The Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market recorded 91 transactions in 2020, compared to 110, in 2019.

According to Deloitte estimations, the total market value, including the transactions with undisclosed values, was EUR 3.7-4.3 billion in 2020, compared to EUR 4-4.4 billion in 2019.

The deals with disclosed value totaled EUR 1.5 billion, compared to EUR 1.7 billion in 2019.

“2020 saw a decrease in the number of transactions compared to the previous year, which set a record for the period after the financial crisis. However, these are good results considering the unprecedented general context created by the COVID-19 pandemic. A quarterly analysis indicates that the second quarter was the most affected, and the following ones saw a notable revival. 2020 also brought the largest transaction of the last decade: the acquisition of assets owned by CEZ in Romania,” stated Radu Dumitrescu, Financial Advisory Partner-in-charge, Deloitte Romania.

Nine transactions with a disclosed or estimated value of over EUR 100 million were announced last year, similarly to 2019.

Other large deals besides the CEZ deal were the acquisition of a minority stake in real estate developer Globalworth by Czech CPI Property Group, Orange’s takeover of Telekom Romania Communications (EUR 268 mln), UiPath’s new financing round (USD 225 mln), and OMV Petrom’s sale of its assets in Kazakhstan.

The most active sectors considering the number of transactions were real estate (including construction), energy, and the financial sector. Together, they generated 50 transactions.

From the deal value point of view, the most active sector was real estate, followed by technology and energy.

(Photo: Mr Phonwalat Chaicheevinlikit/ Dreamstime)

andrei@romania-insider.com