After two years of declining transaction activity, the global M&A deal volume rose by 12% in 2024, while the number of deals fell just short of the 8,000 mark. This means that the M&A market is still below the pre-Covid level, where between 8,000 and 9,000 deals were announced annually, with a total volume of around USD 3,500 billion to USD 4,500 billion. The TMT sector accounted for around 20% of deals this year, once again playing a central role in the global M&A landscape, but also in Germany, where it is be the most active sector in 2024. In this context, we would like to take a closer look at the specific trends and deal drivers in the TMT segments of software, IT services and media, which will lead to increased transaction activity in 2025.

 

In our Deal Report, we highlight the privatization of Nexus AG by the financial investor TA Associates, which is characteristic of the current development of so-called public-to-private (P2P) transactions and is one of a series of recently announced transactions. These include the public takeover bids by CVC for CompuGroup Medical and by Carlyle for SNP. While many sellers in the private markets are postponing an exit due to the lower valuation level, interesting opportunities are arising on the stock market, particularly for small caps. In terms of volume, P2P deals accounted for 11% of total global private equity activity in 2024 and the value of such transactions rose significantly by 65% in Europe in particular.

Our SektorReports are available in German language. If you have further questions regarding this topic, feel free to get in touch.