Private Equity Deal Volume in Germany Rose Sharply in 2019 -EY

   By Kim Richters

The volume of private equity deals in Germany has increased sharply in 2019 due to several large transactions, consulting firm EY said Friday.

Private-equity firms spent 32.2 billion euros ($35.72 billion) in Germany this year, an increase of 80%, the company said. The rise was driven by a number of large transactions, especially in the second half of the year.

EY said the largest deal of the year was Macquarie's EUR3.5 billion takeover of chemical-park operator Currenta, previously owned by Bayer AG (BAYN.XE) and Lanxess AG (LXS.XE).

Another large transaction in the second half of the year was KKR & Co.'s (KKR) purchase of shares in media company Axel Springer SE (SPR.XE) for EUR2.9 billion.

However, the overall number of deals fell after rising for five years in a row, according to the consultancy. This year, the industry in Germany had 219 transactions, 10 deals fewer than the previous year.

Write to Kim Richters at kim.richters@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 27, 2019 06:31 ET (11:31 GMT)

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