In 2019, IMAP closed 223 M&A deals valued at over $10 billion. The result was higher than the previous year (208) and indeed, marked IMAP’s strongest performance since 2012. Average disclosed IMAP deal value stood at $56.3 million. IMAP advisors reported competitive forces, industry consolidation and succession planning as the principal motives for initiating transactions among its clients. Low interest rates, along with the increasing unease regarding a potential economic slowdown on the horizon, also drove deal activity. Last year, over 32% of IMAP’s transactions were cross-border, which is higher than usual and, given the general market slump in cross-border deal flow, reflects IMAP’s truly global nature. Roughly a quarter of IMAP transactions in 2019 involved Private Equity firms.
Technology, Industrials, Consumer & Retail and Healthcare were the most active sectors within IMAP, accounting for over 50% of total deal volume. Acquisitions of technology related targets or assets by companies in nontech sectors continued to be a significant trend in 2019. In an attempt to keep up with the pace of disruptive technological growth, non-tech companies are competing for strategic acquisitions in order to facilitate their own digital transformations and access new potential revenue sources. As predicted, Technology and Healthcare attracted the highest deal multiples.
Deal activity in 2019 also reflects IMAP’s broad global presence, with nearly 40% of IMAP deals involving a target company in Western Europe and another 25% in North America. Significant deal activity was also registered in Scandinavia, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. Deal activity in Latin America rebounded moderately in 2019, following a disappointing 2018.
Looking ahead, IMAP is poised to continue providing superior advisory expertise and global reach where opportunities surface. Jurgis Oniunas, IMAP Chairman, said: “IMAP is a growing and dynamic international midmarket organization, whose global team of nearly 500 committed M&A professionals, consistently deliver both in terms of number and quality of deals. Our partners deliver high quality opportunities, together with the promise that the process will be managed with professionalism and integrity every time – wherever we are in the world – that’s the true power of the IMAP partnership.”