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Mergermarket's latest data saw a shift in foreign investors' appetite for deals in the Euro Zone.

It cannot be discounted that Europe is slowly bouncing back from the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal said. European businesses has been seen snapped up by or engaged with foreign private equity in the last four years. According to the site, majority of the foreign direct investment in Europe are coming from US investors.

On the other hand, a shift in foreign investment could be seen in the size of the deals. Mergermarket data revealed that the average size of foreign firm-involved deals in Europe last year was $206 million, which was significantly less than the $696 million in average deal size recorded in 2006.

UK mid-market buyout firm Graphite Capital senior partner Markus Golser said that the data simply means that more and more investors are looking into the lower end of the market for deals. He added, "It's all a question of competition. The air is pretty thin higher up and there is a bit of a funding gap in the £150 million to £250 million market in the UK. There are some home-grown players, but not as many as in other parts of the market, and they probably see that opportunity."

Indeed, it was just that. Mergermarket data showed that a total of 169 deals was seen in Europe last year, which was up from 136 deals seen in 2010 and 76 deals in 2009.

Based on geography, foreign investors are looking for deals specifically in the UK as compared to other European locations. Mergermarket data showed that UK deals composed 57 of the 169 deals seen last year, followed by 18 deals in Germany and Spain at 17 deals.

GTCR managing director Aaron Cohen explained the attractiveness of the UK market, saying, "The deal environment is very similar in the UK [to the US], so we don't feel like we're at any disadvantage relative to folks who are on the ground there. It's a very business-friendly country and jurisdiction, which allows us to execute deals in a very expeditious manner, and there aren't any unique regulatory or governmental hurdles for us to jump through."