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CMS European M&A Study 2013

18/03/2013

5th European M&A Study sees balance of power firmly with the sellers in M&A.

In a review of 1,700 deals done between 2007-2012, CMS’ fifth annual M&A Study shows that, despite difficult economic times, sellers have been able to improve their risk allocation in the transactions analysed for the report.

“Now in its fifth year, the M&A study is fascinating reading for businesses looking to do deals across borders and understand the norms in other countries” said Cornelius Brandi, Executive Chairman of CMS. “It exemplifies the value that CMS delivers to clients in providing both multi-national expertise and a deep understanding of the issues that drive businesses today.”

The Study looks at deal points that are usually heavily negotiated in M&A deals, including MAC (material adverse change) clauses, purchase price adjustments and warranties. The data is broken down by regions in Europe and provides quantitative and qualitative analysis of the trends in the UK, German-speaking countries, France, Benelux, Southern Europe and Central Eastern Europe. Where there are significant differences with M&A deal terms in the US, comparisons between Europe and the US are included.

Thomas Meyding, Head of CMS Corporate Group, comments, “2012 was another uncertain year in which global M&A activity flatlined – with total deal value almost exactly the same as in 2011. Despite the challenges of finding potential purchasers in today’s market, once sellers have done so, they tend to get a good deal in terms of risk allocation.”

Please get in touch with us, to request a copy of the Study, or speak to one of our experts. We can slice and dice this data to make the findings of our analysis highly relevant to your own M&A situation.

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Authors

Dr. Thomas Meyding