ISSUE 2 | 2022
22
KEY DEALS The Top 10 totalled USD 4.1bn,
The targets in the Top 10 deals were distributed across four countries, with French target companies at the top of the rankings with five transactions, followed by Italian target companies with three deals and Spanish and Cyprus target companies, with one deal in each country. Cross-border transactions composed the majority of the quarter’s biggest deals, with European companies accounting for six of the Top 10 deals. While the acquiring nations were varied, companies from Italy and France led the list of acquirers with three deals each.
The third biggest deal took place in the Energy, Mining & Utilities sector and comprised the acquisition of a portfolio of solar PV projects under development in Spain with an overall expected capacity of 508MW, by Green Arrow Capital SGR, for USD 452m. Green Arrow Capital is one of the leading independent Italian operators in the alternative investment world, with assets under management amounting to USD 1.92bn. Another notable deal from this quarter was the acquisition of a 100% stake in iXBlue SAS, a company specializing in delivering advanced navigation, photonics and maritime autonomy solutions by the French Groupe Gorge and ECA S.A. for USD 449m. The Top 10 deals were spread across several sectors, with the TMT sector again leading the way with three deals.
representing 26% of the volume of all mid-market transactions that took place in Southern Europe in Q1 2022. The biggest deal was in Business Services and saw the acquisition of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists by French companyWendel SA for USD 500m. The second biggest deal was the Fintech start-up Scalapay, which became Italy’s first unicorn with a valuation of more than USD 1bn after raising USD 497m in Series B funding. The latest funding round was led by Tencent andWilloughby Capital, with participation fromTiger Global, Gangwal, Moore Capital, Deimos and Fasanara Capital. Scalapay offers a ‘buy now, pay later’ service for e-commerce companies around the world.
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