Summer 2024 Deal Roundup
The start of September is universally marked by the ‘back-to-school’ feeling. For our Corporate team the summer months (if you can call that shower-laden July ‘summer’!) were marked by exceptionally high deal levels, and I thought it worth providing an update since my last note on market activity levels.
The highly anticipated recovery of M&A has started to take hold, with the first half of 2024 being the busiest in terms of worldwide activity since the same period in 2022. Nowhere has this recovery been more pronounced than in the technology sector, where deal values are starting to creep up, driven by the continued interest in artificial intelligence. Mirroring this trend, our Technology M&A team was called on to advise the founders of Observe Technologies, an aquaculture AI platform, on its sale to Oslo Stock Exchange listed company, AKVA Group. This increase in technology activity also saw strategic buyers making acquisitions to deepen their range of services, as seen in our role in advising Advania on the acquisition of UK-based IT solutions provider Servium.
Foreign appetite to acquire and invest in UK companies has markedly improved, with EY’s most recent investor survey finding that a record-breaking 69% of overseas investors polled were planning to invest in the UK. Exemplifying this, we advised Nortal, a strategic innovation and technology company headquartered in Talinn, Estonia, on its acquisition of UK-headquartered 3DOT Solutions. M&A activity outside the UK remained strong, and we secured a role acting as UK and French counsel for Hamburg-based Joachim Herz Foundation, on the acquisition of a minority stake in Weidmüller Holding AG & Co. KG. The deal is testament to our continued work with colleagues across the globe, and with Charles Russell Speechlys’ Global Network firms to deliver seamless solutions for clients no matter where they are in the world.
The sport sector was a hotbed of activity over the summer, with the increased private investment into sports assets seen in our involvement in the acquisition of Southend United Football Club Limited. For some more commentary on this trend see this excellent City AM article which quotes my Partner Keir Gordon on rising levels of investment into the sector. Sticking with the sports and technology theme, our work advising Hudl UK Ltd on its acquisition of StatsBomb Services Ltd, a global sports data solutions business, was right in the sweet spot of the two sectors that have kept our team busiest over summer.
Finally, our work with Puma Private Equity, advising on its investment into Aveni as part of an £11m investment round and QuestGates in securing an investment from Equistone Partners Europe is reflective of the high expectations for both the venture capital and private equity investors in the second half of the year.
While there has been a significant resurgence in deal activity, all eyes now turn to the Autumn Budget as we wait to see whether the government will increase Capital Gains Tax and make reforms to the taxation of carried interest. Never a dull moment!