Professional advisory firm PwC orchestrated deals in Wales in 2021 with a total value £700m.
It worked on a variety transactions with both family-owned and corporate entities along with institutional investors.
A significant transaction included the sale of life sciences industry supplier BBI Solutions, which is headquartered in Crumlin, Caerphilly.
The business was acquired by Danish life sciences investor Novo Holdings in June 2021 for more than £400m and has now become the major shareholder in the company.
During the year PwC supported clients on 33 deals across Wales and the south-west of England with a total value in excess of £3bn.
In the south-west it advised on sale of ADEY to Genuit Group, the MBO of Western Global with investment from MML and Future plc’s acquisition of Dennis Publishing.
Market senior partner and head of deals for Wales and south west of England, Tom Ayerst, said: “The level of M&A activity we’ve seen reflects significant stores of private equity dry powder being put to work, in combination with corporates pivoting rapidly to adapt to the way the pandemic has changed trading conditions.
“We have seen a number of businesses take advantage of the underlying behavioural changes caused by the pandemic, namely strong growth in online activity and e-commerce, and the increase in leisure time caused by a generational change in how we work - both of which have acted as a catalyst for growth and market restructuring.”
Mr Ayerst added: “In 2021, I expect the pattern across Wales and the west of England will closely resemble that of the UK as a whole. We have a head start on recovery against other European countries and our listed assets represent good value. There is a lot of pent-up demand for deals and this will play a key role as the regional economy continues to recover.”
