Rate of mergers and acquisitions 'likely to stay at high level'

Mergers and acquisitions activity in Ireland is likely to remain at a high level for the foreseeable future and modest interest rate increases are unlikely to have any significant impact on activity, the Chief Executive of IBI Corporate Finance, Peter Crowley, said today.

Speaking in Dublin this morning at a Reuters Ireland Summit, Mr Crowley also said that wealthy high net worth Irish investors are likely to move their attention from the current concentration on Irish and overseas property and more into broader corporate deals.

He added that the Irish Stock Exchange is “at a crossroads” and that the further concentration of the index on a small number of large financial stocks is not a healthy sign for the exchange.

Commenting on the future level of mergers and acquisitions activity in Ireland, Mr Crowley said: “The Irish economic background remains positive and we take the view that any soft landing for the economy is likely to result in only a small amount of indigestion for investors.

"The biggest potential risk, and we believe this is limited, is a series of highly-leveraged debt defaults followed by a debt liquidity squeeze. Interest rates are going up but we take the view these increases are unlikely to have a significant impact on activity”.