European M&A deals of the month: July 2026

Europe’s July deal tape carried the signature of concentrated capital. Strategic buyers and private-equity groups committed billions to businesses with established networks, specialist technology, dependable cash generation, or market access that would be costly and time-consuming to recreate.

Although the sectors changed, the transactions extended the pattern examined in June’s European M&A roundup. Buyers continued to favour assets where scale could strengthen margins, financing capacity, customer reach, or competitive position, rather than relying on broad economic growth to carry the investment case.

Global deal value reached $2.85 trillion during the first half of 2026, making it the strongest opening six months on record even as transaction volumes fell to a six-year low. Total value is expected to approach $4 trillion this year, but deals worth more than $5 billion are projected to account for 48% of the market. Once those transactions are removed, aggregate value is lower than a year earlier.

That split between value and volume shaped Europe’s July activity. Large buyers had access to finance and were prepared to offer substantial premiums, but capital clustered around a narrow range of companies whose operating advantages could be described in practical terms: delivery density, logistics portfolios, consumer distribution, recurring energy revenue, and industrial control technology.

UK public M&A also gathered pace, with nine firm offers and nine possible offers announced during July, compared with five firm offers and three possible offers in July 2025. ABB’s acquisition of Rotork and OCS Group’s bid for Mitie were the two firm transactions valued above £1 billion.

Five transactions defined the month.

Uber scales through Delivery Hero —

Uber announced an offer to acquire Berlin-headquartered Delivery Hero for €41.50 per share on 16 July, implying an equity value of $14.8 billion. After accounting for the shares and economic exposure already held by Uber, the remaining transaction value was approximately $13.7 billion.

Together, the two groups would operate across 99 markets and would have generated pro-forma gross bookings of $236 billion in 2025. Delivery Hero’s management and supervisory boards supported the offer, while Prosus committed to tender its approximately 17% holding. Combined with Uber’s existing exposure, that commitment would give the buyer an economic interest of around 53%.

Competition issues were addressed alongside the acquisition terms. Delivery Hero agreed to transfer businesses in 14 overlapping markets to SSW Partners for approximately $1.6 billion, covering foodora operations in Austria, Czechia, Norway, and Sweden; Glovo in Spain, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Moldova; and other platforms in Greece, Cyprus, Türkiye, Chile, and Ecuador.

Uber also committed to retain Delivery Hero’s Berlin headquarters and avoid changes to its Berlin workforce until at least 2029. A separate €2 billion investment programme in Germany is intended to support regional expansion, employment, and autonomous-vehicle partnerships over the following five years.

Delivery platforms derive much of their strength from the interaction between customers, merchants, couriers, advertising, data, and subscription products. By acquiring established local brands and operating networks, Uber would gain market positions that could take years to build organically, while Delivery Hero would become part of a larger platform with greater financing capacity and a wider range of services.

The transaction is expected to complete during the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and the remaining offer conditions. Uber plans to finance the acquisition with existing cash and new borrowing, supported by a committed bridge facility of approximately €14 billion.

WDP and ARGAN build continental scale —

Belgian logistics-property group WDP and French counterpart ARGAN signed a friendly all-share cross-border merger agreement on 23 July. The enlarged group would own more than €13 billion of gross assets, operate approximately 13 million square metres of logistics space, and generate over €700 million of annualised rental income across eight countries.

Under the proposed exchange terms, ARGAN shareholders would receive three newly issued WDP shares for every ARGAN share. ARGAN also intends to propose an exceptional distribution of €11 per share before completion. Based on WDP’s closing price when the agreement was announced, the offer valued each ARGAN share at €79.22 — a 21% premium to its closing price and approximately 30% above its three-month volume-weighted average.

Rather than financing the merger primarily through additional borrowing, the companies have chosen a structure intended to preserve investment-grade credit ratings and retain capital for development. WDP expects the combination to remain broadly leverage-neutral, supported by approximately €250 million of planned asset disposals, while the enlarged group would have annual self-funding capacity of around €700 million.

