Irish companies in €4bn mergers, acquisitions in Q1

Irish companies were involved in mergers and acquisitions worth almost €4bn in the first quarter of 2005, almost double the value of transactions in the same period in 2004, according to the latest M&A Tracker survey from Irish corporate finance firm Ion Equity.

According to Ion Equity director Joe Devine, the latest survey shows a clear movement towards fewer but larger deals.

“This has been a recurring theme in recent M&A Tracker surveys, there were 29 deals in the first quarter of 2005 compared to 50 in the final quarter of 2004 and 70 in the first quarter of 2004.”

One major transaction, Waren Acquisition’s €2.3bn takeover of Warner Chilcott had a significant impact on the total value of deals in the first quarter accounting for 58% of deal values.

The first quarter 2005 figures do not include any deals involving two of Ireland’s most acquisitive companies, CRH and Kerry Group, who have yet to disclose their corporate activity for the most recent quarter.