In Spain, more than half of executives—54 percent—anticipate forming alliances or pursuing acquisitions in the months ahead. This expectation persists even amid a market backdrop marked by uncertainty, a climate that prompts managers to scrutinize how corporate actions will influence growth and resilience in their organizations.
According to the Spain M&A Perspectives 2023 study, a collaboration between KPMG and the CEOE, one in four executives (25 percent) now foresees pursuing deals, compared with 11 percent of companies that completed acquisitions in 2022. This suggests that many leaders expect to fill growth gaps through targeted purchases rather than relying solely on organic expansion.
Among the drivers behind mergers and acquisitions, the prospect of achieving strong geographic reach stands out. Forty percent of respondents highlighted expansion into new regions as a meaningful objective, while a similar share emphasized broadening business lines and deepening market presence as key motives. In total, roughly one third of participants identified geographic expansion as a primary justification for deals, underscoring a strategic emphasis on scale and diversification in the current climate.
When it comes to entering new markets, a majority of business leaders prefer a joint venture as the initial route. This approach is cited as the primary motive for pursuing collaborations in roughly seven out of ten cases, reflecting a cautious but deliberate path to market access that blends risk management with growth potential.
For Noelle Cajigas, a partner at Deal Consulting with KPMG in Spain, investors are adopting a cautious stance as 2023 unfolds. Yet there is a sense that the second half of the year could become more active. Cajigas notes that Spanish managers are planning to use mergers and acquisitions to boost growth and diversification, suggesting a strategic shift toward consolidation and portfolio diversification as a response to a challenging year.
Jose A. Zarzalejos, a partner in Corporate Finance at KPMG in Spain, observes that the private equity segment is tightening its focus on investment and asset management within portfolio companies. His view reflects an elevated emphasis on building new platforms to support growth while managing risk more actively in current conditions.
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On the other hand, the market environment of uncertainty is driving valuations downward, leading a smaller share of business leaders to consider both investments and sales in the near term. Only about 15 percent are looking at opportunities to invest or divest in the coming months, signaling a cautious stance amid volatility.
Despite this cautious mood, the sale of non-strategic assets remains a common tactic for generating liquidity. For a majority of executives—around 62 percent—divesting non-core holdings is a primary reason behind such transactions, underscoring a disciplined portfolio optimization strategy despite broader uncertainty.
Among the hurdles that could slow pace in acquisitions and mergers, a notable 41 percent cite the absence of suitable assets as a limiting factor. This bottleneck highlights the challenge of finding appropriate targets that fit strategic goals in a market that rewards fit and value alignment.
In terms of financing, the landscape still poses friction. Approximately 27 percentage points separate the biggest obstacle, which is securing funding for deals, from other concerns, while only about 5 percent continue to weigh the lingering effects of Covid-19 on deal activity. This points to a shift in concerns—from health-related disruption to financing and asset quality—as the most pressing determinants of deal flow in the current period.