Scale carries particular weight in logistics property because the sector combines large capital requirements with restricted land supply, local planning constraints, and sustained demand for modern distribution space. A larger portfolio can improve access to debt and equity markets, spread operating costs across more assets, and strengthen relationships with occupiers seeking facilities in several European countries.

France would become a major part of WDP’s portfolio, complementing its existing positions in the Benelux region and Romania. The company also plans to seek an additional listing in Paris, broadening its investor base while giving ARGAN shareholders continued exposure to the combined business.

Subject to shareholder, regulatory, and tax approvals, completion is expected during the first quarter of 2027. The proposed merger shows how listed European property companies can build continental scale while limiting the increase in financial risk that would accompany a large cash acquisition.

Żabka gives Couche-Tard a CEE platform —

Canadian convenience retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard announced an agreement on 31 July to seek control of Poland’s Żabka Group. The cash offer of PLN32 per share implies an equity value of approximately PLN32.62 billion, or $8.6 billion, and would represent the largest acquisition in Couche-Tard’s history.

Żabka operates more than 13,000 stores across Poland and Romania, handling approximately 4.3 million customer transactions each day. Its estate is supported by a franchise model, a substantial loyalty membership, and growing capabilities in foodservice, ecommerce, logistics, and data.

Couche-Tard already operates the Circle K network across several European countries, but Żabka would give it an immediate position of considerable scale in Central and Eastern Europe. Building an equivalent estate through organic openings would require years of site acquisition, franchise recruitment, logistics investment, and customer development.

Shareholders representing approximately 57% of Żabka’s issued capital — including CVC Capital Partners, Partners Group, and members of the senior management team — entered irrevocable commitments to accept the offer. Couche-Tard expects annual cost and revenue benefits of approximately $250 million by the third year following completion.

The transaction will be financed through committed debt facilities, taking pro-forma net leverage to approximately three times adjusted EBITDA. Management expects leverage to return to its normal range during the second year after completion, supported by cash generation from the combined estate.

Convenience retail increasingly depends on more than store numbers. Location density, foodservice, digital engagement, supply chain efficiency, and customer data determine how frequently shoppers visit and how much value can be generated from each site. Żabka combines those elements within a proven operating model, giving Couche-Tard both a regional growth platform and expertise that can be applied elsewhere in the group.

The acquisition remains subject to merger-control approval, Romanian foreign-investment review, and assessment under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Completion is expected by December 2026, provided the necessary approvals and shareholder acceptances are secured.

Private capital closes on DCC Energy —

London-listed, Dublin-headquartered DCC Energy agreed to a recommended acquisition by funds advised by KKR and Energy Capital Partners on 27 July. The base offer of 6,525 pence per share, together with DCC’s final dividend, values the issued and to-be-issued share capital at approximately £5.75 billion.

A further payment of up to 125 pence per share could become payable, depending on the proceeds achieved from the planned disposal of DCC’s Nexora technology operation. Including that contingent amount and the final dividend, shareholders could receive as much as 6,797.22 pence per share.

The base consideration and dividend represent a 24% premium to DCC’s undisturbed closing price and a 33% premium to its three-month volume-weighted average. Those terms followed several approaches and arrived after DCC had reshaped its portfolio around energy, disposing of its healthcare activities and agreeing the sale of technology assets.

DCC Energy distributes fuels, electricity, renewable energy products, and related services across Europe and the US. Its customers include industrial businesses, transport operators, public-sector organisations, and households outside the main energy grids. The company has also been investing in lower-carbon products and services as its traditional fuel markets evolve.

Fragmentation across energy distribution leaves room for continued acquisitions, while recurring customer demand supports cash generation. At the same time, the energy transition has complicated valuation, as investors weigh the durability of existing hydrocarbon earnings against the capital needed to expand lower-carbon operations.

DCC’s board concluded that simplification, stronger operational results, additional disclosure, and extensive investor engagement had not produced a sustained revaluation of the shares. Accepting the offer therefore exchanges the uncertainty of delivering the group’s 2030 ambitions for an immediate cash premium.

