Almost all of these deals, 97%, originated in the mid-market segment and were valued between €5m and €250m. There were only three deals during the first six months of the year that were worth than €500m.

The largest deal recorded so far this year was the purchase of the UK incorporated company, which has its headquarters in Ireland, Amryt Pharma by Italy’s Chiesi Farmaceutici. The deal was valued at €1.34bn which was almost twice the size of the next biggest deal during the period.

The next largest deal was the recent sale of Enva, the waste management company, for €779m by one private equity company to another. The last deal worth more than €500m was the acquisition of payroll software company Immedis by Ultimate Software Group for €575m.

Over two-thirds, 113 of these deals, were foreign companies taking over Irish businesses. All these deals combined were valued at €4.1bn.

Acquirers from the US and the UK accounted for a significant share of overseas interest in Irish targets. UK acquirers agreed 43 deals valued at €449m in the first half of the year, with US acquirers responsible for a further 28 — valued at €1.1bn.

There were five acquisitions involving companies from Sweden and the Netherlands. Domestic deal values fell from €2.2bn in the first six months of 2022 to €1.1bn this year.

Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceuticals, medical, and biotech sector accounted for 28% of the total value of all deals versus just 2% during the same period last year.

Industrials and chemicals was the next most active sector by value, accounting for 18% of activity in Ireland — up from just 1% during the same period last year.

Private equity interests were involved in 34 of the transactions worth €1.69bn which marks a 11% and 32% decline in volume and value terms year-on-year.

Stephen Keogh, head of corporate mergers and acquisitions at William Fry, said that while Ireland’s economy continues to outperform other countries, merger and acquisition activity is “in line with an international decline in deal activity”.

He said this is caused by a number of factors including rising interest rates, high inflation and fears of recession.

“Looking forward to the remainder of 2023, deal-making will not slow to a halt, as there is ongoing interest in Irish businesses across a range of sectors, while a tougher economic environment will create plenty of opportunities for merger and acquisition activity.

“We expect reasonably healthy levels of Irish M&A activity in the second half of 2023,” he said.