The following report details mergers and acquisitions activity in Western Europe in Q1 2014 using data from the Zephyr database. It focuses on deal activity by target company. Click here to access the raw data in an Excel spreadsheet. M&A value continues to weaken, volume growth halted Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) targeting companies based in Western Europe weakened in Q1 2014 as value fell back for the third consecutive quarter while volume halted three successive periods of growth by slipping to the lowest recorded since Q3 2012. There were 4,815 deals worth a combined EUR 153,636 million in Q1 2014, compared to 6,236 transactions totalling EUR 157,502 million in Q4 2013, representing decline of 2 per cent by value and 23 per cent by volume. While M&A value weakened in Q1 2014, the rate of decline was the slowest recorded out of the last three quarters, supported somewhat by three blockbusters each worth more than EUR 5,000 million. In a long-term comparison, value was up 23 per cent from EUR 124,552 million in Q1 2013 and was 36 per cent higher than the EUR 112,901 million-worth of deals signed off in Q1 2012. However, volume was not as consistent as it was down 2 per cent from 4,913 deals in Q1 2013 and up 6 per cent on the same period two years ago. Deals by volume and value Announced date No of deals Total deal value Q1 2014 4,815 153,636 Q4 2013 6,236 157,502 Q3 2013 5,765 186,827 Q2 2013 5,632 226,792 Q1 2013 4,913 124,552 Q4 2012 5,715 208,254 Q3 2012 4,779 111,067 Q2 2012 5,120 187,359 Q1 2012 4,551 112,901 Page 1
Deals by volume and value Deal value 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 0 Total deal value Number of deals Page 2
Spanish cable deal tops Q1 2014 deals by value Without exception all the top 20 M&A deals by value targeting companies based in Western Europe in Q1 2014 topped EUR 1,000 million and three broke the EUR 5,000 million-barrier. The largest deal of the quarter involved Vodafone buying Spanish cable operator Grupo Corporativo ONO for EUR 7,200 million in a bid to boost its television and broadband offerings. It was one of only two Spanish targets to feature in the top 20 deals by value for the quarter, the other of which involved Banco Santander issuing contingent convertible preference shares worth EUR 1,500 million to qualified investors. Nets secures the largest PE/VC deal of the quarter There were three private equity and venture capital (PE and VC) deals worth EUR 1,000 million or more in Q1 2014 and the largest involved Advent International, Bain Capital, Via Venture Partners and Private Equity Advisors leading an institutional buyout worth EUR 2,277 million for Danish secure payments provider Nets. Blackstone was the only private equity firm to feature twice in the top 20 deals by value, teaming up with Natexis Investissement to buy a 28 per cent stake in Gecina for EUR 1,603 million and investing EUR 210 million in Gianni Versace in return for a 20 per cent participation in the Italian fashion house. Scania was the second largest deal of the quarter as Volkswagen of Germany is acquiring the remaining 37 per cent stake it does not currently own in the Swedish heavy vehicle manufacturer for EUR 6,670 million. The financial sector featured heavily in the top 20 deals by value, with targets ranging from Pohjola Pankki of Finland to Italian bank Unicredit, but the oil and gas industry accounted for the third biggest deal in Q1 2014 as L1 Energy is acquiring German hydrocarbon explorer and producer RWE Dea from RWE in a deal valued at EUR 5,100 million. UK leads by volume and value, despite a decline in M&A investment Companies based in the UK were the most frequent targets of M&A in Q1 2014 with 1,370 deals worth a combined EUR 26,998 million, accounting for 18 per cent of the quarter s total volume (4,815 transactions) and 18 per cent of overall value (EUR 153,636 million). However, investment targeting the country declined quarter-on-quarter (Q4 2013: 1,682 deals, EUR 29,625 million) and year-on-year (Q1 2013: 1,526, EUR 28,503 million). It was one of three countries in which M&A volume and value weakened quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, the others being Turkey and Cyprus. Page 3
