European M&A to End Year on High Note, Top Barclays Banker Says
European M&A to End Year on High Note, Top Barclays Banker Says
(Bloomberg) -- Europe is primed for a sustained recovery in dealmaking driven by consolidation across most major sectors, according to Barclays Plc’s head of mergers and acquisitions in the region.
The U.K. bank has advised on a clutch of multibillion-dollar transactions involving consumer, financial and energy companies in recent weeks, which have provided respite in an otherwise lackluster year for deals amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It seems like all sectors have some positive tailwinds now,” said Pier Luigi Colizzi, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa M&A at Barclays. “Executives are scouting out M&A opportunities, including in those sectors under pressure because of the pandemic.”
Barclays ranks sixth for deal advice in Europe so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the last 30 days it has emerged as an adviser to U.K. bookmaker William Hill Plc on its 2.9 billion-pound ($3.8 billion) takeover by Caesars Entertainment Inc., Swiss fintech developer Avaloq Group AG on its sale to NEC Corp. and the TDR Capital-led consortium acquiring control of Walmart Inc.’s Asda unit in a deal valuing the U.K. grocer at 6.8 billion pounds.
The bank is also financial adviser to Covestro AG on its purchase of Royal DSM NV’s resins business, the London Stock Exchange Group Plc on its roughly 4.5 billion-euro ($5.3 billion) sale of Borsa Italiana and Canadian security firm GardaWorld on a near 3 billion-pound hostile bid for U.K. peer G4S Plc.
“We expect a strong Q4 and sustained deal activity based on our pipeline,” Colizzi said. “This is mainly driven by cross-border consolidation in the health-care space, but also in the TMT, utilities and banking sectors.”
Deal volumes in Europe have fallen 15% this year to around $751 billion amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg data show. While the region failed to match the third-quarter rebound seen in Asia and the U.S., bankers are growing increasingly confident of better days ahead.
Colizzi’s comments echo sentiment expressed last month by EMEA investment banking chiefs at JPMorgan Chase & Co., who said companies, buoyed by rising stock markets, were feeling more confident about pursuing growth through acquisitions. The European banking industry, long-tipped for consolidation, is widely seen as a hot spot for deals in the months ahead.
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