Business

Value of mergers and acquisitions in Northern Ireland hits £798m over first half of year

Transactions in Northern Ireland included the purchase of Junction One outside Antrim and the Homebase chain of DIY stores
Transactions in Northern Ireland included the purchase of Junction One outside Antrim and the Homebase chain of DIY stores Transactions in Northern Ireland included the purchase of Junction One outside Antrim and the Homebase chain of DIY stores

THE total value of mergers and acquisitions in Northern Ireland over the first half of 2016 topped £798 million, according to analysts Experian.

Its latest mergers and acquisitions league table found that although the total value had dropped by more than a third on the same period last year, the number of deals rose to 93.

It was the highest total of transactions ever recorded by Experian in the north over the first six months of any calendar year.

Almost half of the total was made up of the £340m deal that saw Australian DIY giant Bunnings buy Homebase - which is registered in Belfast as Hampden Group.

Other major deals included the £220m purchase of Wireless Group (formerly UTV Media) by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Meanwhile Finnish firm Huhtamaki paid £80m for Delta Print & Packaging in west Belfast and Tristan Capital bought Junction One and The Outlet shopping complexes for £40m.

Experian said that while the drop in value of overall sales, "on the face of it...may look worrying, when put into context the region’s results still look quite positive".

It said the first half of 2015 "was an outstanding period for the region, being one of the best performing six months on record and H1 2016’s total value still tops all other H1’s

since 2008".

"Overall it appears that deal activity didn’t take too much of a hit in the run up to the EU

referendum, possibly as many investors expected the status quo to remain, and it may another six months before we really start see the impact the Brexit vote has had on the region," it added.

Experian said manufacturing was the business sector for mergers and acquisitions activity with volumes up almost 30 per cent to 31.

The wholesale and retail sector also saw a substantial 170 per cent increase in activity

with 27 transactions having been recorded.

Belfast law firm Tughans was the most active legal advisor during the period, working on a total of 27 deals.

They were followed by A&L Goodbody which advised on 21 transactions.

John George Willis, head of Tughans' corporate department said: “As a firm we have experienced an active first half of the year as evidenced by our deal tally. The last quarter saw a number of major transactions completed including the purchase of Delta Print and Packaging by Huhtamaki for £80m, the sale of PathXL to Philips and the sale of Sophia Search Ltd to Mixaroo Inc – all major international companies investing in Northern Ireland."

The value table was jointly topped by Herbert Smith Freehills and Linklaters with both having advised on the Homebase deal.