The European M&A Market Reawakens: Why Strong Sell‑Side Preparation Matters as Conditions Improve

In this short video, Cyril Kammoun - CEO and Managing Partner at Degroof Petercam - IMAP France speaks with Claire Smedley from IMAP HQ about the reasons to be positive about the European M&A market despite a challenging year. 

A Gradual European M&A Recovery

Over the past 18 months, higher financing costs and geopolitical uncertainty have made the European M&A market challenging and slowed transaction activity. Conditions are now improving as inflation begins to stabilize, interest rates start to ease, and private equity look to deploy the cash they have been sitting on during this time. All this supports a gradual European M&A recovery.

Sector Opportunities and Rising Execution Demands

In terms of M&A trends in Europe, there is renewed interest in sectors such as Technology, Healthcare, and Energy Transition, which continue to demonstrate strong growth fundamentals. That being said, deals are taking longer to complete and require more preparation and creativity, raising the bar for companies entering a sale process.

Seller Preparation and Valuation Uplift: Better Valuations for Prepared Sellers

Sellers are encouraged to start early and be very prepared. This way they have time to work on three core elements: their growth story, demonstrating resilience, and progress on sustainability and digital transformation. Clearly addressing these themes helps build a growth story for M&A and supports valuation uplift, particularly in the European mid-market M&A segment. Effective preparation also means thinking about how to attract international buyers from the outset of an M&A process.

Watch the full video HERE.

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