These are the most active sectors for M&A in 2022
Now that the first half of 2022 is over, we can look back at the available data on mergers and acquisitions across different industries. The following business sectors have been the most active in terms of transaction volume and value during the first semester of 2022:
Real estate sector
Between January and July 2022, a total of 266 mergers and acquisitions were recorded by the real estate sector in Spain for an aggregate amount of EUR12,780 million. This shows a 15% increase in transactions and a 65% increase in terms of value, according to data published by Transactional Track Record.
July alone saw an aggregate of 40 deals in the real estate sector, totalling EUR1,446.49 million. In one of the most notable examples, Pontegadea acquired a skyscraper with luxury residences in New York for an estimate of EUR488 million.
The US, together with France, have been the destinations of choice for Spanish companies carrying out cross-border transactions. Up to 23 deals have been recorded with those countries so far this year. If we focus on the figures, Canada stands out with an amount of EUR1,268 million.
From the opposite perspective, the countries that carried out the largest number of investments in Spain were the UK (28) and the US (27). In terms of funds, Germany leads this category with an amount of EUR1,144 million.
Healthcare technology
Mergers in the healthcare technology sector already reached the amount of EUR20,300 million worldwide during the first half of 2022.
At this rate, consulting firm Evaluate Vantage estimates that 2022 will be one of the most prolific years in terms of capital flows for M&A deals within the sector. Despite the large sums of money involved, we notice that the number of transactions (38) is the smallest we have seen in the last 20 years.
One of the most significant mergers taking place during the first half of 2022 was the Quidel and Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics deal for EUR5,894 million. The resulting group, Quidelortho, has become the seventh largest diagnostic company in the world, with a sales projection of USD4,400 million for 2022, according to Evaluate Medtech.
Forecasts for the second half of 2022 tell us that M&A deals will continue to thrive in the healthcare technology sector. In fact, large groups such as Abbott, Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson have already hinted at their interest to purchase.
Insurance
110 deals were announced in the second quarter of 2022, according to European Insurance M&A Deals – FTI Consulting’s barometer on mergers and acquisitions in the insurance sector in Europe. This figure was slightly higher than the one registered in the first quarter of 2022 (106), but much higher than the 85 transactions recorded during the same period of 2021 (+26%).
The second quarter gave rise to a considerable increase in acquisitions of insurance providers and claim management specialists. Their small capital and regular cash inflow appeared to make these businesses particularly appealing.
From a country perspective, it should be noted that Spain, Portugal and Italy recorded the largest M&A increase in the insurance sector during the second quarter of 2022. Portugal and Spain registered a remarkable 160% year-on-year increase with 13 transactions.
To date this year, a total of 216 M&A deals have been concluded in the insurance sector in Europe – a 7% increase in comparison to the same period last year. The largest growth was found in deals involving bancassurance and life insurance providers.
FTI Consulting forecasts that this trend will continue after the summer, due to economies of scale and the need to become more efficient in a more fragile macroeconomic framework.