Mergers & Acquisitions in October 2016

October 2016 was particularly active within the M&A market, with 211 deals completed during the month, according to online deals database, Zephyr.

 

This month witnessed the much anticipated completion of the acquisition of Dutch company Koninklijke N.V., otherwise known as household name Philips, by Japan based brewery and soft drink company, Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. The final deal value generated almost £2.3 trillion.

 

Another of the most valuable UK mega deals involved the sale of multi-channel electronic product supplier, Premier Farnell plc, to acquirer company Avnet Bidco Ltd for £867.6 billion. Avnet stated that the collaboration of the two businesses is set to “create a truly unique distribution model that supports customers at every stage of the product lifecycle”.

 

Other notable deals from this month include the acquisition of well-known online travel company Alpharooms Ltd by investment company Truly Holdings Ltd and Walker Greenbank plc’s acquisition of Lancashire based Globaltex 2015 Ltd, otherwise known as Clarke & Clarke.

 

According to Zephyr, one of this year’s most anticipated mega deals has entered its final stages this month, and is now currently pending and awaiting regulatory approval. The transaction between the two globally operating pharmaceutical companies, Actavis Ireland Ltd and Accord Healthcare Ltd, is set to be worth £603 billion.