Dynamism in German M&A Market Continues

The latest ZEW-ZEPHYR M&A Index indicates that when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving German companies, things are continuing to go well. In January, the index had a value of 123 points, indicating a dynamic start to 2016. Indeed, 96 transactions took place in January 2016 – more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have not been achieved in the same period since January 2013. These are the findings of calculations by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) based on the Zephyr database of Bureau van Dijk (BvD).

The latest wave of mergers, which began in April 2011 and which since then has continued almost without interruption, saw a slight decline before now once again increasing. This is reflected in the twelve-month moving average of the ZEW-ZEPHYR M&A Index.

The twelve-month moving average reached its previously highest value of 92 points in October 2014, before falling to 83.4 points up until October 2015. In January 2016, the twelve-month moving average temporarily exceeded the 90 mark and currently reads 89.4 points (March 2016). The future outlook is also positive, with the number of announced new mergers and fusions remaining high.

The ZEW-ZEPHYR M&A Index measures the number of M&A transactions completed in Germany each month. It considers only mergers and acquisitions conducted by and with German companies. No differentiation is made with respect to the country of origin of the buyer or partner involved. This means that German as well as foreign companies, acting as buyers in transactions, are taken into account, while all target companies considered are active in Germany.

The ZEW-ZEPHYR M&A Index Germany is created by ZEW and BvD on the basis of the ZEPHYR data base. ZEPHYR provides detailed, up-to-date information on more than a million M&As, IPOs and private equity transactions worldwide.

For more information please contact

Sven Heim, Phone +49(0)621/1235-183, E-mail heim@zew.de