EY: Romania’s M&A market up despite global trend in 2023

Romania’s market of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) increased by 6.1% y/y in value terms to USD 7.1 billion, while the number of deals decreased by 6.2% y/y to 241, according to estimates published by consultancy firm EY. Two large-sized deals accounted for 38% of the total market.

Globally, the market remained on a downward path and hit a new minimum for the past decade, driven by the still high financing cost, Bursa.ro reported.

The acquisition of Profi Rom Food by Ahold Delhaize, a significant player in the global food retail market, from the private equity fund Mid Europa Partners for the sum of USD 1.4 billion was the largest M&A deal in Romania last year. It was closely followed by the acquisition of Enel Romania by the Greek energy group Public Power Corporation for USD 1.3 billion.

The third-largest deal was the acquisition of Alpha Bank Romania by Unicredit, based in Italy, for USD 319 million.

Mitiska REIM also sold 25 commercial parks to M Core Property HQ for USD 236 million, marking one of the largest transactions ever recorded in the local commercial real estate sector. Meanwhile, Grupo Bimbo, a food company from Mexico, has acquired Vel Pitar for USD 210 million.

Strategic investors kept their dominant role in the Romanian M&A market, accounting for 88% of deal volume (number of deals) in 2023. Domestic deals saw a marginal increase in number to 119 (compared to 116 in 2022), while the volume of transactions carried out by foreign investors (inbound) decreased by 13.9% year-on-year to a total of 105.

Although the number of outbound transactions decreased to 11, compared to 14 in 2022, it remains strong from a historical perspective and reflects the increased appetite of Romanian investors to carry out cross-border transactions.

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