Belfast’s KPMG takes top spot in Experian M&A Review for 2021

Experian’s M&A Review for 2021 showed KPMG completed 14 NI deals amounting to over £924 million in value, including some of the biggest M&A transactions to have taken place during the year.

The Belfast firm was also ranked first in the list of financial advisors by the volume of deals in the RoI, notching up 29 deals in total.

Russell Smyth, partner and head of Deal Advisory at KPMG in NI, said: “2021 was another strong year for deal making in the local market and we are delighted to have advised on a number of major transactions. The spread of deals across diverse sectors, including energy, agri-food and technology, is indicative of an active M&A market which has attracted a broad mix of funders, including private equity firms, debt providers and infrastructure funds. The level of activity is encouraging and reflects an active market backed by strong levels of funding. In line with KPMG’s recent M&A Outlook report, we expect an increased level of activity in the year ahead with a strong pipeline of deals already in place.”

Johnny Hanna, partner in charge of KPMG in NI, continued: “Our Deal Advisory team is the go-to advisor in the local market. The strong performance of both it and of the wider M&A market is reflective of the confidence investors have in the NI economy.”

Some of the transactions KPMG’s Deal Advisory team were involved: the purchase of Euro Auctions Group by Ritchie Brothers for £775m, the purchase of Kerry Group’s consumer food business by Pilgrim’s Pride for over £700m, the disposal by Cancom SE of their subsidiaries in NI (formerly Novosco) and in GB to Telefónica Tech for over £330m, the purchase of Tully Biogas Plant by RGT Holdings Ltd and the purchase of TCMM Shutter Group, Tropical Blinds and Make My Blinds by Mzuri Group. KPMG advised on the most merger and acquisition deals across the island of Ireland during 2021, according to the Mergermarket Global and Regional M&A report. This is the third consecutive year KPMG has topped the table as leading Financial Advisor on Irish M&A transactions by deal volume.

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