Top 20 deals by value Deal value Deal type Target Target country Acquiror Acquiror country Deal status 1. 7,200 Acquisition 100% Grupo Corporativo ONO SA ES Vodafone Holdings Europe SL ES Pending 2. 6,670 Acquisition increased 63% to 100% Scania AB SE Volkswagen AG DE Pending 3. 5,100 Acquisition 100% RWE Dea AG DE L1 Energy LU Pending 4. 3,100 Acquisition increased 50% to 100% Galderma Pharma SA CH Nestlé SA CH Pending 5. 2,962 Acquisition 74% Celesio AG DE Dragonfly GmbH & Co. KGaA DE Completed 6. 2,789 Minority stake 33% Raiffeisen Bank International AG AT Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG; Existing shareholders; Institutional Investors AT Completed 7. 2,427 Acquisition 100% Foster Wheeler AG CH Amec plc GB Announced 8. 2,395 Acquisition increased 55% to 100% Pohjola Pankki Oyj FI OP-Pohjola osk FI Pending 9. 2,295 Acquisition increased 50% to 100% Rolls-Royce Power Systems Holding GmbH DE Rolls-Royce plc GB Pending 10. 2,279 Minority stake Dansk Supermarked A/S; F Salling A/S DK; DK F Salling Invest A/S; F Salling Holding A/S DK Pending 11. 2,277 IBO 100% Nets Holding A/S DK Advent International Corporation; Bain Capital LLC; Via Venture Partners A/S; Private Equity Advisors ApS 12. 1,953 Minority stake 16% Adecco SA CH Announced 13. 1,938 Acquisition 100% Algeta ASA NO Aviator Acquisition AS NO Completed 14. 1,804 Minority stake 5% Unicredit SpA IT BlackRock Inc. US Completed 15. 1,791 Acquisition 100% Portugal Telecom SGPS SA PT Newco BR Announced 16. 1,750 Minority stake 14% Piraeus Bank SA GR Investors; Institutional Investors Pending 17. 1,668 Minority stake 5% Intesa SanPaolo SpA IT BlackRock Inc. US Completed 18. 1,603 Minority stake 28% Gecina SA FR Natexis Investissement SA; Eliseo Finance Sarl FR; LU Completed 19. 1,500 Minority stake Banco Santander SA ES Qualified investors ES Announced 20. 1,500 Minority stake Banco Popolare Società Cooperativa IT Mediobanca SpA; Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Verona Vicenza Belluno e Ancona; UBS US; US; DK; DK IT; IT; CH Pending Pending Page 4
Top 20 private equity deals by value Deal value Deal type Target Target country Equity provider Deal status 1. 2,277 IBO 100% Nets Holding A/S DK Advent International Corporation; Bain Capital LLC; Via Venture Partners A/S; Private Equity Advisors ApS 2. 1,603 Minority stake 28% Gecina SA FR Natexis Investissement SA; The Blackstone Group LP Completed 3. 1,000 IBO 50% Aurelis Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG DE Grove International Partners LLP Pending 4. 848 IBO 50% Trader Media Group Ltd GB Apax Partners LLP Pending 5. 784 Minority stake 25% London Array 1 offshore wind farm GB Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec Announced 6. 664 IBO 85% Altamira Asset Management SL ES Apollo Management LP Completed 7. 597 IBO 100% Rexam plc's pharmaceutical devices and prescription retail packaging divisions Pending GB Montagu Private Equity LLP Pending 8. 538 IBO 100% CarTrawler Ltd IE BC Partners Ltd; Insight Venture Partners Pending 9. 489 IBO 100% Callcredit Information Group Ltd GB GTCR Golder Rauner LLC Completed 10. 452 IBO 100% Synsam Nordic A/S DK CVC Capital Partners Ltd Pending 11. 405 Acquisition 100% Octo Telematics SpA IT Gruppa Kompanii Renova ZAO Pending 12. 400 Acquisition 90% Astir Palace Vouliagmeni SA GR AGC Equity Partners Ltd Announced 13. 300 IBO 80% Nuova Castelli SpA IT Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP Completed 14. 285 Minority stake 10% Abasic SL ES Eurazeo SA Announced 15. 278 IBO 100% De Vere Venues Group Ltd GB Starwood Capital Group LLC Completed 16. 273 Acquisition increased 29% to 100% Assystem SA FR Société Alsacienne et Lorraine de Valeurs d'entreprises et de Participations SA Announced 17. 243 IBO 100% Zenith Vehicle Contracts Ltd GB HgCapital LLP Completed 18. 239 Acquisition 100% Banner Homes Group plc GB Patron Capital Ltd; Electra Partners LLP; LGV Capital Ltd Completed 19. 210 Minority stake 20% Gianni Versace SpA IT The Blackstone Group LP Announced 20. 207 IBO 100% Prestbury Investment Holdings Ltd's 102 Spirit pubs GB Cerberus Capital Management LP Completed Page 5
