Irish M&A value at 'record high'

News Article - 08 January 2008
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Irish-based companies recorded an all-time high of €23 billion (£17 billion) worth of merger and acquisitions (M&As) during 2007, it has been revealed.

Research by CFM Capital, the corporate finance division of Mazars accountants, reports this figure is a 44 per cent increase over the year.

According to the firm, five major deals made up half of the total figure, including the €5.7 billion acquisition of Depfa Bank which moved to Ireland in 2002.

Enda Gunnell, managing director of CFM Capital, commented that it is too early to predict how the global credit crunch will affect M&A prospects for 2008 but said that he remains optimistic.

"We do not believe that the recent turmoil in global money markets and the tightening of lending policies by many financial institutions will significantly impede the financing of quality strategic transactions in mid-market M&A," he explained.

More than one-third of small to medium-sized Irish businesses are less confident about the business climate in Ireland than they were at the start of 2007, according to the O2 Business Confidence Survey.

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