DAX/MDAX global M&A survey: 10 years of German deals

How have Germany’s largest listed companies performed in the global M&A market in recent years?

In our latest survey of the most recent decade of acquisitions, we have found that the 90 constituents of the DAX and MDAX indices did 1,974 deals (DAX: 1,356 DAX; MDAX: 618) between 2011 and 2020 totaling $530.5bn (DAX: $485.9bn; MDAX: $44.6bn).

In 2020, the year when the world first had to come to terms with COVID-19, there were 189 deals (slightly below the 10-year average of 197) totaling $53.5bn (slightly above the 10-year average of $53.1bn).

While the effects of COVID-19 are a major talking point, nine of the 10 years covered by our survey predate the pandemic. Over that period, macro trends such as digital transformation, a rapidly evolving regulatory environment and (geo)political volatility have impacted M&A activities of many DAX and MDAX companies.

These, along with the post-pandemic recovery, will continue to be key factors for decision makers in weighing inorganic growth opportunities for German corporates in the future.

Access the full report, which:

• sets out – via a series of interactive data visualizations – the trends that shaped the decade’s M&A activity; and
• discusses what factors are likely to shape the transactional landscape going forward.