1625 GMT - European companies have been using mergers and acquisitions to achieve greater control over supply chains, Pablo Muylle, an economist at ING, says in a report. Companies seek greater control by acquiring businesses operating at another stage of production, so-called vertical deals, Muylle says. There has been a rise in such deals since the middle of the previous decade as transactions connecting different stages of production "have become a more important part of European M&A activity," according to the bank. The pressures on European supply chains have changed since the Covid pandemic, he says. "Logistics disruptions and input shortages have become less prominent while tariffs, regulatory requirements and geopolitical uncertainty increasingly shape companies' supply-chain decisions." Reshoring--the process of transferring outsourced jobs back to the company's home market--has accounted for less than 1% of recorded euro-area restructuring since 2019, according to ING research, compared with around 4% for offshoring.
Comments