Public M&A Report

In the first half of 2025, the market for public takeovers in Germany was marked by restraint. In total, only ten public offers were made (H1/2024: 13) with a rather low total offer value of EUR 12.8 billion (expressed in market capitalisation at the offer price; H1/2024: EUR 18.7 billion). In the large-cap segment in particular, the average offer value was very low at just EUR 1.7 billion (H1/2024: EUR 3.0 billion). The situation was similar in the mid-cap segment. In the small-cap segment, there were no offers at all in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, the average premium on the relevant weighted average stock prices has increased compared to the same period in the previous year.

These are the key findings of the 02/2025 edition of the Noerr Public M&A Report. In this report, editors Volker Land and Stephan Schulz, both partners in Noerr’s Corporate/M&A and Capital Markets teams at the Hamburg office, analyse the public takeover market in the first half of 2025. The report examines the number and value of all offers approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin under the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act, the distribution of these offers across the small-, mid- and large-cap segments as well as the development of premium levels in a multi-year comparison. The report also covers the reasoned statements of the administrative bodies of the target companies as well as general public M&A market trends.