ICFG Half-year Update – 2019

2019 has seen a solid first half year performance from our international network of M&A firms ICFG, with 29 deals completed by the end of July.

ICFG are very happy to announce that 29 deals were closed in 9 countries by the the network in the first 6 months of this year, across a wide range of sectors and industries.

We are expecting a strong second half of the year as well, with the network well positioned to continue delivering high quality, cross border transactions.

Markets are always difficult to anticipate, but the volatility of the environment combined with available finance gives an edge to the many proactive firms we are proud to call our clients.

The main trends we anticipate up until the end of the year are:

• Available & competitive financing
• Strategic fluidity in the automotive, branded consumer goods, distribution and healthcare sectors
• Opportunities in emerging countries

Regarding the impact of Brexit on the M&A market, we are prudently optimistic. Whilst the overall picture for the UK M&A market is positive, there are a couple of underlying trends which we attribute to the current political uncertainty and fears over Brexit.

Firstly, domestic corporate buyers are much less active than institutional purchasers, with a wall of institutional money around at the moment (both private equity and the debt funds) that is hungry for deals helping to fill the void. With the devaluation in sterling, there will inevitably be a number of international corporates trying to sniff out a bargain.

There has been a noticeable slowdown in activity in both the manufacturing sector and consumer focused businesses with some high-profile casualties in both the private and public markets.

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