Pambianco: upturn in acquisitions during 2003

It seems that acquisitions are still in fashion. According to the Mergers&Acquisitions Observatory of Pambianco Strategie di Impresa, world-scale operations in 2003 numbered 173 compared to 162 in 2002, a 7% increase on an annual basis.And 2004 promises to be even better, if it is true that in only 45 days 29 operations were concluded, with an increase by 38% over the same period in the previous year.

Returning to 2003, the clothing sector remains the most dynamic, with a total of 30 mergers and acquisitions. This is followed by sportswear (12), textiles (11), optics and cosmetics (9). Italy is the undisputed queen of the operations that count with 76 ongoing actions, 55 of which between Italian players, 14 from Italy to other countries and 7 from other countries to Italy.

But the big luxury groups, such as Bulgari, Burani, Gucci, Hugo Boss and Lvmh, seem to be static and, unlike the Smes, have concluded only a few marginal operations.