Fall in mergers and acquisitions noted in third quarter

The number of mergers and acquistions taking place across the Irish business landscape has fallen by 30% in the third quarter, according to figures released today.

Business data company Experian said there were 49 M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and ECM (flotations, rights issues and placements) transactions announced in Q3, a 30% decline compared to the same period in 2009, which saw a total of 70 deals recorded.

The value of transactions however, at €5.85bn, was up 53.5%.on the same period in 2009, where €3.81bn worth of deals was announced.

Compared to the previous quarter (Q2 2010) when a total of 57 deals worth €9.17bin were recorded, Q3 2010 results are a 14% fall in volume and a 36.2% fall in value, Experian said.

“It is clear that deal activity has stabilized in the last quarter," said Jim Kennedy of Experian.

"Deals tend to slow down during Q3 of any year, so quarter on quarter figures reflect a seasonal decline.

"However, the year on year view reveals that while there was a decline in the volume of M&A and ECM activity overall, the value of the deals increased substantially. Although the volume of deals in the Republic fell since last year, we fared significantly better than our counterparts in Europe in terms of value.”