International review ranks IBI as top Irish corporate finance firm for 2008

IBI Corporate Finance has been ranked as the No. 1 corporate finance adviser in Ireland in the annual review of international M&A activity by specialist M&A publisher, mergermarket. This is the 4th successive year that IBI has been ranked No. 1.

IBI topped the league table for the number of transactions on which it advised with a total of 11 qualifying deals in 2008. The company was also ranked top in 2007, 2006 and 2005 with 14, 19 and 14 qualifying deals respectively.

Commenting on the announcement, Roisin Brennan, IBI Executive Chairman, said; “The drivers behind corporate transactions changed during 2008 but the appetite to do deals remained high and we expect that to continue through 2009. Consolidation is likely to become more and more important as companies seek economies of scale in a more difficult environment. We also expect that well-resourced companies will take advantage of the lower valuations that now apply to expand their interests and lay the foundations for future growth.”

Ends

7 January 2009