Non-European investors have been involved in 523 deals worth €63.5 billion so far in 2023. Total deal value for the previous year was more than five times higher at €335.5 billion. Yet the number of deals is comparable, as the 2022 full-year total was just over double at 1,163.
If dealmaking remains at its current pace, 2023’s total PE investment from non-European investors could be lower than the previous five years.
Given the inflationary environment, firms have been on the hunt for infrastructure deals, which made up over half of the 10 biggest deals involving non-European investors since 2018. The largest deal to close in 2023 was the €16.3 billion acquisition of UK-listed mobile phone network Vodafone‘s digital transformation business Vantage Towers. A consortium led by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners and including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund purchased the company.
While the amount of money non-European investors contributed has dipped this year, their level of participation in deals has remained fairly consistent since 2018, hovering above 20% of total deal count.
The drop in non-European investors’ share of deal value can be attributed to multiple factors. Sixty percent of the world’s PE capital lies in the US, and a degree of home bias has crept in as LPs wrestle with the denominator effect, according to PitchBook’s Q1 2023 European PE Breakdown.
Localized issues also may dissuade foreign investment. PitchBook’s 2023 France Private Capital Breakdown, for example, suggests a degree of protectionism over certain industries, which may deter investment in the country.
Featured image of London Stansted Airport by IR Stone/Shutterstock
