European Financial Services M&A volume hit a nine-year high in H1 2023, but overall deal value fell year-on-year

The European financial services industry announced a nine-year deal high in the first half of 2023, with 382 deals across the region, compared to 337 in the same period in 2022 (a 13% year-on-year rise), according to latest EY financial services M&A analysis.

However, the total disclosed deal value for the period fell year-on-year, from £29.2bn in H1 2022 to £20.9bn in H1 2023, due to a decrease in the number of deals over £1bn.

For year-on-year context, in H1 2022 ten deals in excess of £1bn were announced within Europe compared to five deals announced in H1 2023. 

Sector-specific M&A activity breakdown across Europe’s financial markets

• The number of European insurance deals rose from 106 in H1 2022 to 131 in H1 2023, accompanied by a significant fall in total deal value: from £7bn in H1 2022 to £4.2bn in H1 2023.
• Similarly, European wealth and asset management deal numbers rose from 92 in H1 2022 to 126 in H1 2023. However, the overall publicly disclosed deal value decreased from £3.8bn to £3.0bn year-on-year.
• In contrast, the European banking sector reported a year-on-year deal volume fall in H1 2023, with 125 deals this year, down from 139 in H1 2022, and total deal value decreased year-on-year from £18.5bn to £13.7bn.

The number of non-European firms acquiring European targets was down from 53 in H1 2022 to 42 in H1 2023, and the total value fell from £11.6bn in H1 2022 to £2.4bn in the same period in 2023. European firms acquiring targets from other markets fell from 31 in H1 2022 to 24 in H1 2023, with deal value decreasing from £4bn to £1.6bn.

Notes:

• Deals include transactions (announced or completed) where the target is in one of the three financial services sectors: banking, insurance, or asset management
• Equity investments are included, but joint ventures are not
• Deals where less than 20% (disclosed) of the company was acquired have been excluded from this analysis
• The total number of deals relate to where there was either a European target or European acquirer
• Data range: 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023
• There is no minimum disclosed value deal threshold