Scotland’s M&A and funding activity for Q3 2019 revealed

The report has indicated that despite the climate of economic and political uncertainty, the Scottish M&A market has held strong over the course of Q3 2019 with rising valuations and a general consensus of positivity. 

The report states that there have been several “stand-out transactions” over the course of Q3. Such transactions include the acquisition of The Scottish Salmon Company by Faroe Island-based salmon producer Bakkafrost for a consideration of £516 million and SSE’s disposal of their energy services business to OVO Energy for £500m.

The AAB review also highlighted that paper-manufacturer Arjowiggins successfully completed an MBO out of administration ensuring the future of two historic paper mills and the saving of 560 UK jobs.

It emphasised that the Oil & Gas services sector continued to show recovery in Q3 with several deals including the sale of Aberdeen-based Proserv’s subsea communications business Nautronix to Norwegian subsea electronics manufacturer Imenco AS and leading subsea and solutions provider Ashtead Technology’s acquisition of Underwater Cutting Solutions. This deal bolstered their IMR and decommissioning capabilities and became Ashtead’s fifth deal since the firm was acquired by Buckthorn Partners in 2016.

The report further highlighted that fundraising activity has remained strong with technology investment continuing to attract significant fund and VC investment across Scotland, including Mercia Technologies’ £1.8m investment into student-engagement platform Gecko Labs and Panoramic Growth Equity’s capital investment into award-winning connectivity business Vaioni Group.

Furthermore, private company valuations platform MarktoMarket successfully raised £1.75m from 24Haymarket, Techstart Ventures and Par Equity to accelerate product development and enter new markets.

Having revealed the positive nature of the Scottish market, AAB stated: “As we head into Q4 2019, we continue to maintain strong positive momentum with a healthy pipeline of deal opportunities, and we will continue to invest time and resources with a view to initiating strategically compelling transactions for our clients.”