Swiss M&A market: fewer but larger mergers and acquisitions
With 464 mergers and acquisitions, four percent fewer transactions were completed last year than in 2023. What is striking is the sharp increase in deal volume by more than half, from USD 72 billion in 2023 to USD 115 billion in 2024. The most active sectors were industrial goods, telecommunications, media and technology as well as pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
"Compared to the strong post-corona years, the economic uncertainties have once again slightly slowed down M&A activity, as companies and financial investors were very preoccupied with themselves," explains Timo Knak, Head of Deal Advisory at KPMG Switzerland. For the current year, KPMG Deal Advisory expects a slight increase in M&A activity, particularly in the area of private equity and further carve-outs for larger groups.
Industrial goods sector as the most active M&A market
As in the previous year, the most active sector on the M&A market was the industrial goods sector. This sector accounted for almost one in five transactions (84), with a transaction volume of around USD 24 billion, around four times higher than in the previous year. The telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) sector was the second most active M&A sector with 75 transactions and a deal volume of around USD 26 billion.
As in the two previous years, the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector came in third place with 59 deals and a volume of just under USD 41 billion. The proportion of mergers and acquisitions involving private equity increased again slightly year-on-year, from 23% to 26%, but is still below the long-term average of around one third of all transactions.
Galderma IPO most significant Swiss M&A transaction
With a deal volume of just under USD 66 billion, the five largest transactions accounted for around 57% of the total deal volume in 2024. The most significant transaction last year was the IPO of Galderma - one of the largest IPOs in Europe in recent years with a total valuation of around USD 21.6 billion.
The second-largest transaction was the share-based takeover of US packaging manufacturer Berry Global by Swiss competitor Amcor for around USD 17.7 billion. Third place was taken by Swiss telecommunications provider Sunrise, which relisted on the Swiss stock exchange after a four-year absence, with a total valuation of USD 10.2 billion. Another transaction in the TMT sector that attracted a great deal of attention was the takeover of Vodafone Italia by Swisscom for around USD 8.7 billion.
Swiss companies buy abroad
Swiss companies also acquired significantly more foreign companies last year than vice versa: in almost half of all transactions, or 221 cases, Swiss companies acquired foreign companies or company shares. In contrast, foreign companies acquired only 107 Swiss companies or company shares (23% of transactions).
"Thanks to their high liquidity and robust balance sheets, Swiss companies are very well positioned for mergers and acquisitions and have been very active in acquiring foreign companies for years," explains Timo Knak.
National transactions (Switzerland/Switzerland) accounted for 14% of all transactions with 64 deals. Almost 16% of all transactions are attributable to foreign transactions with Swiss sellers (72 deals).
Slight increase in M&A activities expected for 2025
For the current year, KPMG expects a continuation of the trend towards value-oriented transactions and a slight increase in M&A activity, particularly with regard to private equity investments. The complexity of mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs will continue to increase, not least due to the growing importance of artificial intelligence. "Companies' IT systems are becoming increasingly complex, which has a direct impact on M&A processes," says Knak. "Effective management of the IT aspects of the integration or spin-off process is therefore essential to ensure the success of a transaction."
Source: www.kpmg.com
