Insurance M&A slowed to 10-year low
In the first 6 months of the year, the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the insurance sector decreased, which indicates “a decrease in appetite for insurance companies.” This conclusion was made by the authors of a report on the situation in the M&A market by the analytical company Clyde & Co.
According to the report, the number of M&A transactions decreased by 17% to 171. A year earlier, this figure was 242.
“The lull in insurance M&A will be short-lived,” said Eva-Maria Barbosa, partner at Clyde & Co in Munich. Analysts expect the situation to improve by the end of this year, and the number and volume of transactions to grow.
The decline in activity was most pronounced in the Americas, where 79 deals were completed, the lowest number since 2014. At the same time, the US remains the leader in terms of M&A deals, with 60 transactions since the beginning of the year. In Europe, 47 deals were concluded, the lowest result in a 10-year period.
“The UK topped European countries in terms of the number of deals, ahead of France and Germany, but dropped to fourth place in the world after Canada and Japan,” the report says.