Transaction value analysis

Published: , Data and research

Invest Europe, in cooperation with SLOVCA and other organizations, created an analysis of the value of transactions from 2011-2020 to European companies. The report deals with the transaction value of Venture Capital and Private Equity investments.

Private Equity

  • Across all stages, the decade concluded with €177.7bn invested in 2020 in terms of the transaction value –more than double the amount invested in 2011. The 2020 total represents a 16% decrease compared to the record level of €211.2bn invested in 2019.
  • Buyout transactions accounted for 75% of the total transaction value in 2020, whilst venture & growth investments represented 11% and 12% respectively.
  • The number of transactions remained high, with 8,302 taking place in 2020, representing only a 5% decrease compared to 2019.
  • Whilst 2019 saw ICT (€51.5bn) narrowly obtaining 1st place in terms of capital allocated compared to Consumer goods & services (€50.4bn), the gap widened significantly in 2020 –ICT reached €68.4bn, with €31.6bn being allocated to Biotech & Healthcare, and €30.2bn to Consumer goods & services.

Growth Capital

  • Growth Capital investments reached their second-highest transaction value level in 2020 with €21.8bn invested across Europe, after reaching a peak in 2019 at €27.4bn. 2020 represents a 22% increase over the average of the last 5-years.
  • By sector, ICT accounted for 38% of the value and 28% of the number of transactions, followed by Consumer goods and services (19%, 25%).
  • Growth transactions bigger than €30m took an ever-increasing share of the total number of transactions: from 5% of the total in 2016 to 8% in 2020. They represented 67% in terms of value in 2020.
  • Growth co-investments have become more popular over the past decade: in 2020 38% of the transactions had a co-investor, versus 19% in 2011.

Venture Capital

  • The transaction value for Venture Capital investments has constantly risen over the last 9 years, reaching €20bn in 2020. Whilst the total equity* amount invested increased, the average equity* ratio per transaction has decreased since 2012: from 83% in 2011 to 72% in 2020.
  • Venture investments into ICT, combined with Biotech & Healthcare, received 75% of the total VC transaction value amount in 2020, with €9.2bn and €5.8bn invested into these sectors respectively.
  • All European regions, except UK & Ireland, reached a record level in terms of Venture Capital investments in 2020.

Buyout

  • Buyout transaction value reached €133.3bn in 2020, an 18% decrease from the record levels of 2019. The number of buyout transactions in 2020 reduced by 16% to 1,256. The average equity* ratio within transactions remained stable at 67%.
  • Mega transactions (>€1bn) reached their second-highest level in 2020 with €67.2bn, behind the decade record of €75.2bn invested in 2019.
  • ICT (€50.6bn) took the lion’s share of Buyout capital, with Biotech & Healthcare (€23.4bn), Consumer goods & services (€22.8bn) and Business products & services (€22.2bn) being the next closest.
  • In 2020, portfolio companies located in the France & Benelux region have attracted the most investment in terms of the Buyout transaction value (€36bn), followed by the UK & Ireland (€32.8bn), DACH (€31.9bn), Southern Europe (€21.8bn), Nordics (€9.4bn), and the CEE region (€1.4bn).

The full report you can read in the attachment.