European M&A: The Mighty Dollar Opens Doors For US Bidders

There were 1,309 M&A deals in Europe involving US bidders last year—a 9 percent decrease in volume, year-on-year, and a 41 percent decrease on 2021's total value, at US$423.3 billion. Despite these declines, however, US buyers who pursued targets in Europe enjoyed one of the strongest exchange rates in years, with the US dollar achieving parity against the euro for the first time since 2002.

The largest deals of the year all have one thing in common: They center on infrastructure assets. In the lead was the US$46.4 billion acquisition of Atlantia. Blackstone financed a take-private of the Italian infrastructure firm, taking a minority stake alongside existing majority shareholder Edizione, the investment vehicle of the Benetton family.