Legal Business

European deal wave anticipated amid growing market confidence

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Holcim/Lafarge merger and Vivendi’s SFR acquisition lead the way

Corporate partners are forecasting the next big European M&A wave after deal values this quarter shot up, partly on the back of ready debt finance and growing market confidence. Such conditions have supported a run of lucrative mandates, including the €40bn merger in April of cement companies Holcim and Lafarge and the acquisition of Vivendi’s phone unit SFR by cable group Altice for a total value in excess of €17bn.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were among a host of firms advising on Holcim’s combination with Lafarge, a deal that, subject to regulatory approval, will create LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest cement maker.