Bank of Ireland : IBI Corporate Finance announced as top Irish Dealmaker

IBI Corporate Finance has been announced as the leading deal adviser in Ireland by specialist M&A publisher, MergerMarket. The MergerMarket tables provide an annual review of global M&A activity and sees IBI Corporate Finance in top position as financial adviser based on the volume of transactions advised on in Ireland during 2016. This result reinforces IBI's market-leading position as it has now been recognised as the number one financial adviser in 11 of the last 12 years.

Completed deals on which IBI Corporate Finance advised during 2016 included the €11bn merger of Paddy Power plc with Betfair Group plc and the sales of a number of Irish-based companies to large international corporations. Some of the international deals included the sales of aviation software provider, Arconics, to US-based technology company, ViaSat Inc. and packaging group, Americk, to Saica Group, a Spanish packaging company. Meanwhile, domestic transactions on which IBI advised during 2016 included the sale of meat wholesaler, Wilbay to Arthur Mallon Foods, and sale of the metals recycling business of ClearCircle Environmental by One Fifty One plc to its management team.

Speaking today, Tom Godfrey, Chief Executive of IBI Corporate Finance, commented that 'the mergers and acquisitions ('M&A') market in Ireland and globally has faced headwinds in 2016 as a result of the current volatile global environment with factors such as tightening US monetary policy, instability in the Eurozone and the Chinese economic slowdown affecting the appetite for deal-making. This was exacerbated in Ireland as a result of the UK Brexit uncertainty. By November 2015, the top ten M&A advisers in Ireland had announced 102 M&A mandates whereas by November 2016 that number had reduced to 52 or a 50% decline year on year. However, M&A activity has picked up significantly in the last quarter as corporates and private equity firms realise that strategic plans cannot be put on hold to wait for the final Brexit outcome. We continue to see Irish sell-side target companies attracting strong interest from international investors who are seeking to bolster their footprint in Europe.'

Commenting on the outlook for 2017, Mr. Godfrey said: 'Looking ahead to next year, the outlook globally is more encouraging for the corporate finance sector as companies seek to gain market share by tapping new growth markets through M&A activity. There is a significant level of capital looking to be put to work in Ireland and we in IBI have visibility on a strong pipeline for 2017, particularly in the food, healthcare and technology sectors.'

Note: The €11bn Paddy Power plc merger with Betfair Group plc was announced in 2015 and completed in 2016; therefore, this figure is not included in MergerMarket's announced deals for 2016.

About MergerMarket
MergerMarket covers corporate finance activity in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. MergerMarket generates proprietary intelligence and delivers it, together with daily aggregated content, on its www.mergermarket.com/info/ platform.

About IBI Corporate Finance
IBI Corporate Finance is Ireland's leading corporate finance adviser, providing expert, independent advice. It acts for public, private and semi-state companies covering a wide spectrum of domestic and international transactions.

IBI Corporate Finance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland Group and is the Irish member of Oaklins, the world's most experienced mid-market M&A adviser.

IBI Corporate Finance Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

www.ibicorporatefinance.ie/