Skip to main content
London skyline

09 Aug 2018

Four deals in a week as M&A activity climbs higher

 

The flurry of M&A deals and IPOs that dominated the first six months of 2018 has continued into H2, as Investec’s Investment Bank capitalised on the strong market to complete four deals in just one week.

The first half of 2018 saw more M&A activity than any other period since H1 2007, with UK volume responsible for much of that, according to data from Dealogic. That echoes our experience – Investec had a record start to 2018, advising on a string of high-profile mergers & acquisitions and equity capital market transactions worth more than £20bn.

 

Andrew Pinder, Head of Investment Banking at Investec said:

 

“When you look at the level of uncertainty in the world right now – Brexit and trade wars spring to mind – you might expect that business would be cautious and deal activity would be down as a result.

“In fact, business leaders are taking a pragmatic view: those that see opportunity aren’t afraid to act, and we’re using our full range of capabilities to help with bold, transformative deal-making both in the UK and overseas.

“That trend looks set to continue into H2 and we’ve certainly been delighted by the strong start, delivering two IPOs, two acquisitions and an associated rights issue in a single week, and a strong pipeline for the coming months. These are deals where we've been able to use the full value of our model, for example by committing our balance sheet with a £315m standby underwrite on a sole basis, and using our deep retail expertise for TheWorks.co.uk’s £100m IPO.”

 

Major deals on which Investec has advised on this year include:

 

  • Melrose’s £8.1bn takeover of GKN

  • GVC’s £4bn takeover of Ladbrokes Coral Group

  • Cineworld’s £4.2bn acquisition of Regal Entertainment

  • Dechra’s €340m acquisition of AST Farma and Le Vet

  • Tesco’s £3.7bn acquisition of Booker

  • Motor Fuel Group (MFG)’s £1.2bn acquisition of MRH

 

Throughout these recent deals, Investec worked across its full spectrum of services, acting as sponsor adviser, broker, bookrunner and underwriter in lead and joint roles. 

For more information, please contact:

Luke O'Mahony

Investec

luke.omahony@investec.co.uk

020 7597 5261

 

Notes to editors  

Investec Specialist Bank 

Investec is a specialist bank that provides a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets: the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia, as well as certain other countries.

 

This press release is issued on behalf of Investec Bank plc. Registered address: 2 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7QP. (Reg No. 489604).  Investec Specialist Bank is a brand name of Investec Bank plc, which is a member of the London Stock Exchange.

 

Investec Bank plc (Reg. no. 489604) is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.