Deal activity surges as overseas buyers swoop
THE value of inbound M&A activity in the North West has doubled in the first six months of this year, increasing from £577m in 2014 to £1.14bn.
The North West continues to provide a home for overseas strategic bidders, according to Deloitte.
The firm’s North West Cross-Border Deals Radar revealed inbound deal making, where overseas buyers are tapping into the UK market, has gained momentum now that the UK’s economic position is more stable since the outcome of the general election.
While the collective value of deals soared from H1 2014 to H1 2015, the volume of inbound activity fell from 30 deals to 17 over the two periods.
A standout deal this year was from US laboratory supply giant Thermo Fisher Scientific after it acquired Heysham-based research chemicals supplier Alfa Aesar for £256m.
Other key transactions included US private equity firm HIG Capital making a £65m swoop for Chester’s Grosvenor Shopping Centre.
John Breheny, corporate finance director at Deloitte, said: “Renewed confidence and a fear of being left behind has encouraged companies to return to deal making. The North West boasts a large number of high quality businesses with strong management teams, so it is no surprise that overseas buyers are investing in companies in the region. The latest figures are a positive sign for the North West economy and we expect activity levels to grow over the coming months.”
Outbound deal volumes, where UK investors target overseas assets, decreased in the first six months of 2015. There were 13 deals (worth £145m) in 2015, compared to 19 deals (worth £2.01bn) in 2014. However, last year’s deal value was dominated by AMEC’s £1.9bn takeover of US-listed rival Foster Wheeler, in a major deal for the company which has substantial North West operations.
Notable outbound transactions in the last six months include Manchester’s PZ Cussons acquiring a stake in Nigeria-based Numtricima for £21m; and Chester-based data intelligence company GB Group attaining the remainder of its stake in San Francisco-based Loqate for £10.1m.
The research is based on data from Experian Corpfin, the global information services company.
