The year 2022 was marked by a number of unexpected events, but there was still a great willingness to buy on the transaction market in 2022 and financial investors participated in a large number of companies.

As shown in the transaction database of Sehner Unternehmensberatung, a total of 1,379 transactions were recorded in 2021 that can be attributed to financial investors. In 2022, a total of 1,229 transactions were counted in which the financial investors were involved. A direct comparison thus shows a decline in transactions of around 11 percent.

Comparison of transaction activity in 2021 and 2022

A look at the transaction activity in 2021 shows that November 2021 recorded the most private equity transactions with a total of 150 transactions. The fourth quarter also represents the quarter with the most private equity transactions. The fewest transactions were recorded in April with 88 and in August with 89 transactions.

While 2021 saw an increase in year-end private equity transactions, 2022 saw a decrease in the number of year-end transactions. In 2022, the first quarter was the strongest in terms of the number of transactions. Most private equity transactions could be counted in 2022 with a total of 145 transactions in January. The fewest transactions were recorded in November and December 2022, with 83 transactions each.

Popular markets among financial investors

In 2021, financial investors invested most frequently in the media, IT & communications market, with 395 transactions. This corresponds to 28.6 percent of all transactions. The second most invested market was healthcare. A total of 177 transactions were counted here in 2021. In addition, 136 transactions were concluded in the industrial market and 71 transactions in the finance and insurance market. The least was invested in the public administration, arts and entertainment, and agriculture and forestry markets.

In 2022, private equity investors again participated most frequently in companies from the media, IT & communications market, with a total of 348 transactions. This corresponds to a share of 28.3 percent of all transactions. The industrial market recorded an increase in transactions compared with the previous year. Overall, financial investors participated in the industrial market with 178 transactions in 2022, followed by 175 transactions for the healthcare market. The fewest transactions were recorded in the lumber, social market, and arts and entertainment markets, with one transaction each.