Mergers and acquisitions worth 2.2bn

THE value of mergers and acquisitions involving Irish companies has almost trebled in the fourth quarter of 2003 to 2.2 billion compared to the same period in 2002.

The latest M&A Tracker survey by corporate finance specialists Ion Equity shows that in the current quarter, there were 46 deals worth more than 2.2 billion involving Irish companies compared to 31 deals worth 838 million in the fourth quarter of 2002.

The biggest single deal in the fourth quarter is Royal Bank of Scotland’s recommended 880 million offer for First Active and overall the financial services sector accounts for more than 40% of the transactions detailed in the Ion Equity survey.