Banks and other lenders are reducing the amount of money they will lend to fund private equity and leveraged acquisitions by as much as 20%, it has been revealed today.

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.

Irish companies were involved in more than €3bn worth of acquisitions in the first half of 2004, and Ireland is increasingly becoming a net acquirer of assets at home and abroad, new figures have revealed.