The £760m sale of Phoenix Energy this year was the third largest in Northern Ireland’s history, it’s emerged.
The largest gas distributor here was bought by a consortium which included Power Assets Holdings, CK Infrastructure Holdings and CK Asset Holdings.
Corporate law firm A&L Goodbody advised on over 85% of the almost £900m of deals recorded by value in Northern Ireland during the first half of 2024, including the Phoenix deal.
The deal is the largest to take place here in almost a decade.
Experian’s quarterly UK and ROI ‘M&A Review’ reports on mergers and acquisition activity by region, together with the most active local legal and financial advisers.
The Experian report shows that Northern Ireland has outperformed the wider market so far in 2024 with sustained levels of deal activity year on year, alongside a significant increase in transaction value.
David Rowan, head of corporate at A&L Goodbody in Northern Ireland, said: “Over the past decade ALG has consistently ranked as the lead adviser by value of deals, acting on many of the largest and most complex local and international transactions with the greatest impact on the economic development of Northern Ireland.”
Mr Rowan attributed A&L Goodbody’s continued market leading performance in the M&A sector to the expertise and commercial focus of the firm’s corporate practice.
It’s led by Northern Ireland by partners Peter Stafford, Mark Thompson, Mark Stockdale, Sarah Dugdale, John Palmer and David Rowan, and supported by the Belfast office’s wider team of over 130 lawyers and business support professionals.