures seen in the last two years to EUR 60.3bn this year, driven by several multi-billion euro transactions. The most popular sector in 3Q19 was pharma,medical and biotech with a total deal value of EUR 33.7bn. A large part of that deal value came from the biggest M&A deal of the year so far between Novartis and Alcon Inc, worth EUR 23.6bn. Industrials & chemicals sector was the second most active with a total deal value of EUR 8bn in 1H19. 

 In line with buoyant private equity activity across Europe due to the high levels of dry-powder, Swiss buyouts have soared in 2019, reaching EUR 12.5bn across 17 deals, the highest YTD value since 2014. The data was announced ahead of Mergermarket’s Swiss M&A and Private Equity Forum event held at the The Dolder Grand, Zurich on 24^th October.

Jonathan Klonowski,Research Editor (EMEA) at Mergermarket commented: “Swiss private equity activity continues to increase on the back of huge fundraising across Europe. The trend mirrors the rest of Europe where increased competition is pushing many private equity firms to pursue large-cap assets.”

Jürg Luginbühl, Head M&A at Vischer in Zurich commented: "We have seen strong Swiss M&A activity in the last12 months driven in particular by corporate carve-outs and disposals as well as a large number of private equity deals."

Domestic M&A accounted for two of the largest five deals including Sunrise Communications/UPC Switzerland (EUR5.5bn), meaning M&A between Swiss firms jumped to EUR 31.7bn, its highest figures since 2014. The deal count, however, was at its lowest level in the last 5 years, with only 48 deals so far this year, compared to 77 in 2018 and 75 in 2017.

The ECM market saw a dip in value and volume (the lowest since 2016), with 3 IPOs worth EUR 2.0bn, including the listings of rolling stock producer Stadler RailAG for EUR 1.3bn and orthopaedics company Medacta Group SA for EUR 525m. Upcoming IPOs include the listings of healthcare services provider AMEOS Gruppe and two technology companies – SoftwareONE AG and SOPHiA Genetics SA. 

 Christian Barrot, Director at Alantra commented: “The outlook for the last quarteris mixed. Continued macroeconomic uncertainties coupled with concerns regarding an economic slowdown have dampened investor confidence. However, while it has evidently become more challenging, investors continue to look for opportunities to put cash to work, particularly in issuers with committed key shareholders, proven business models and strong track records.”