EY says drop in Romania’s M&A market in Q1 was caused by fewer large-sized deals

The Romanian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market recorded 63 transactions in the first quarter of the year, a modest increase compared to the 61 transactions recorded in the same period of 2023. However, the figures indicate an acceleration of activity compared to the previous two quarters, according to a report carried out by EY Romania.

The estimated value of transactions was USD 1.1 billion, down from USD 2.5 billion in Q1 2023, Ziarul Financiar reported.

However, the value reported this year is only 7% lower if the mega-transaction of Q1 2023 is removed from the calculation, namely the acquisition of the operations of the Italian group Enel in Romania by Public Power Corporation for USD 1.3 billion.

The largest transaction in January-March 2024 was the acquisition of OTP Bank operations in Romania by Banca Transilvania for USD 375 million.

Another significant transaction during this period was the purchase of 5 industrial parks from the logistics portfolio of Globalworth Real Estate Investments, for approximately USD 184 million, by CTP, the largest publicly listed developer of industrial and logistics properties in Europe.

Also, the largest energy producer in Romania, Hidroelectrica, completed the acquisition of selected business lines of UCM Resita, a transaction signed in Q4 2023.

Strategic investors remained the dominant players, representing 92% of the transaction volume during this period.

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