Total value of mergers and acquisitions grows 15% in Portugal to 17,178 million euros – Executive Digest
The total value of mergers and acquisitions in Portugal in the first year of the covid-19 pandemic increased 15% to 17,178 million euros, despite a reduction in the number of transactions, according to a report released today.
The M&A report [Mergers and Acquisitions] in Portugal, from Abreu Advogados and Transactional Track Record (TTR), referred that “a coronavirus pandemic had a strong impact on the Portuguese and world economies” and that the M&A markets “reacted in different ways, whether by immediate cancellation of transactions , suspension of some, resumed months later, and the postponement of others”.
“This context led to a 21% decrease in the number of transactions in Portugal between April 2020 and March 2021 (first year of covid-19) compared to 2019, a year in which it recorded a 26% increase in volume compared to 2018 ”, Details the report.
In the document, the authors also marked that there was a 21% drop in the total number of transactions between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, against a 26% increase in 2019.
Large transactions corresponded to “a higher percentage of the total volume and a considerably higher percentage of the total value of transactions in Portugal” between April 2020 and March this year.
Transactions with a value between 100 million and 500 million grew 53%, while the percentage of accumulated value and with a value above 500 million euros registered an increase of 52%, according to the same source.
The report also considers that “the Portuguese reality of the M&A market is in line with the global trend”, and that “although doubts remain about the sustainability of the growth of the total value of transactions, Portugal is improving its position in the international business environment” .
The document highlights that during the year under review, Portugal “entered the top 10 of the most attractive countries for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)”.
“The disturbances and uncertainties caused by the pandemic in 2020 resulted in the attractiveness of FDI in European countries decreasing by 13% compared to the previous year. However, according to the AICEP (Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal), in Portugal, 154 FDI projects were announced, which represents only a slight decrease compared to the 158 registered in the previous year”, reinforces the report.
Among the foreign countries with the most transactions carried out in the first year of covid-19 are Spain (32), France (26) and the United Kingdom (22).
The Health and Technology sectors were considered the most resilient, with their transactions falling, respectively, 7% and 17% compared to 2019, the latter having grown in terms of total value, with an increase of 40%, to 4,370, 13 million euros.