Ireland’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market enjoyed a year of deal activity not seen since before the financial crisis according to Shane O’Donnell, Head of Corporate and M&A at William Fry, in the fourth edition of William Fry’s Annual M&A Report.

Key findings in the Report include:

• M&A deal value of €42.1bn is the highest since 2000. M&A volume up 37% compared with 2013
• Number of outbound deals is highest on record (since 2000)
• Inbound deals at their highest on record (since 2000)
• Significant growth in volume of mid-market deals with the number of deals under €100m increasing 81% in 2014 to 58 deals
• 81% of M&A deal value concentrated in the pharma, medical and biotech sector
• Key sectors by deal volume: Telecomms, Media and Technology (TMT) (23%), Leisure (17%), Pharma, Medical and Biotech (PMB) (14%) and Financial Services (11%)

View the M&A Review 2014 in full below.