Where is the M&A activity in Europe?

EUROPE

Funding is cheap in many European markets, so why isn't there more M&A activity? Ian Ormiston, manager of the Ignis European Growth fund, explains.

In July 2012, there was a bid for Rhoen Klinikum from its main local competitor Fresenius. What was interesting at the time was the positive move in the share prices of both bidder and target. We sold our stake in Rhoen at a small discount to the bid, while we continued to hold Fresenius. We thought the move would make great sense for Fresenius, because it raised debt at 3.4%. The deal failed for technical reasons, but we continued to monitor Rhoen. Following a meeting in late 2012 with its new management team, we were able to buy back into the stock close to the undisturbed price. ...