Gagging on the LBO

2 October 2003 By Rob Cox Follow @rob1cox

In the first nine months of 2003, deals involving private equity made up 18% of all European M&A more than double the share in the US. There are many reasons for this LBO fetish, but the rise in crises and absence of bankruptcy protection may be a big one.

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In the first nine months of 2003, takeovers involving private equity firms made up 18% of all announced mergers and acquisitions in Europe, according to Dealogic, up from 12% for all of last year. By contrast, only 8% of acquisitions launched in the US involved private equity money, slightly higher than last year's 7%.

So far this year, there have been 832 private equity deals worth $71bn involving a European target, up from 840 deals valued at $75bn for all of 2002. There were 196 private equity deals involving a US target, worth $27bn, compared to $33bn from 132 deals for all of 2002, according to Dealogic.

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