For KKR and Energy Capital Partners, private ownership provides greater freedom to invest through that transition and pursue further consolidation without the same emphasis on quarterly market expectations. Future gains from operational improvement, acquisitions, and any subsequent revaluation would, however, accrue to the new owners rather than existing public shareholders.

ABB buys depth in industrial automation —

Swiss engineering group ABB agreed a recommended all-cash offer for UK flow-control specialist Rotork on 16 July. The offer of 503 pence per share implies an enterprise value of approximately $5.5 billion and represents a premium of around 60% to Rotork’s three-month average share price.

At that price, ABB is paying approximately 5.3 times Rotork’s 2025 revenue and 19.5 times EBITDA before anticipated synergies. The buyer expects the EBITDA multiple to fall towards the mid-teens once operating benefits have been delivered.

Rotork designs actuators, instruments, control systems, and software used to regulate flows across energy, water, chemicals, marine operations, and other industrial processes. Reliability and certification are critical in those environments, while the installed equipment base supports ongoing demand for maintenance, replacement parts, upgrades, and software.

ABB intends to run Rotork as a separate division within its Automation business, preserving operational accountability while using its own international sales, service, and digital networks to support growth. Rotork would add approximately 3% to group revenue and around 12% to the revenue of ABB’s Automation division.

The acquisition also increases ABB’s exposure to products and services with comparatively high margins and recurring aftermarket demand. Rather than attempting to recreate Rotork’s engineering expertise, certifications, customer relationships, and installed base, ABB is buying an established position at the field-device level of industrial automation.

Capital for the transaction will come from existing liquidity and part of the expected proceeds from ABB’s sale of its Robotics business to SoftBank. Moving funds from robotics into process and infrastructure automation reflects a deliberate reallocation towards markets where ABB sees stronger strategic alignment and more predictable lifecycle revenue.

Bottom line —

July’s largest European transactions were backed by specific operating plans rather than general expectations of an improving economy. Each buyer could identify an asset, capability, or market position that would be difficult to build internally within an acceptable period.

Uber sought greater density across delivery, mobility, advertising, and membership services, while WDP and ARGAN used an all-share merger to increase geographic reach and financing capacity. Couche-Tard targeted a retail network supported by franchising, logistics, data, and customer frequency. KKR and Energy Capital Partners acquired a cash-generative energy platform with scope for further consolidation, and ABB paid for specialist technology, an installed base, and recurring service revenue.

Four of the five targets — Delivery Hero, Żabka, DCC Energy, and Rotork — were publicly listed European companies. Their buyers were prepared to pay premiums for control, integration benefits, and investment horizons that public shareholders had not fully reflected in prevailing market valuations.

Those transactions do not establish that listed European businesses are uniformly undervalued, nor does every takeover premium represent the highest possible outcome. They demonstrate how complexity, capital requirements, transition risk, or a lengthy strategy can create a gap between current market value and the price available from a strategic or private-capital buyer.

Boards exposed to that gap need a current assessment of standalone value, potential buyers, strategic alternatives, and the returns available from remaining independent. Once a formal approach arrives, the debate quickly shifts from long-term potential to the credibility of the plan, the investment required to deliver it, and the certainty offered by cash or liquid shares.

Regulatory planning also shaped several transactions before completion became a realistic prospect. Uber and Delivery Hero paired their agreement with disposals across 14 markets, while Couche-Tard must navigate merger control, foreign-investment review, and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. WDP and ARGAN must secure approval for a complex cross-border structure spanning separate shareholder bases and tax regimes.

European dealmaking therefore remains active but uneven. Capital is available for companies with defensible networks, specialist capability, recurring revenue, or infrastructure characteristics, while businesses without those advantages face a more demanding valuation and financing environment. July’s deals showed buyers prepared to act decisively, provided the route from acquisition to operating value could be demonstrated in detail.