PE/VC continues to form peaks and troughs PE and VC investment targeting companies based in Western Europe in Q1 2014 failed to sustain growth recorded in Q4 2014, falling to 652 deals worth EUR 16,860 million from 727 transactions valued at EUR 24,846 million, representing a decline of 10 per cent by volume and 32 per cent by value. However, PE and VC activity is up on Q1 2013 (594 deals, EUR 12,709 million) and higher than the 608 transactions worth EUR 16,476 million signed off over the same three months in 2012. Private equity deals by volume and value Announced date No of deals Total deal value Q1 2014 652 16,860 Q4 2013 727 24,846 Q3 2013 679 16,712 Q2 2013 705 36,726 Q1 2013 594 12,709 Q4 2012 700 26,908 Q3 2012 552 11,392 Q2 2012 692 14,368 Q1 2012 608 16,476 Page 6
Private equity deals by volume and value Deal value 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 0 Total deal value Number of deals Page 7
Deal types by volume in Q1 2014 Deal types by volume Minority stake Acquisition IBO MBO Merger MBI MBI / MBO Deal type Q1 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Minority stake 2,125 2,834 2,422 Acquisition 2,411 3,106 2,161 IBO 115 151 142 MBO 86 84 49 Merger 174 61 33 MBI 3 2 6 MBI / MBO 5 3 5 Deal types by value in Q1 2014 Minority stake Acquisition IBO MBO Deal types by value Deal type Q1 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Minority stake 71,848 82,185 73,455 Acquisition 42,065 61,938 69,973 IBO 10,515 12,997 9,744 MBO 315 643 470 Page 8
Target sectors by volume Target sectors by value Target sector Q1 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Target sector Q1 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Other services 1,928 2,525 1,943 Machinery, equipment, furniture, recycling 513 611 505 Wholesale & retail trade 494 630 470 Banks 372 474 350 Chemicals, rubber, plastics 220 267 211 Construction 184 284 190 Publishing, printing 127 164 168 Food, beverages, tobacco 139 171 152 Transport 143 160 144 Metals & metal products 152 199 130 Hotels & restaurants 84 126 117 Education, health 256 132 105 Primary sector 92 140 99 Gas, water, electricity 97 166 95 Textiles, wearing apparel, leather 47 64 60 Wood, cork, paper 41 69 45 Insurance companies 43 68 39 Post and telecommunications 5 19 13 Public administration and defence 4 6 0 Other services 35,119 45,881 47,691 Banks 18,822 23,620 29,384 Machinery, equipment, furniture, recycling 11,431 12,740 19,937 Wholesale & retail trade 7,781 7,471 11,643 Insurance companies 4,825 6,500 5,961 Chemicals, rubber, plastics 4,968 12,175 5,921 Primary sector 1,248 4,951 5,905 Construction 4,370 6,714 5,423 Metals & metal products 8,909 6,810 4,321 Gas, water, electricity 8,375 11,223 4,117 Publishing, printing 1,160 2,081 3,556 Transport 8,530 3,809 3,087 Food, beverages, tobacco 4,902 7,237 2,521 Hotels & restaurants 1,794 1,938 1,552 Education, health 1,330 1,800 1,371 Textiles, wearing apparel, leather 883 965 648 Wood, cork, paper 411 1,117 338 Post and telecommunications 0 1,558 295 Public administration and defence 0 0 0 Page 9
Top countries by volume Top countries by value Target country Q1 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Target country Q1 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 UK 1,526 1,682 1,370 France 447 536 450 Germany 419 504 437 Spain 357 667 405 Finland 306 589 347 Sweden 320 373 325 Netherlands 276 413 316 Italy 347 314 266 Denmark 123 173 172 Turkey 225 236 166 Norway 178 229 132 Belgium 97 133 127 Switzerland 100 132 95 Ireland 51 76 77 Portugal 42 40 44 Austria 41 43 37 Luxembourg 20 55 23 Cyprus 27 29 19 Greece 10 20 16 Malta 4 2 7 UK 28,503 29,625 26,998 Germany 12,147 16,110 20,525 Italy 6,565 21,571 16,606 Spain 11,752 9,731 15,324 Netherlands 17,088 19,673 9,826 Sweden 8,812 4,445 9,584 Switzerland 1,415 6,030 9,463 France 8,385 13,742 8,457 Denmark 2,411 4,069 8,426 Finland 1,324 4,876 4,873 Norway 2,300 4,877 4,443 Portugal 5,803 442 3,708 Greece 639 1,841 3,414 Austria 986 557 3,112 Ireland 2,214 3,294 2,940 Luxembourg 4,297 4,111 2,227 Belgium 6,133 6,307 1,305 Turkey 3,061 4,620 1,199 Cyprus 902 2,843 784 Malta 50 18 484 Page 10
Notes to editors Activity is based on the activity of the target company Deal status is announced within the time period The sector breakdown uses targets activities as defined to be Major Sectors by Zephyr The Western Europe region covers target companies in Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom Data refers to target companies based in Western Europe except where specified as expanded EU of 27 countries on page 3 The date range is 01/01/2014-25/03/2014 inclusive Page 11