Private Equity - M&A Review 2024

There were 84 transactions involving private equity firms during 2024, the same number as in the previous year. In value terms, however, private equity investment in Irish companies surged 523% to €16.4bn – though more than €10bn of that total figure came from a single transaction, Apollo's deal with Intel in relation to the Fab 34 high-volume manufacturing facility, with the Keyword Studios transaction accounting for another €2.5bn given its significant levels of private equity involvement.

The bigger picture demonstrates that international private equity firms continue to see Ireland as an attractive market for dealmaking. While many firms globally struggled with the relatively slow pace of the deal cycle during 2024 – their inability to secure exits at full valuations inhibited their ability to raise new funds and to complete new deals – Ireland remains on the private equity sector's buy lists. Some of the biggest names in global private equity – including