Baird Group's study indicates there is an upward trend in deals involving French companies.
The firm anticipates continued targeting of French companies in cross-border transactions as they further embrace globalisation and foreign investment.
There have been a number of high profile deals targeting French companies this year already.
Baird estimates that of the $450bn worth of M&A deals taken place globally so far in 2014, which is the highest half year value since before the global economic crisis began. France -domestic, inbound and outbound M&A- accounted for a quarter of all activity globally.
Notable transactions include the acquisition of Invensys by Schneider Electric, a $44 billion merger between Lafarge and Holcim and a deal between Laboratoires Prodene Klint and GOJO Industries.
According to Baird, France is proving itself an ‘attractive inbound M&A alternative’ to Germany. The United States is the most common buyer of French companies, accounting for 27% of inbound deals.
