A report by business research company Experian MarketIQ has described deal-making activity in the Irish market as “resilient” in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its report said 325 transactions had been announced in the first nine months of 2020, a decline of just under 4% from the 337 in the same period last year.

This followed what the company called “a remarkable recovery” in the third quarter after a dip in the previous three months in line with other markets across the world.

The Experian report pointed out, however, that most of these deals were in the small to mid-market category, leading to a dramatic decline in the value of 2020 deals.

No €1 billion deals

The total value of €8.1 billion was more than €60 billion below the total for the first nine months of 2019, although the previous year’s numbers were swollen by pharmaceutical giant Abbvie’s acquisition of Allergan.

“Big-ticket deals remain conspicuous by their absence and this is the first time in well over a decade that the first three quarters of the year have passed without a single Irish transaction topping the €1 billion mark.” the report said.

The biggest transaction was an €894 million fund-raising by Paddy Power’s parent company Flutter Entertainment.

Law firm Arthur Cox held its position as the leading deal advisor by volume and value. By volume, Flynn O’Driscoll took second spot and Matheson third, while Matheson and Byrne Wallace filled second and third places respectively in the value table.