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In spite of the uncertainty surrounding the meat processing sector in Ireland, M&A activity involving participants within the sector has continued apace in 2017, with the conclusion of some notable deals. Now, whilst there is a whole host of reasons underpinning this M&A activity, a number of common themes are evident, with the continued push for scale being the first. In an industry where operating margins are traditionally tight, top-line growth is… Read More
French rental car company, Europcar has made its fourth acquisition of the year in the form of Europe’s largest low-cost car rental agency, Goldcar. Europcar announced in December that it was looking to spend up to €500 million on franchised companies, car sharing services or local rivals within the car rental sector in order to achieve its ambitious growth targets and remain competitive. Caroline Parot, Europcar chief executive, commented that the acquisition… Read More
In the biggest deal to date in the natural and organic foods category, and in its largest takeover since 2007, French food company Danone is set to double the size of its US business this month with the acquisition of US organic food producer WhiteWave Foods. This included significant run-rate EBIT synergies of $300 million by 2020, an improvement of Danone’s full year like-for-like sales growth by an extra 0.5 percent to… Read More
Despite major political disruption from events such as Britain leaving the EU and the election of a new president of the United States, 2016 is gearing up to be the biggest year for M&A deal announcements since 2007. According to the Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor, which has a proven track record for accuracy, there will be a three per cent increase in the total number of M&A deals to be announced globally… Read More
The reported record levels of profit generated in the global recruitment sector in the last few years has worked as a catalyst for high levels of M&A activity. The great news for recruitment is that this appetite looks set to continue as we approach the final quarter of 2016. Unsurprisingly, recent deals that have made the headlines have come from the major players in the market. August saw Randstad reveal its plans… Read More