New figures show that Irish merger and acquisition deals for 2024 reached €27.5 billion, a jump of 115% on the 2023 figures.
William Fry's M&A Review for 2024 shows that 499 deals were recorded within the Irish M&A market for the year, an increase of 1% on figures from 2023.
William Fry said the significant rise in value of last year's M&A deals was partly due to a number of particularly large deals for the market.
The largest 'megadeal' last year was the Fab 34 transaction, where private equity company Apollo agreed to pay Intel €10.1 billion for a 49% stake in a joint venture related to the technology giant's manufacturing facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare.
The second-largest deal of the year saw Avolon Holdings buy Castlelake Aviation for €4.1 billion.
William Fry said that deal showed Ireland's importance in the global aircraft leasing sector and the acquisition saw Bohai attain assets worth €4.75 billion including 118 aircraft.
The third largest deal saw a consortium of investors pay €2.5 billion for Keyworth Studios, a gaming company that helped develop games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty.
Today's review also shows that the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector continued to lead performance in the country's M&A market.
TMT accounted for 22% of all deals, 111 of total deals and three of the five largest deals. TMT also claimed 53% of the total value, however, the influence of the Fab 34 megadeal must be accounted for as it significantly enhanced the figures, today's review noted.
In deal value terms, financial services finished 2024 in second place to TMT, accounting for 21% of the total market, reflecting the €4.1 billion Castlelake Aviation deal and two large transactions at AIB where the Government continues to sell down the stake in the bank it acquired during the global financial crisis.
Meanwhile, business-to-business continues to generate strong M&A activity accounting for 15% of dealmaking during 2024, consistent with 2023. The year's business service transactions included the €791m stake acquisition of Echelon Data Centres by Starwood Capital Group Management and several other smaller deals.
William Fry said that international buyers continue to look to Ireland for M&A activities. 2024 saw 275 inbound transactions worth a total of €23.6 billion, which marked a 2% increase in volume, while the value of these deals soared by 111%.
70% of the largest 20 deals by volume this year in Ireland involved an international acquirer, including buyers from the UK, US, China, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland and Qatar.
The review noted that US and UK buyers were the most active acquirers in Ireland - recording 101 and 64 transactions respectively last year.
US buyers led the way by deal value while China took the second place, driven by Avolon's acquisition of Castlelake Aviation, it added.
Andrew McIntyre, Head of Corporate/M&A at William Fry, said that despite a year marked by global political and economic uncertainty, Ireland's M&A market demonstrated remarkable resilience, experiencing an almost unprecedented surge in value.
"We performed strongly, aligning with global trends where dealmakers proceeded cautiously yet remained focused on long-term objectives. As expected, the majority of M&A activity occurred in the mid-market, though we also saw a notable increase in high-value transactions, which is a welcome development. Looking ahead, this continued strength in the M&A sector positions Ireland well for future growth and opportunity," he added.
Mr McIntyre said the firm remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook for M&A both in Ireland and internationally.
"The global economic picture is clearer, and political uncertainties have started to ease after the year of elections. This may see pent-up demand for dealmaking released from both corporations and private equity firms," he said.
But he said that the market should remain cautious, with a geopolitical environment fraught with risk.
"Closer to home we await with interest to the extent to which Ireland's new FDI rules will impact inbound M&A deals," he said.
"Given the more stable political environment here in Ireland, the potential in the renewables sector, the ongoing strength of the TMT market and the consolidation in areas such as business services, there is genuine optimism for a further uplift in Irish dealmaking in 2025," he added.
