MERGER fever resulted in a trebling of merger and acquisition deals in the first quarter of 2007 to €4.2 billion, according to the latest figures from Ion Equity.

SWS has abandoned its search for a new chief executive to replace Kieran Calnan, who retires from the company in early April.

MORE than half of all Irish merger and acquisitions activity in 2006 took place in the final three months of the year.

SWS chairman Raymond Collins today announced the completion of the sale of the SWS businesses to Ion Equity ltd.

LEADING figures of the four west Cork Co-ops met yesterday amid speculation that the Ion Equity bid of over €100m for SWS of Bandon had hit a snag.

Two companies, Ion Equity and One51, have placed bids for South Western Services. Ion boss Neil O’Leary talks to Chief Business Correspondent Brian O’Mahony about his vision for the future of fuels.

THE fate of South Western Services (SWS) will be known before Christmas. The sale process will be handled by Merrion Capital and all sides are committed to the sale this time.

Merger and acquisition activity involving Irish companies remained at a very strong level during the third quarter of 2006 with 57 separate deals in the quarter compared to 31 deals in the same period in 2005, the latest M&A Tracker survey from corporate finance specialists Ion Equity reveals.

The second quarter of 2006 was one of the most active for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving Irish companies, both in terms of the value and number of deals, the second quarter M&A Tracker survey by corporate finance firm Ion Equity revealed today.

IRISH companies were involved in merger and acquisition (M&A) deals worth over €3.8 billion in the three months to September, according to new figures from corporate finance specialists Ion Equity.

SHELL’S network of Irish petrol stations and fuel distributors has been snapped up by venture capital group Ion Equity.

Distribution and logistics company Topaz has bought the retail and commercial business of Shell in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The consideration was not revealed.

The number of mergers and acquisitions involving Irish companies is set to rise again in 2004 after latest figures revealed a near three-fold increase at the end of 2003.

Eontec has announced the appointment of Aristoleles Kabarganos as general manager for Central Europe. He will head up sales, marketing and partner activity in Central Europe, and for driving Eontec's development across the region.