European M&A activity buoyed by big-ticket deals in Q2

Several deals worth more than €10 billion helped boost European M&A activity in the second quarter.

Deals totaling €155.88 billion were registered in the three months ended June 30, representing a 12.7% year-over-year increase and the second strongest quarter in two years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. This came even as the number of transactions fell 24.0% year over year to 3,005.

Unilever PLC's sale of most of its food brands to US-based McCormick & Co. Inc. for €39.11 billion drove much of the increased activity. The UK group will become the majority owner of the business, which will combine Unilever brands such as Knorr, Hellmann's and Marmite with McCormick's Cholula, Frank's RedHot and French's.

KONE Oyj's acquisition of TK Elevator GmbH from private equity firms Advent International LP and Cinven Ltd. for €29.39 billion was the second-largest deal, followed by the sale of UK Power Networks Holdings Ltd. to Engie SA for €18.28 billion.

For June, aggregate transaction value was roughly flat year over year at €42.81 billion, while deal volumes fell 29.3%.

Carmaker Volkswagen AG's sale of a 51% stake in its Everllence SE business to Bain Capital LP for €7.40 billion was the largest deal in June. The unit manufactures large engines and turbomachinery and provides decarbonization solutions.

Other large deals during the month included Dana Inc.'s €4.41 billion merger with Eaton Corp. PLC's Ireland-headquartered mobility business and RWE AG's €3.60 billion investment in M 31 Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Energie KG, the majority owner of German grid operator Amprion GmbH.

– View the Unilever-McCormick deal profile page. – Read the latest global M&A and equity issuance white paper.