According to the Capital & Corporate study, the presence of Spanish companies as buyers of cross-border companies has increased, from 32% in 2011 to 40% in 2012.

Europe accounts for an increasing percentage of Spanish companies' investments.

They represent 59% of total purchases, a significant increase from 46% in 2011. Within Europe, there has been greater interest in geographies such as Germany. Such has been the case of the Basque company Axor Rentals, which has acquired 55% from SBG-Atlas Bauma, as well as Prosegur, which has acquired the local company SecurLog, or Grupo Alfonso Gallardo, which finally managed to close the purchase of the German company Stahlwerk Thüringen. Due to their proximity, Spanish companies also tend to focus their international acquisitions on Italy and France. In the first case, we can mention the purchase of Favellato Reti by Gas Natural Fenosa and, with regard to deals in France, it is worth mentioning those made by the lift companies Orona and Fain, which are carrying out build-ups in the neighbouring country.

"Almost all of the operations we have seen have taken place in mature sectors such as machinery rental, lifting systems, security services, etc. The growth strategy followed by these companies is appropriate for times of declining turnover; international growth via acquisitions will have allowed them to enter nearby markets at reasonable prices and to make operational improvements that are not feasible in more distant markets. International acquisitions also allow for faster growth with guaranteed results," says Diego Gutierrez. (ABRA INVEST) expert in SME corporate finance.

Latin America once again has a prominent position in the strategy of Spanish companies.

After 2011 saw a slight drop in investment in this area, accounting for 16% of total cross border transactions, last year saw
20% of the purchases of local companies. Brazil remains by far the country of focus. It is currently an area with huge growth potential, although valuations are already high. For those who bought in years ago, it is a perfect time to rotate portfolios. However, many are still confident that the market is still buoyant. Thus, we have seen operations such as the purchase of OHL Brazil's 60% by Abertis, the growth of Prosegur through the acquisitions of Nordeste Segurança and Transbank, or the purchase of Navita Portal by Agile Contents. Some transactions have also been carried out in countries such as Peru, with a higher risk but a fairly stable environment, or Mexico, which has reasonable taxation and a stable legal framework.

"In the Latam region, the conditions are being created for local investment to help Spanish companies consolidate their international presence. The most common way of going abroad is through the acquisition of a local company or through a joint-venture agreement with it, but local investors should not be ruled out for this process. For example, in Colombia there are 2,040MM$ available for venture capital investment," analyses Diego Gutierrez.

Transactions in the US and Asia have remained at broadly similar levels to 2011.

With 11% and 18% respectively, compared to 12% and 13% the previous year. Specifically, MTorres decided to increase its presence in the North American market with the purchase of Pacifica Engineering. On the Asian continent, of note were the purchases in India, China and Korea, such as the acquisition of 55% from Hankook R&M (HRM) by Befesa, a subsidiary of Abengoa.