Switzerland’s M&A Deal Surge Leaves Rest of Europe Behind (1)

Switzerland is seeing a more than fivefold surge in mergers and acquisitions that’s outpaced most of its European peers, giving bankers hopes for a lucrative payout this year.

The volume of takeovers targeting Swiss companies has jumped 465% to $16.7 billion so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Private equity firms are particularly active, with Advent announcinglate Sunday it has agreed to acquire Zurich-listed chipmaker U-blox Holding AG in a deal valued at 1.05 billion Swiss francs ($1.3 billion).

Switzerland’s wave of dealmaking comes against a backdrop of macroeconomic challenges. Swiss companies are now facing a ...