Optimism in European M&A activity continues to grow says CMS report

Europe’s executives are more bullish about the European M&A outlook than they were a year ago according to research of 225 Europe-based corporate executives by global law firm CMS and Mergermarket. Two thirds of respondents expect M&A activity will increase, with 11% anticipating a significant increase. This compares with 47% of 2013 interviewees expecting deal-making to increase, and just 1% expecting M&A to increase greatly. Attitudes about Europe’s economic recovery have improved significantly and the majority believe that the worst is behind us.

Roman Tarlavski, head of the Corporate department of CMS Amsterdam confirms this upward trend, "We have seen a significant increase of deal levels in the Netherlands in the last couple of months, most significantly in the tech, media and life sciences sectors. Although bank lending is still tight, banks are showing an increasing willingness to fund while the pricing gap (the difference between the purchaser's valuation of the business and the consideration that the seller is asking for it) seems to be shrinking. The political uncertainty in the Middle East and the Ukraine and the projected slow growth of GDP in the Netherlands may adversely impact M&A activity in the Netherlands but our pipeline is robust and growing."

European M&A Outlook publication

The CMS Corporate Group is delighted to provide you with the second edition of the “European M&A Outlook” publication. The purpose of this European M&A Outlook published by CMS and Mergermarket is to give you insight into how major players in the market see the immediate future, the challenges ahead and where the opportunities might lie.

For more information, contact:

Roman Tarlavski, Partner Corporate, T + 31 20 3016 312 / roman.tarlavski@cms-dsb.com