Romania's Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) market went up by 23% year-on-year in 2015, its total value being estimated at USD 3.65 billion, according to the EY M&A Barometer.

A total of 123 transactions were closed in Romania last year. The transaction value was disclosed for 48 deals, resulting in a disclosure rate of 39%.

The Romanian transaction market was, in 2015, dominated by inbound transactions with 60% of the total number of deals, a slight increase in number when compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, both domestic and outbound transactions decreased compared to the same period of 2014.

Deals closed by strategic investors represented 83% of total disclosed deals, up by 36% compared to the previous year. The financial investors represent 17% out of the total transactions, decreasing from its spike of 53% in 2014, according to EY.

In 2015, out of a total of 73 inbound transactions, the largest number came from the United States with seven transactions (10%), followed by Ireland and the UK with 8% each. In 2014, the most active inbound investors came from Austria and Germany (8%).

By volume, the most active industries in Romania were IT and energy & mining - 13 transactions each, real estate - 12 deals, and services and healthcare industries - 11 transactions. In terms of value, the largest transactions occurred in the banking and financial service industry (some USD 771 million), and the manufacturing sector (USD 439 million).

The largest transaction was registered in the banking and financial services sector when the Italian group UniCredit bought Ion Tiriac's stake in UniCredit Tiriac Bank for some USD 771 million. Some other significant transactions for which the value was made public include the purchase of private healthcare operator Regina Maria by British fund Mid-Europa Partners (estimated at USD 148 million), and the acquisition of Lafarge and Holcim Romania by Irish producer CRH, which was part of a cross-border transaction of USD 7.1 billion (the assets in Romania having a value of some USD 439 million).

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com