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  1. Methodology

DAX/MDAX M&A survey

Methodology

The 40 DAX and 50 MDAX constituents are the largest German companies by market capitalization and turnover listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt stock exchange.

This study is based on the activities of those companies that were represented in one of the two indices as of 31 December 2022.

It covers the 10-year period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022 and captures 'strategic investments', i.e. completed or announced mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures through which DAX and MDAX companies have acquired a significant stake in another company or one of its businesses.

The classification of the 15 selected countries as emerging economies is based on classifications published by a selection of institutions including the International Monetary Fund.

The conclusions drawn in this study are primarily based on the number of deals as opposed to the published deal value. There are two reasons for this: firstly, a transaction value is not publicly disclosed for each deal. Moreover, experience shows that the number of transactions says more about an M&A market than the prices paid for a company – in particular, so-called 'mega deals' can lead to a distorted picture if average deal values are used as a basis for analysis.

The report is based on data from Refinitiv and Freshfields' own intelligence.

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