Romania’s M&A (mergers and acquisitions) market saw 189 completed deals worth EUR 4.3 billion last year, down by around 20% from 2022, when it reached EUR 5.2 billion, according to an analysis by PwC Romania. The result was primarily underpinned by Greek group PPC’s takeover of Enel Romania, a transaction worth EUR 1.3 billion.

Considering both completed and signed but not completed deals, there were 241 deals last year in Romania, with a total value of EUR 7.7 billion. However, according to PwC, several of the deals signed last year were announced in the last quarter and are expected to be completed in 2024, such as Mega Image’s acquisition of the Profi network for more than EUR 1 billion and Unicredit’s acquisition of Alpha Bank.

Thus, according to Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner at PwC Romania, the first quarter of 2024 indicates that this year could be a very good one for the local M&A market.

“Large deals have already been signed and we expect them to close in the first half of this year, and other medium and small deals have been announced. Mergers and acquisitions remain a strategic tool for the development and growth of companies in the context of competitive pressures, new technologies, and climate change. We see that Romanian CEOs are increasingly considering the option of initiating transactions. According to the results of our CEO Survey 2024, four out of ten (41%) CEOs in Romania are considering a transaction in the next three years,” Bumbăcea said.

Eight very large transactions exceeding EUR 100 million took place in Romania. Still, PwC says, the last few years have also brought a few transactions of more than EUR 1 billion.

George Ureche, Director and M&A Leader of PwC Romania, commented: “While the number of transactions has decreased, we see that the average value of a transaction is higher than in the previous year. Romania has been reaffirmed for the fourth year in a row as a market where deals worth more than EUR 1 billion take place: CEZ in 2020, the two-stage deal involving Romgaz’s acquisition of Neptun Deep in 2021 and 2022, Enel in 2023. Without the EUR 1 billion-plus Enel deal, the local market would have reached EUR 3.1 billion in 2023.”

The average value of a transaction was EUR 23 million in 2023, the highest average value since 2020. The IT&C, consumer goods, industrial products, and services sectors saw a significant increase in average deal value, PwC Romania also said. 

The average deal value for strategic investors was EUR 25 million, while the average deal value for investment funds was lower.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: PwC Romania)