HORIZONS | BDO'S GLOBAL VIEWOF MID-MARKET DEAL ACTIVITY 25
BENELUX M&A ACTIVITY FALTERS AS DEAL VOLUME DROPS BY
Compared to Q3 2021, there was a significant downturn in M&A activity in the final quarter of the year in terms of volume. The average deal size remained at around USD 100m. Deal volume dropped from 51 deals in Q3 2021 to 26 deals in Q4 2021 and value fell fromUSD 5,100m to USD 2,622m. The overall decline in activity was best reflected in the TMT sector, with deal numbers falling from 22 to just four and Industrials & Chemicals, which also dropped from nine to four deals. On average, PE-related deals in 2021 accounted for approximately 38% of total deal volume. In Q4 2021 however, PE’s share of overall volume dropped to 23.1%. PE’s share of overall deal value in Q4 2021 was in line with the first two quarters of 2021 (roughly 26% on average) but below the exceptional performance
recorded in Q3 2021 when PE-related deals accounted for almost 47% of overall value. The average PE deal value in Q4 2021 was approximately USD 103m, slightly higher than the Q3 2021 average and the highest average quarterly deal value in 2021. KEY SECTORS AND DEALS In Q4 2021, Business Services led the way with six deals. Three sectors – Industrials & Chemicals, Pharma, Medical & Biotech and TMT – all had four deals each. As in Q3 2021, two deals were closed in Real Estate and for the first time in 2021 (and since Q1 2020) no deals were closed in the Leisure sector, probably as a result of the pandemic. The total value of the quarter’s top 20 deals amounted to USD 2,527m and ranged from USD 23m to USD 338m. Most of the deals were closed by international buyers (10) or European buyers (six) with only four deals being closed by domestic buyers.
BIG PICTURE
• Deal volume fell by almost 50% in Q4 2021 (26 deals) compared to Q3 2021 (51) • PE-related value and volume accounted for around 24%of all activity • Four sectors – Business Services, Industrials &Chemicals, Pharma Medical & Biotech andTMT – accounted for 69% of all transactions (18 deals) • Looking ahead, there are 197 deals planned or in progress in the Benelux.
PE/TRADE VOLUME &VALUE 60
6,000
50
5,000
40
4,000
30
3,000
20
2,000
10
1,000
0
0
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