ISSUE 1 | 2022
18
• US-based Altaris Capital LLC acquired a 70% stake in UK-listed science and chemicals company Johnson Matthey Plc for a consideration of USD 434m • Terra Firma Capital Partners acquired private housebuilder Hopkins Homes Limited for a consideration of USD 400m • France-based Criteo S.A. acquired UK-based AI, data and engineering company IPONWEB Limited for a consideration of USD 380m • 3i Infrastructure plc acquired traffic light equipment company SRL Traffic Systems for a consideration of USD 253m.
(14%), Industrials & Chemicals (15%) and Financial Services (9%). These four sectors also contributed the highest amounts to total deal volume across 2021. Year-on-year all sectors recorded increased deal volume bar Energy, Mining & Utilities, which saw a 30% drop in deal volume. Real Estate and Financial Services showed the biggest increases at 180% and 48% respectively, which can partly be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions affecting these sectors harder than others and consequently the bounce back was delayed. Q4 2021 saw strong cross-border M&A activity again, with 11 out of the top 20 mid-market transactions involving an overseas buyer. A selection of the biggest mid-market transactions were as follows: • Constellation Automotive Group Limited, the group behind We Buy Any Car, acquired car dealership operator Marshall Motor Holdings plc for a consideration of USD 465m • NYSE-listed student media learning platform Chegg Incorporated acquired online learning language provider Busuu Limited for a consideration of USD 436m
Despite the decline in volumes and value between H1 2021 and H2 2021, 2021 as a whole saw an increase in both deal volumes and values in comparison to 2020. Deal volumes increased by 20% (492 completed deals in 2020 compared to 589 in 2021) and deal values by a strong 65% (USD 39bn in 2020 compared to USD 64bn in 2021). Significantly, the overall deal value of USD 64bn in 2021 was much higher than pre-pandemic levels, indicating a strong recovery in mid-market M&A. KEY DEALS AND SECTORS With the backdrop of a decrease in deal volume fromQ3 2021 to Q4 2021, all sectors bar Energy, Mining & Utilities and Real Estate experienced a drop in deal volume quarter-on-quarter. TMT deals fell from 61 to 29 transactions fromQ3 2021 to Q4 2021, a 52% drop, Leisure from seven to two deals in the same period, a 71% drop, Consumer from 17 to six, a 65% drop and Business Services from 20 to 12 transactions, a 40% drop. Of the 87 completed deals in in Q4 2021, TMT accounted for 33% of total deal volume, followed by Business Services
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